2006年VOA标准英语-Death Toll From Polish Coal Mine Blast Rises to

By Stefan Bos
Budapest
23 November 2006

Poland says all 23 coal miners trapped after a gas explosion have died, making it the country's deadliest such accident in decades. The tragedy at the mine in Ruda Slaska, about 300 kilometers southwest of the capital Warsaw, occurred Tuesday, but rescue efforts were hampered² by risks of further blasts. Stefan Bos is monitoring developments for VOA from Budapest.

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Miners' families hold vigil

Against all odds³, anxious relatives had been hoping that at least some miners survived Tuesday's explosion at the Halemba coal mine in Ruda Slaska. "That woman has three children," another woman cried.

 

Some people, burning candles, prayed at a shrine⁴ of St. Barbara, the patron saint of miners, near the blast site. But their hopes faded away when rescue workers recovered the remains⁵ of the last missing men of a group of 23 miners, who had been trapped about one kilometer underground.

 

Officials said the miners, aged¹ between 21 and 59, were attempting to retrieve⁶ equipment from an area that was closed in March because of dangerously high gas concentrations. On Wednesday search operations were suspended when rescue teams also noticed high concentrations of gas, which they feared could trigger another explosion.

 

Poland's Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski arrived at the mine and declared a period of national mourning. In comments aired on Polish radio, he promised an official inquiry⁷ into the accident.

 

"There will be a thorough investigation⁸ conducted to establish the direct reasons leading to the situation," he said. "Already during my short discussion, several hypotheses have been drawn⁹. However, we have to bear in mind that it remains highly probable the developments had been triggered by natural forces."

The nearly 50-year-old Halemba mine, located in the heart of the Silesia industrial region, is one of the oldest in Poland and it has a record of serious accidents. Labor¹⁰ unions say safety standards have fallen in recent years because the mainly state-run mines have been strapped¹¹ for investment since the collapse¹² of Communism in 1989.

 

Tuesday's accident was the deadliest in decades and brought the number of deaths in Polish mine accidents this year to 46, up from 21 in 2005.

 

Polish mines employ more people than any other industry in the country, and last year thousands of miners marched in protests against planned job cuts.

 

The latest mining accident hit an already depressed¹³ region that witnessed another tragedy this year when just 10 kilometers away, a Polish exhibition hall collapsed¹⁴. That accident killed 65 people and injured more than 160.

1 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

2 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。

3 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

4 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 retrieve   

vt.重新得到，收回；挽回，补救；检索

参考例句：

• He was determined to retrieve his honor.他决心恢复名誉。
• The men were trying to retrieve weapons left when the army abandoned the island.士兵们正试图找回军队从该岛撤退时留下的武器。

7 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

10 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

11 strapped   

adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

13 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

14 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。