神户纪念十年前的大地震

 

Kobe Remembers Killer¹ Quake 10 Years Ago

神户纪念十年前的大地震

 

The people in and around Kobe, Japan, are commemorating² the 10th anniversary of a major earthquake, which left almost 6,500 people dead.

 

Ten years to the minute, at 5:46 a.m., Kobe paused to remember those who perished in the 7.3 magnitude earthquake.

 

In Higashi Park candles were lit for each of the 6,433 people who died on January 17, 1995.

 

Kobe Mayor Tatsuo Yada told those who gathered for the memorial that last October's killer quake in Niigata, Japan, and the Indian Ocean tsunami³ last month are reminders⁴ of the inherent danger from nature.

 

At an indoor ceremony here later in the day, Emperor Akihito said he hopes the memories of the tragedy a decade ago stay alive.

 

The Emperor says he wants those who survived the Kobe earthquake to convey to the rest of the world their experiences and achievements so society can become safer in the face of natural disasters.

 

The Great Hanshin Earthquake, as it is known here, caused nearly $100 billion worth of damage and left several hundred thousand people homeless.

 

While Kobe's infrastructure⁵ has been totally rebuilt, many of the survivors⁶ in this city of 1.5 million people have not recovered. Surveys show that nearly half of the residents say their lives are not yet back to normal.

 

Resident Moto Shinoda says the past decade has been especially tough on the elderly who lost their homes.

 

Mr. Shinoda says he and others have struggled to maintain their independence but it has been a difficult 10 years.

 

The quake also continues to take its toll⁷ on the young. Officials say more than 1,000 children still require mental health treatment for trauma⁸ suffered from the quake.

 

Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone nations. Despite that, government officials say almost half of the country's towns and cities are still unprepared to deal with the aftermath of a devastating⁹ tremor¹⁰. They are concerned that communities lack emergency response plans, have not formed local rescue teams and have taken no steps to reinforce public buildings, such as schools.

 

Steve Herman, VOA News, Kobe, Japan.

 

 

注释：

commemorate¹¹ [kE5memEreit] vt. 纪念

anniversary [7Ani5vE:sEri] n. 周年纪念

perish [5periF] vi. 死亡

magnitude [5mA^nitju:d] n. 级

ceremony [5serimEni] n. 仪式

disaster [di5zB:stE] n. 灾难

infrastructure [5infrEstrQktFE(r)] n. 基本设施

maintain [men5tein] vt. 维持

devastating [5devEsteitiN] adj. 破坏性的

tremor [5tremE] n. 震动

reinforce [7ri:in5fC:s] vt. 加强

1 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

2 commemorating   

v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements. 他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The post office issued a series commemorating famous American entertainers. 邮局发行了一个纪念美国著名演艺人员的系列邮票。 来自互联网

3 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

4 reminders   

n.令人回忆起…的东西( reminder的名词复数 )；提醒…的东西；（告知该做某事的）通知单；提示信

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• The strike has delayed the mailing of tax reminders. 罢工耽搁了催税单的投寄。

5 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

6 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

7 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。

8 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

9 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

10 tremor   

n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震

参考例句：

• There was a slight tremor in his voice.他的声音有点颤抖。
• A slight earth tremor was felt in California.加利福尼亚发生了轻微的地震。

11 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。