英语听力：自然百科 爱尔兰古迹群

 Over centuries, the Irish built a rich heritage of castles and monuments, using an abundance of local stone. Now many of the structures are damaged. The stone is decaying. Thanks in part to Ireland’s notoriously damp weather, these sites are in danger of disappearing entirely¹.

 

This tower in Western County Galway is all that’s left of what was once a fortress². The family that’s owned it for generations now faces a 1.5 million-dollar restoration bill, and grants from the state will cover only 2 percent of that.

 

“It’s like a drop in the ocean, you know, and doesn't come … really we're making 32,000 in euro available for something that’s estimated that can cost a million pounds.”

 

And delays in financing only mean more time for nature to erode³ the nation’s treasures. At the state-owned religious site of Clonmacnoise, architects have replaced two historic stone crosses with replicas⁴, putting the originals away to protect them from further erosion. They recently put a whole church under wraps. But this kind of protection is costly⁵, and impossible on a wide scale. Heritage Council reports suggest that there could be a more practical way.

 

“We will have to keep working to see what other methods of intervention⁶ can be brought in, into place. It will never stop decay, but at least it may hopefully arrest.”

 

Stopping the decay is the goal of conservation that’s nurturing⁷ the Clonfert Cathedral. The church itself cannot afford to replace the open mortar⁸ joints⁹ where water has entered, and caused major deterioration¹⁰ in the sandstone. So a Heritage Council grant has helped start reservation work on this 12th century Romanesque doorway¹¹.

 

Are getting some leaching¹² from this wall…

 

Some previous restorations have done more harm than good.

 

We have here evidence of mortar repairs which contain…

 

Portland cement, an ingredient used in concrete and mortars¹³ has accelerated its structural¹⁴ damage to many stones. In a race against the elements, masons are now replacing it with a better line-based mortar. Some architects are worried about cheap and untested alternatives, but government grants for restoration projects are scarce. The Heritage Council says that without new methods and new sources of money, a vital part of Irish culture will simply crumble¹⁵ away.

1 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

2 fortress   

n.堡垒，防御工事

参考例句：

• They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。
• The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。

3 erode   

v.侵蚀，腐蚀，使...减少、减弱或消失

参考例句：

• Once exposed,soil is quickly eroded by wind and rain.一旦暴露在外，土壤很快就会被风雨侵蚀。
• Competition in the financial marketplace has eroded profits.金融市场的竞争降低了利润。

4 replicas   

n.复制品( replica的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His hobby is building replicas of cars. 他的爱好是制作汽车的复制品。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The replicas are made by using a thin film of fusible alloy on a stiffening platen. 复制是用附着在加强托板上的可熔合金薄膜实现的。 来自辞典例句

5 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

6 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

7 nurturing   

养育( nurture的现在分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长

参考例句：

• These delicate plants need careful nurturing. 这些幼嫩的植物需要精心培育。
• The modern conservatory is not an environment for nurturing plants. 这个现代化温室的环境不适合培育植物。

8 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

9 joints   

接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。

10 deterioration   

n.退化；恶化；变坏

参考例句：

• Mental and physical deterioration both occur naturally with age. 随着年龄的增长，心智和体力自然衰退。
• The car's bodywork was already showing signs of deterioration. 这辆车的车身已经显示出了劣化迹象。

11 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

12 leaching   

n.滤取，滤去v.（将化学品、矿物质等）过滤( leach的现在分词 )；（液体）过滤，滤去

参考例句：

• The lack of humus and the excessive leaching make this soil almost useless for agricultural purpose. 缺少腐殖质和过度淋滤使这种土壤对农业几乎无用。 来自辞典例句
• The deep oxidation and groundwater leaching solubilizes much of the loosely bound uranium. 深部氧化和地下水淋蚀使大部分固定得比较松散的铀溶解。 来自辞典例句

13 mortars   

n.迫击炮( mortar的名词复数 )；砂浆；房产；研钵

参考例句：

• They could not move their heavy mortars over the swampy ground. 他们无法把重型迫击炮移过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Where the hell are his mortars? 他有迫击炮吗？ 来自教父部分

14 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

15 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。