VOA标准英语2011--Experts: Deficit Threatens Ancient Italian Treasures

Experts: Deficit¹ Threatens Ancient Italian Treasures

Each year roughly 2-and-a-half million tourists visit Pompeii. Described by archaeologists as the world’s most important window on the ancient world, the bustling² Roman Empire town was buried under metres of ash when the nearby volcano, Mount Vesuvius, erupted in AD 79.

The buried ruins were discovered by accident 17 centuries later, with many villas³, workshops and bathhouses found largely intact.

But following the October 2011 collapse⁴ of a wall in the preserved town -- an eight square meter section crumbled⁵ after heavy rain -- archaeologists warn that Italy's countless⁶ ancient monuments are at risk because of government budget cuts.

Tsao Cervoli, President of Italy National Association of Archaeologists, has worked extensively at Pompeii.

"We have received in the past few days and weeks new reports of antique structures collapsing⁷ in Pompeii," he says. "It happens every time funds become scarce."

A year earlier the famous House of the Gladiators collapsed⁸, and Italy’s president has since called the recurring⁹ damage "a national disgrace."

Opposition¹⁰ politicians blame the former government of Silvio Berlusconi for cutting heritage maintenance grants from $40 million to $25 million (30 million euros to 19 million euros).

The European Union is offering to step in, and European Commission member Johannes Hahn visited Pompeii shortly after the wall collapse.

"We have an operational program for Italy named 'Cultural Heritage,' and a certain significant part of this budget will now be used, 105 million euros, to start work here in Pompeii," says Hahn.

But Cervoli, who criticizes Pompeii authorities for spending grants on marketing¹¹ instead of maintenance, calls intermittent¹² funding the wrong approach.

"What is needed is the same as for any owner of a house: regular maintenance to keep the house in good condition, not merely remembering every 20 or 30 years to intervene," he says.

In turn, authorities blame recent torrential rains for causing the damage. Storms recently damaged other famous monuments, and underground areas of Rome’s Coliseum were flooded, causing some mortar¹³ fell from the walls. Parts of the Forum¹⁴ were also underwater, and Cervoli says funding cuts and a lack of maintenance are putting countless sites at risk.

"In the last few years there have been calls for emergency aid for the three most important historical sites in Italy: Pompeii, the Coliseum and the Uffizi in Florence," he says. "Just think, if these three famous sites are in a state of emergency… then what condition would you find all the other architectural and historic sites in Italy?"

With the nation’s economy in crisis, Cervoli fears the answer to that question will be revealed in coming months, with ever more frequent and serious damage to the country’s ancient heritage.

1 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

2 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

3 villas   

别墅，公馆( villa的名词复数 )； （城郊）住宅

参考例句：

• Magnificent villas are found throughout Italy. 在意大利到处可看到豪华的别墅。
• Rich men came down from wealthy Rome to build sea-side villas. 有钱人从富有的罗马来到这儿建造海滨别墅。

4 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。

5 crumbled   

（把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏

参考例句：

• He crumbled the bread in his fingers. 他用手指把面包捻碎。
• Our hopes crumbled when the business went bankrupt. 商行破产了，我们的希望也破灭了。

6 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

7 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。

8 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。

9 recurring   

adj.往复的，再次发生的

参考例句：

• This kind of problem is recurring often. 这类问题经常发生。
• For our own country, it has been a time for recurring trial. 就我们国家而言，它经过了一个反复考验的时期。

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

11 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

12 intermittent   

adj.间歇的，断断续续的

参考例句：

• Did you hear the intermittent sound outside?你听见外面时断时续的声音了吗？
• In the daytime intermittent rains freshened all the earth.白天里，时断时续地下着雨，使整个大地都生气勃勃了。

13 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

14 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。