2007年VOA标准英语-Greece Assesses Wildfire Impact on Archaeologic

By Nina Maria Potts
Athens
05 September 2007
 
spared by the recent wildfires.  But as the government takes stock¹ of the human and economic cost of the wildfires that ravaged² large parts of the country, the question of how many archaeological sites have been damaged remains unanswered. Nina-Maria Potts reports:

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Most Greek ancient ruins probably were not affected by the fires

Nearly 3,000 years of history were threatened -- but Olympia did not burn, saved by a massive⁴ firefighting operation.

Foreign firefighters joined the battle, while nearby villages burned. In one village 37 people died.

Greek Culture Minister George Voulgarakis visited the ancient site, provoking⁵ debate over the government's sense of priorities⁶. "As you can see the museum and the archaeological site remain the same."

In southeastern Greece, visitors to the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion say they were horrified⁷ by the fires and are now cautious⁸ about traveling to Olympia.

George Voulgarakis

"Every man in the whole world can imagine what is Olympia. We know the Olympic games and so we wanted to go there and now it's not possible. It's horrible for all of us, and I don't think it's only for the Greeks but for everyone who can understand the whole thing."

Tourist officials in one of the country's worst-hit areas, Evia, say so far tourism has not suffered. The town of Eritrea houses an archaeological site and museum, but was not threatened by fire.

The local archaeological service says there has been no damage to ancient sites in Evia. Some officials say there are so many hidden ruins it may be too early to tell.

Andreas Athanasopoulos

Andreas Athanasopoulos manages Evia's tourist information center.

He says at least ancient ruins are made of stone. "Of course nothing can happen to the stones themselves. We will just have to trust the archaeological services, and in the municipalities concerned to start the clean up process and put everything back in order, so that people and ruins can live side by side in future generations."

In Olympia though, many people who lost their homes say this government put ancient ruins before human lives -- ancient ruins these visitors to Sounion want to see survive.

1 stock   

n.存货，储备；树干；血统；股份；家畜；adj.存货的；平凡的，惯用的；股票的；畜牧的；vt.进货，采购；储存；供给；vi.出新芽；进货

参考例句：

• The shop takes stock every week on Friday mornings.这家商店每星期五早晨盘点存货。
• Experts have forecast an upturn in the stock market.专家已预测股票市场价格有上升趋势。

2 ravaged   

毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• a country ravaged by civil war 遭受内战重创的国家
• The whole area was ravaged by forest fires. 森林火灾使整个地区荒废了。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 massive   

adj.巨大的，大规模的，大量的，大范围的

参考例句：

• A massive sea search has failed to find any survivors.经过大规模的海上搜救仍未找到幸存者。
• He drank a massive amount of alcohol.他喝了大量的烈酒。

5 provoking   

a.激怒人的，刺激人的

参考例句：

• These are thought-provoking questions. 这些问题可以诱导大家去思考。
• The remarks are meaningful and thought-provoking. 语颇隽永，耐人寻味。

6 priorities   

n.先( priority的名词复数 )；优先；优先权；优先考虑的事

参考例句：

• The document provided a revealing insight into the government's priorities. 这份文件使人看出政府的轻重缓急是怎样安排的。
• We must work together to fund only our most important priorities. 我们必须共同努力，只为最重要的项目提供资金。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

7 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

8 cautious   

adj.十分小心的，谨慎的

参考例句：

• We should not only be bold,but also be cautious.我们不仅要大胆，而且要谨慎。
• He was cautious about his work.他对工作非常谨慎。