日本警方对爆炸案展开调查

Japanese Officials Investigate Explosion

Amy Bickers¹

Tokyo

1 Sep 2001 10:02 UTC

 

In one of Tokyo's worst fires in decades, 44 people died Saturday when an explosion and fire tore through a crowded building in an 1)infamous red light district.

Japanese officials are trying to 2)ascertain whether a gas 3)leak or 4)arson could have caused the 5)deadly incident at the busy Tokyo nightspot. Fire officials say that they found a broken gas pipe near what they believe to be the source of the explosion.

The deadly 6)blast and fire took place early Saturday in a mahjong 7)parlor² on the third floor of a building in Kabukicho, one of the Japanese capital's major entertainment districts. On Friday nights it is packed with 8)revelers.

An explosion was heard by people across the neighborhood and fire gutted³ the third and fourth floors of the building. At the time, it was filled with 9)patrons of the gambling⁴ club, a bar and other establishments. The blast ripped a large hole in the building's wall.

More than 100 fire trucks and 10)ambulances rushed to the scene of the incident, and firefighters were able to rescue some people from the burning building. Firefighters say the death toll⁵ was high because the building had only one inside stairway and the fire doors, meant to keep out smoke, did not close properly.

The gambling parlor had just one window, which was covered up. The same was true for the bar. Japanese authorities say the building's small elevator, as well as its sole staircase, were engulfed⁶ in smoke and 11)flames. People in the area say many establishments in the crowded nightclub area of Kabukicho are in violation⁷ of safety codes, but police have not commented.

 

 

(1)      infamous[5InfEmEs]adj.声名狼籍的

(2)      ascertain[AsE5teIn]vt.确定, 探知

(3)      leak[li:k]n.漏洞,泄漏vi.漏, 泄漏vt.使渗漏

(4)      arson[5B:s(E)n]n.纵火, 纵火罪

(5)      deadly[5dedlI]adj.致命的, 势不两立的, 死一般的, 极度的, 必定的

(6)      blast[blB:st; U.S. blAst]n.爆炸, 冲击波vt.爆炸,毁灭

(7)      parlor[5pB:lE(r)]n.客厅, 会客室, 店营业室, 业务室adj.客厅的

(8)    reveler n.摆设酒宴者, 饮酒狂欢者

(9)      patron[5peItrEn]n.(对某人, 某种目标, 艺术等)赞助人, 资助人

(10)      ambulance[5AmbjJlEns]n.救护车

(11)      flame[fleIm]n.火焰, 光辉, 光芒, 热情, 激情

 

 

1 bickers   

v.争吵( bicker的第三人称单数 )；口角；（水等）作潺潺声；闪烁

参考例句：

2 parlor   

n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅

参考例句：

• She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
• Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店？

3 gutted   

adj.容易消化的v.毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的过去式和过去分词 )；取出…的内脏

参考例句：

• Disappointed? I was gutted! 失望？我是伤心透了！
• The invaders gutted the historic building. 侵略者们将那幢历史上有名的建筑洗劫一空。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

5 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

6 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。