时差N小时 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.

自从在第二次世界大战中遭到英国的突袭轰炸之后，威廉皇帝纪念教堂所剩就只有一个被毁坏的钟塔了。

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.

威廉皇帝纪念教堂的钟塔始建于1895年，如今提醒着人们莫要忘了战争的残酷和恐怖。同时，它也象征着西柏林的决心和德意志民族伟大的战后复兴。但如今，这座破旧不堪的钟塔还传达了异样的信息：往来车辆引起的震动使它的墙壁摇摇欲坠，墙壁的大块剥落甚至还危及到了下面行人的安全。

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.

早些时候，教会权力机关把这座钟塔的新哥特式的正面的修复成本定在350万欧元（510万美元）。但现在，鉴于这座钟塔的持续解体，修复成本已飙升至410万欧元。

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.

85岁的查尔斯?杰弗里?格雷是当初轰炸德国的英国前飞行员之一。他是最早号召人们修复柏林这个最有名的战争废墟的人中的一员。为了推动这项修复运动的开展，他捐献了930美元。随着捐款越来越多，柏林市政府投入了150万欧元的修缮资金。

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.

格雷对柏林的最后一次轰炸是在1944年的2月。当时大约有500至700架飞机参与了对德国的袭击，以报复之前德国轰炸机对伦敦的夜间轰炸。

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

“这座钟塔必须保存下来，警示后人不要忘了战争的恐怖。”格雷这样说。

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》