新西兰英语 441 Demolition of Grand Chancellor hotel

 　　The 26 storey Grand Chancellor¹ hotel in the centre of Christchurch will be demolished³ in the next few weeks. Since the February earthquake, it has been leaning to one side, almost touching⁴ another hotel. Because of the danger from the hotel, an area of about two blocks is closed. About 400 businesses are in that area. Owners of these businesses are waiting for the Grand Chancellor to be demolished so that they can return to their buildings.

　　Gerry Brownlee, the Minister for the Earthquake Recovery, said that the contract to demolish² the hotel was given to an Auckland company. It will take at least 10 months and cost more than $10 million. The company will use a crane and drop a wrecking⁵ ball from the roof, one storey at a time. When they have demolished the top 12 floors, it will be safe for businesses to return to that area. This will take five to six months. After that, the demolition⁶ company will use diggers to demolish the bottom 14 floors.

　　Before the demolition begins, the demolition company will reinforce the interior so that it is possible to get some of the guests’ property.

　　The hotel was built in 1986 as an office block. It was bought by a Singapore company and became a hotel with 176 rooms, and a car park in the basement. The insurance company and the owners will pay for the demolition. The owners said they will build another hotel but perhaps not in the same place.

　　This will be the largest demolition ever in New Zealand.

　　Vocabulary

　　Demolish – verb (stress on the second syllable); demolition – noun (stress on the third syllable).

　　Grammar

　　The verb “demolish” is often used in the passive: was demolished, will be demolished, to be demolished.

　　A number of passives are used here: the contract… was given, was built, was bought. Why do you think the passive is used here?

　　Questions

　　What are some other ways to demolish a high building like this? Why do you think this contract was chosen?

1 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

2 demolish   

v.拆毁(建筑物等)，推翻(计划、制度等)

参考例句：

• They're going to demolish that old building.他们将拆毁那座旧建筑物。
• He was helping to demolish an underground garage when part of the roof collapsed.他当时正在帮忙拆除一个地下汽车库，屋顶的一部份突然倒塌。

3 demolished   

v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。
• They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来，为了不让拆除他们的房子，他们一直在进行最后的努力。

4 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

5 wrecking   

破坏

参考例句：

• He teed off on his son for wrecking the car. 他严厉训斥他儿子毁坏了汽车。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Instead of wrecking the valley, the waters are put to use making electricity. 现在河水不但不在流域内肆疟，反而被人们用来生产电力。 来自辞典例句

6 demolition   

n.破坏,毁坏,毁坏之遗迹

参考例句：

• The church has been threatened with demolition for years. 这座教堂多年来一直面临拆毀的威胁。
• The project required the total demolition of the old bridge. 该项目要求将老桥完全拆毁。