2007年VOA标准英语-Recovery Effort Continues at Collapsed Minneapo

By Greg Flakus
Houston
02 August 2007

Officials in Minneapolis are preparing for more sad news as recovery efforts go forward on the Mississippi River, where a major bridge collapsed² Wednesday. There are only four confirmed deaths from the incident, but about 50 vehicles fell into the water when the bridge collapsed and authorities expect to find more bodies in the coming hours. VOA's Greg Flakus has more on the story from Houston.

An aerial view of the collapsed Interstate 35W bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, 02 Aug 2007

A day after the collapse¹ of the 35 West freeway bridge near downtown Minneapolis, recovery crews worked carefully around the rubble³, much of which is submerged in water, trying to locate bodies. Authorities say they do not expect to find any more survivors⁴.

They say the death toll⁵ is likely to rise as crews remove rubble and bring up submerged vehicles.

Police officials say, in the first hours after the collapse, rescue workers located several people who were pinned under rubble, but were unable to save them.

President Bush comments about the collapsed bridge in Minneapolis, 02 Aug 2007

In Washington, President Bush spoke⁶ of the tragedy at a meeting with reporters.

"I told them we would help with rescue efforts, but also told them how much we are in prayer for those who suffer," he said. "And I thank my fellow citizens for holding up those who are suffering right now in prayer."

In Minneapolis, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters announced an immediate⁷ grant of $5 million to help reroute traffic in the busy metropolitan⁸ area around the bridge.

Investigators⁹ from the National Transportation Safety Board are also on hand to begin an investigation¹⁰ into why the structure failed. Authorities say there is no indication of sabotage¹¹ or terrorist involvement in the incident.

Recent inspections¹² of the fallen bridge revealed structural¹³ fatigue¹⁴, but nothing that would have required it to be closed. Authorities say there are tens of thousands of bridges in the United States with signs of structural fatigue and that there is no reason to believe they are not safe.

In Minneapolis, the focus for the moment is on locating up to 30 people reported as missing and recovering vehicles and bodies from the river.

Police Chief Tim Dolan says recovery crews face danger entering the debris-filled area under the bridge where undercurrents can be treacherous¹⁵. He says the next phase of the recovery effort will be slow and cautious.

"We know that there are numerous other vehicles that are in the water and so the recovery involving those vehicles and people who may be in those vehicles is going to take a long time," said Dolan. "We are planning on staffing this perimeter¹⁶ for three days minimally¹⁷ and it is probably going to be longer as far as the recovery aspect of this incident. So we do want to again reiterate¹⁸ that our sympathies go out to families that are involved in this and families that do not have answers.

Mayor Raymond Rybak takes a phone call at a support center, 01 Aug 2007

Minneapolis Mayor Raymond Rybak also emphasized the long-term nature of the healing process for those who lost loved ones in the disaster.

"More than anything else we are in a long emotional battle for people who are going to suffer scars for a long period of time," said Rybak. "So, as much as we appreciate the tremendous outpouring of emotion today, we are going to need that over a long period of time. So we call on all of you to, please, surround those who you know who need support with that support right now."

The 160-meter-long bridge rose 20 meters over the Mississippi River. It was used by up to 200,000 commuters every day.

1 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。

2 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

3 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

4 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

5 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

8 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

9 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

11 sabotage   

n.怠工，破坏活动，破坏；v.从事破坏活动，妨害，破坏

参考例句：

• They tried to sabotage my birthday party.他们企图破坏我的生日晚会。
• The fire at the factory was caused by sabotage.那家工厂的火灾是有人蓄意破坏引起的。

12 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 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。

14 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

15 treacherous   

adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的

参考例句：

• The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.路面的积水对驾车者构成危险。
• The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on.在冻雪上行走有潜在危险。

16 perimeter   

n.周边，周长，周界

参考例句：

• The river marks the eastern perimeter of our land.这条河标示我们的土地东面的边界。
• Drinks in hands,they wandered around the perimeter of the ball field.他们手里拿着饮料在球场周围漫不经心地遛跶。

17 minimally   

最低限度地，最低程度地

参考例句：

• Food spoilage problems occur with minimally processed, concentrated frozen citrus products. 食品的变质也发生在轻微加工的、浓缩冷冻的柑橘制品中。
• So, minimally, they are responsible for such actions and omissions. 所以，至少来说，他们要对这样的行为和忽略负责。

18 reiterate   

v.重申，反复地说

参考例句：

• Let me reiterate that we have absolutely no plans to increase taxation.让我再一次重申我们绝对没有增税的计划。
• I must reiterate that our position on this issue is very clear.我必须重申我们对这一项议题的立场很清楚。