2006年VOA标准英语-Building Collapse in Nairobi Kills and Wou

By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
23 January 2006

 
Rescue workers attempt to free people trapped under the rubble¹ of a building that collapsed² in downtown Nairobi, Kenya
  
More than 60 people have been injured and many others feared dead after a building under construction collapsed Monday in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.

More than 200 people, mostly construction workers, were inside the partially-completed, five-story building in downtown Nairobi when the accident occurred.

One of the survivors³, Christopher Mutiso, tells VOA that he was fortunate to have been on top of the building when it began falling down.  Most of the killed and injured were caught between floors, as the floors collapsed on top of one another. 

"I do work in this building and I was sitting at the top of the building when it started collapsing⁴.  What I can remember, I just alighted like a bus," he said.   "Then, I looked back to see what happened and I saw the building had collapsed."

Firefighters arrived at the scene with metal cutters and crowbars to free trapped men screaming for help.

Other rescue workers and hundreds of ordinary citizens frantically⁵ dug through the rubble with their hands and formed a human chain to carry away chunks⁶ of concrete.

Relieved on-lookers cheered as several people were pulled out of the wreckage⁷ alive.  Ambulances rushed at least 70 people, some seriously injured, to nearby hospitals.

The cause of the accident is not yet known.

1 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

2 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

3 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

4 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

5 frantically   

ad.发狂地, 发疯地

参考例句：

• He dashed frantically across the road. 他疯狂地跑过马路。
• She bid frantically for the old chair. 她发狂地喊出高价要买那把古老的椅子。

6 chunks   

厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分

参考例句：

• a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠萝块
• Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 这些肉块相当大，还能再切小一点吗？

7 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。