【英语时差8，16】抢救二次大战中被破坏的柏林教堂

After the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church was destroyed by a British bombing raid in World War II all that remained was its ruined tower.

Built in 1895, the tower has remained a poignant¹ reminder² of the horrors of war, as well as being a symbol of West Berlin's determination and extraordinary post-war recovery. But now the gaunt and jagged tower is making news of another kind: Traffic vibration³ has caused its walls to crumble⁴, with chunks⁵ threatening to fall off onto pedestrians⁶ below.

Earlier the church authorities put the cost of repairing its neo-Gothic facade⁷ at 3.5 million euros (US$5.1 million), but now due to continuing disintegration⁸ the cost has soared to 4.1 million euros.

Charles Jeffrey Gray, 85, a former British pilot who carried out bombing raids over Germany, was one of the first to call for the rescue of Berlin's most famous wartime ruin, contributing US$930 to help spur the campaign. Since then donations have flooded in, with the Berlin city government pledging 1.5 million euros to the repair fund.

Gray's last bombing raid over Berlin was in February 1944. Around that time 500 to 700 planes were involved in raids over Germany, a reprisal⁹ for earlier nightly operations over London by German bombers¹⁰.

"The tower must remain as a reminder for future generations of the horror of war," Gray said.

poignant  (adj.)   强烈的；深切的extraordinary  (adj.)   非常的；特别的to fall off   掉落；脱落facade  (n.)   正面；前面disintegration  (n.)   崩溃；瓦解to carry out   进行；执行to spur  (v.)   刺激；激励to flood in   （大量）涌入to pledge  (v.)   发誓；保证reprisal  (n.)   报复

1 poignant   

adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的

参考例句：

• His lyrics are as acerbic and poignant as they ever have been.他的歌词一如既往的犀利辛辣。
• It is especially poignant that he died on the day before his wedding.他在婚礼前一天去世了，这尤其令人悲恸。

2 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

3 vibration   

n.颤动，振动；摆动

参考例句：

• There is so much vibration on a ship that one cannot write.船上的震动大得使人无法书写。
• The vibration of the window woke me up.窗子的震动把我惊醒了。

4 crumble   

vi.碎裂，崩溃；vt.弄碎，摧毁

参考例句：

• Opposition more or less crumbled away.反对势力差不多都瓦解了。
• Even if the seas go dry and rocks crumble,my will will remain firm.纵然海枯石烂，意志永不动摇。

5 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？

6 pedestrians   

n.步行者( pedestrian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Several pedestrians had come to grief on the icy pavement. 几个行人在结冰的人行道上滑倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Pedestrians keep to the sidewalk [footpath]! 行人走便道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 facade   

n.(建筑物的)正面，临街正面；外表

参考例句：

• The entrance facade consists of a large full height glass door.入口正面有一大型全高度玻璃门。
• If you look carefully,you can see through Bob's facade.如果你仔细观察，你就能看穿鲍勃的外表。

8 disintegration   

n.分散，解体

参考例句：

• This defeat led to the disintegration of the empire.这次战败道致了帝国的瓦解。
• The incident has hastened the disintegration of the club.这一事件加速了该俱乐部的解体。

9 reprisal   

n.报复，报仇，报复性劫掠

参考例句：

• There is no political alternative but a big reprisal.政治上没有旁的选择只能是大规模报复。
• They bombed civilian targets in reprisal.他们炮轰平民目标作为报复。

10 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》