88_Trapped_in_a_Mine

88 Trapped in a Mine

原文译文

Six men have been trapped in a mine for seventeen hours. If they are not brought to the surface soon they may lose their lives. However, rescue operations are proving difficult. If explosives are used, vibrations will cause the roof of the mine to collapse. Rescue workers are therefore drilling a hole on the north side of the mine. They intend to bring the men up in a special capsule. If there had not been a hard layer of rock beneath the soil, they would have completed the job in a few hours. As it is, they have been drilling for 16 hours and they still have a long way to go. Meanwhile, a microphone, which was lowered into the mine two hours ago, has enabled the men to keep in touch with their closest relatives. Though they are running out of food and drink, the men are cheerful and confident that they will get out soon. They have been told that rescue operations are progressing smoothly. If they knew how difficult it was to drill through the hard rock, they would lose heart.

6个人被困在矿井里已有17个小时了。如果不把他们尽快救到地面上来，他们就有可能丧生。 然而，事实证明营救工作非常困难。如果用炸药爆破，震动会引起矿顶塌落。 因此，营救人员在矿井的北侧钻了一个洞。他们准备用一种特制的容器把这6个人救上来。 如果不是因为土壤下面有一层坚硬的岩石，他们的营救工作仅用几个小时就可以完成了。 实际情况是，他们已连续钻了16个小时了，但离钻透还早着呢。 与此同时，两个小时以前放下井去的一只麦克风，使井下的人可以与其亲属保持联系。 虽然他们的食物和饮料都快消耗尽了，但这些人的心情很好，坚信他们很快就会出去。 他们一直被告知营救工作进行得非常顺利。如果他们知道了钻透那坚硬的岩石有多么困难，他们会丧失信心的。

Words

• trapped /træpt/ 困住
• mine /maɪn/ 矿井
• surface /ˈsɝfəs/ n. 表面
  1. Most of the earth's surface is covered by sea.（L10）
  2. On the surface, she kept on helping him.（L78）
  3. He followed his father’s footsteps on the surface.（L72）
• explosives /ɪkˈsplosɪvz/ n. 炸药
  1. These explosives are used to destroy the building.
  2. The young man is eager to see the explosives.
  3. They are trying to remove the explosives from the bridge.（L59）
• vibrations /vaɪˈbreʃənz/ n. 震动
  1. I was woken up by the vibration of the windows last night.（L27）
  2. was/when/who/why…
  3. If I turn it up, you can even feel the vibration of music.（L16）
  4. Some animals can feel vibrations in the sand. can/how/why…
• collapse /kəˈlæps/ n. 倒塌
  1. The heavy rain caused the collapse of the roof.
  2. Thousands of buildings collapsed during the floods.
  3. When the cave collapsed, they were still inside, but managed to get out in the end.（L67）
• drilling /ˈdrɪlɪŋ/ n. 钻孔
  1. After drilling for several weeks, they finally found the oil.（L49）
  2. They were dismayed to find that nobody was drilling for them.（L54）
  3. They noticed with dismay that nobody was drilling for them.（L86）
• capsule /ˈkæpsəl/ n. 容器
  1. in a special capsule…
  2. The teacher informed all his students that the gifts were in a special capsule.（L85）
  3. They volunteered to live in a special capsule for ten days.（L84）
  4. They were standing in a circle around a special capsule.（L86）
• beneath /bɪˈniθ/ prep. 在下方
  1. We sat beneath a shady tree.
  2. The body was hidden beneath a thin layer of soil.
• smoothly /ˈsmuðli/ adv. 顺利地
  1. I’m sure that everything will go smoothly in the next few weeks.（L78）
  2. Did everything go smoothly?
  3. If things go smoothly, we will see each other next week.（L16）
• layer /ˈleɚ/ n. 层
  1. Glass must be packed in several layers of paper.（L21）
  2. Although she was wearing layers of clothes, she said she was cold.
  3. There is a layer of dust on the dressing- table.
• lower /ˈloɚ/ adj. 降低
  1. You should have lowered your voice in his office.（L65）
  2. People have a habit of lowering their voice when talking to an elderly.（L59）
  3. It was obvious that he had hurt his lower back.（L51）
• progress /ˈprɑɡrɛs/ n. 进展
  1. His boss confirmed that they had made progress.
  2. We're not finished yet, but we're making progress.
  3. If everyone contribute to this, we’ll make progress soon.（L16）

Expressions

• on the surface 在表面
• in a special capsule 在特制的舱里
• layers of 一层层……
• a layer of 一层……
• make progress 取得进步
• go/run smoothly 进展顺利
• lose one’s life... 丧生
  1. He lost his life in an air crash.
  2. All the people in the building were saved, but a firefighter lost his life.（L10）
  3. He failed to get out the building, and lost his life there.（L16）
• As it is... 实际上；照现状
  1. Friday, but as it is they'll probably have to come back next week.
  2. We were hoping to have a holiday next week as it is, we may not be able to get away.（L36 L43）
• enable sb. to do sth. 使某人能够做某事
  1. This would enable you to walk again.
  2. The new test should enable doctors to detect the disease early.（L65）
  3. This dictionary will enable you to understand English words.
• keep in touch with ... 与……保持联系
  1. I'll keep in touch with you.
  2. I should have kept in touch with him.
  3. We decided to keep in touch with each other.（L22）
• run out of ... 用完……
  1. We've run out of petrol/money/paper.
  2. They are so poor that they run out of food.（L35）
  3. I have been doing this for ten hours and I’ve run out of patience.
  4. We won’t lose heart.
  5. We shouldn't lose heart.
  6. Although we have run out of food, we will not lose heart.
• lose heart… 灰心
• cause sb./sth. to do sth. 使某人/某物做某事
  1. You've caused me to lose a whole valuable day's work.
  2. What caused you to change your mind?