All 33 trapped miners safely rescued

    10-14-2010 All of the 33 trapped miners from the San Jose mine in Chile, have been rescued, marking the end of a 2 month ordeal¹.
    The miracle（奇迹） rescue has gripped the world, triggering an outpouring of sympathy, support, and celebrations from both Chile and across the globe.
    A perfect ending to a horrifying² ordeal.
    54-year-old Luis Urzua, who was the shift foreman at the time of the
    collapse³, was the last miner to travel through the 600 meters of rock to the surface（表层,外观）.
    Celebrations erupted across the country as he emerged to a hero's welcome.
    Just after the last miner emerged , the Chilean President addressed the media at the San Jose mine.
    Sebastian Pinera, Chilean President, said, "We felt supported by all Chileans, and I want to say that today Chile is not the same country we had 69 days ago. The miners are not the same people who got trapped on that day, August 5th. They have come out stronger, and they taught us a lesson. But Chile is not the same either. I think Chile today is more united and stronger than ever, and I think Chile today is more respected(尊重) and more valued in the whole world. What ended up as a real blessing⁴ from God started as a possible tragedy. But the unity⁵, the faith, the compromise, the honesty, the solidarity⁶ of the Chileans in those 69 days makes us very proud."
    The miners set a world record for underground survival.
    For the first 17 days of the miners' ordeal, they were all believed to be dead. But after discovering they were still alive, their story of survival as well as the dramatic rescue operation captured the world's attention.
    To prepare for the rescue, they did regular exercises to keep their weight down for their ascent⁷.
    Avalos, the 31-year-old who was reported to be second-in-command, was the first miner to be rescued.
    A second miner, Mario Sepulveda, was pulled to the surface about an hour later.
    Then the third one, the fourth all the miners were rescued after nearly 24 hours.
    The miners were whisked away for medical checkups and found to be in good health. One miner has pneumonia⁸ and is being treated with antibiotics⁹.
    With everyone now back on the surface, the nightmare is finally over.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

2 horrifying   

a.令人震惊的，使人毛骨悚然的

参考例句：

• He went to great pains to show how horrifying the war was. 他极力指出战争是多么的恐怖。
• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate. 战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。

3 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。

4 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

5 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

6 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

7 ascent   

n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高

参考例句：

• His rapid ascent in the social scale was surprising.他的社会地位提高之迅速令人吃惊。
• Burke pushed the button and the elevator began its slow ascent.伯克按动电钮，电梯开始缓慢上升。

8 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

9 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。