欧美文化博览 走进墨西哥(7)

They were kids, babies, who were under the debris¹ for 15 days without water, without food. And they took him out alive over there, alive. These are miracles that we are walking in the street of Mexico City today. As a matter of fact, I was a miracle too. I thought I was going to die. They can't survive a seismic² truth--earthquakes don't kill people; buildings do. In all, 412 buildings were leveled. Thousands more were damaged beyond repair. No one knows exactly how many people perished inside. Some say 10,000. Estimates go as high as 30,000. What make the damage so great is the very ground the City is built on.

被埋在废墟下15天没有水,没有食物，其中还有孩子及婴儿。他们将他活着救出去,他还活着。今天我们走在墨西哥城的街上,这就是奇迹。事实上,我也是一个奇迹。我想我就快死了。他们不能生存,地震不会杀死人，那些倒塌的建筑会。总共412幢建筑被夷为平地。数以千计的建筑被严重破坏而无法修理。没有人知道到底有多少人死在里面。有人说10000人。估计高达30000人。什么使损害如此之大？就是建在地上的城市。

One thing is certained. The underground of Mexico City varies substantially. Doctor Shrief Christna saying is head of the seismological Institute of the University of Mexico.

有一件事可以确定。墨西哥的地下城市正在大幅变化。墨西哥大学地震研究所的领导谢里夫?克里斯蒂娜博士如是说道。

In this general area, what we are right now on the University campus, there is no danger of quakes. Because this is vocanic subsoil. It is very steady subsoil. However, the lake area is a very vulnerable part of the City.

在这个一般地区,我们现在在校园里,没有危险的地震。因为这是活跃的底土。这是非常稳定的底土。然而,湖区则是城区非常脆弱的一部分。

The heart of the City is built on landfill over an ancient lake bed. What was meant as a stable foundation became a seismic amplifier.Seismic waves travel from the epic³ center of an earthquake like ripples⁴ in the pond, loosing strength with distance, but not here. In this poorest water saturated⁵ soil, seismic waves are magnified five to twenty times. In the process called the liquid fraction, the seismic waves turn the subsoil to jerry. Buildings topple beneath their own weight.

城市的心脏是建立在填埋了的古代湖床上。稳定的基础意味着成为一个地震放大器。地震波从震中心穿行，就像水塘中泛起的涟漪，在距离的影响下使力量松垮,而不是在这里。在这个缺乏水资源灌溉的土壤上,地震波放大到5到20倍。在这一过程称为液相率,即震波把土质弄软。建筑物无法承受自身重量随即倒塌。

1 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

2 seismic   

a.地震的，地震强度的

参考例句：

• Earthquakes produce two types of seismic waves.地震产生两种地震波。
• The latest seismic activity was also felt in northern Kenya.肯尼亚北部也感觉到了最近的地震活动。

3 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

4 ripples   

逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The moon danced on the ripples. 月亮在涟漪上舞动。
• The sea leaves ripples on the sand. 海水在沙滩上留下了波痕。

5 saturated   

a.饱和的，充满的

参考例句：

• The continuous rain had saturated the soil. 连绵不断的雨把土地淋了个透。
• a saturated solution of sodium chloride 氯化钠饱和溶液