2018年CRI Losses from Brazil's museum fire incalculable

 

Rio de Janeiro firefighters on Monday battled and brought under control a devastating¹ fire that destroyed Brazil's prestigious² National Museum.

Despite their efforts, little remains³ of the more than 20 million artifacts in the collection of the 200-year-old museum, which is also the South American country's oldest scientific institution.

"What survived? The building and several pieces, almost 10 percent," Cristiana Serejo, a museum deputy director, told reporters at a press conference.

The fire broke out late Sunday after the natural history museum was closed to the public. No injuries were reported, according to local authorities. Only the security guards were inside the building at the time of the blaze but they all managed to escape unharmed.

Fire spread quickly through the wood interiors of the three-story building, fueled by a vast collection of documents.

Efforts to put out the fire were hindered by the fire hydrants that however had no water, so firefighters were forced to collect water from a nearby lagoon⁴ until more water trucks arrived.

For hours, only one ladder was available to battle the blaze and it was put to use on the front of the building, while the fire quickly spread to the back of the museum.

The National Museum, which celebrated⁵ its 200th anniversary in June, originally served as a residence of Brazil's imperial family, when the country was under Portuguese⁶ rule. It was where Empress Leopoldina signed Brazil's declaration of independence in 1822.

Among its prized collection were a meteorite⁷ discovered in the 18th century, the largest dinosaur⁸ fossil ever found in Brazil, and the fossilized skull⁹ of Luzia, the oldest human remains found in the Americas, dating back 12,000 years.

It also had several pieces of Greek and Roman art, a number of Egyptian mummies, and a large collection of African art dating back to the early 19th century.

At least part of the Central Library, which was housed in a separate building, was saved, along with some documents and botanical exhibits saved by museum workers who entered the burning building to rescue what they could.

In recent years, the museum saw cutbacks in funding that led to several exhibits being closed due to the poor state of the building.

A string of news reports revealed electrical problems and termite¹⁰ infestation¹¹. The museum was even briefly¹² closed after electricity bills went unpaid¹³.

An online crowd funding effort was set up earlier this year to reopen one of the dinosaur exhibits.

In 2018, the museum, which is affiliated¹⁴ with the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), has received only 10 percent of the needed maintenance budget, according to local media reports.

A renovation¹⁵ project, including fire prevention and mitigation measures, was reportedly postponed¹⁶ because of Brazil's electoral law, which restricts spending during an election period.

According to Serejo, the building's smoke detector¹⁷ wasn't working.

Luiz Fernando Dias Duarte, a deputy director at the museum, complained about the lack of care and interest for historical heritage in Brazil. He told local TV stations late Sunday that no authorities attended the ceremony of the museum's anniversary and that museum directors had been requesting renovation funds for several years.

"The museum's collection, 200 years of history, was completely destroyed," he said. 

1 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

2 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 lagoon   

n.泻湖，咸水湖

参考例句：

• The lagoon was pullulated with tropical fish.那个咸水湖聚满了热带鱼。
• This area isolates a restricted lagoon environment.将这一地区隔离起来使形成一个封闭的泻湖环境。

5 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

6 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

7 meteorite   

n.陨石；流星

参考例句：

• The meteorite in Jilin Exhibition Hall is believed to be the largest in the world.吉林展览馆的陨石被认为是世界上最大的。
• The famous Murchison meteorite smashed into the Australian ground in 1969.1969年著名的默奇森陨石轰然坠落在澳大利亚。

8 dinosaur   

n.恐龙

参考例句：

• Are you trying to tell me that David was attacked by a dinosaur?你是想要告诉我大卫被一支恐龙所攻击？
• He stared at the faithful miniature of the dinosaur.他凝视著精确的恐龙缩小模型。

9 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

10 termite   

n.白蚁

参考例句：

• The termite control was also probed into further in this text.本文还进一步探讨了白蚁的防治方法。
• Termite often destroys wood.白蚁经常破坏树木。

11 infestation   

n.侵扰，蔓延

参考例句：

• The premises were treated for cockroach infestation.因蟑螂成灾，这些房屋集中进行了灭蟑活动。
• Parts of California are suffering from an infestation of oriental fruit flies.加利福尼亚的部分地区正遭受东方果蝇的大肆侵袭。

12 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

13 unpaid   

adj.未付款的，无报酬的

参考例句：

• Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
• He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。

14 affiliated   

adj. 附属的, 有关连的

参考例句：

• The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。
• All affiliated members can vote. 所有隶属成员都有投票权。

15 renovation   

n.革新，整修

参考例句：

• The cinema will reopen next week after the renovation.电影院修缮后，将于下星期开业。
• The building has undergone major renovation.这座大楼已进行大整修。

16 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

17 detector   

n.发觉者，探测器

参考例句：

• The detector is housed in a streamlined cylindrical container.探测器安装在流线型圆柱形容器内。
• Please walk through the metal detector.请走过金属检测器。