365个英语简短小故事-102. Interstate Bridge
时间：2018-12-31 作者：英语课 分类：365个英语简短小故事
An eight-lane steel bridge on interstate 35 collapsed 2 during evening rush hour. Dozens of cars plummeted 3 60 feet into the Mississippi River. Ten people died, and more than 50 were seriously injured. The bridge was being repaired because it was found to be structurally 4 deficient 5; it needed to be reinforced. Like many bridges throughout America, the bridge was built more than 40 years ago. Traffic was much lighter 6 then. Nowadays, cars, buses, and big trucks cross the bridge steadily 7, even late at night.
“I heard a terrific boom. It was like the loudest thunder I ever heard,” said one witness to the disaster. She ran out of her car to see what was happening. She saw cars falling into the river and heard people screaming. She heard the loud cracking sounds of the bridge collapsing 8 and splashing sounds as bridge sections and vehicles hit the water. “It was horrible,” she said.
Engineers had no explanation for the collapse 1. They said the bridge had been inspected recently. The report said that, although it was structurally deficient, the bridge was not unsafe. Since the report did not declare the bridge unsafe, the decision was to simply reinforce it at strategic locations.
Americans were shocked that an American bridge could simply collapse. The news was all over TV, radio, and most newspapers. One newspaper investigation 9 revealed that almost 10 percent (about 59,000) of America’s bridges were structurally deficient.
Initially 10, some people speculated that terrorists might have rigged a bomb to the bridge. Others noted 11 that all the pigeon poop on the bridge’s support rails might have eroded 12 the steel. One blogger wrote that, before he drove over another bridge in America, he would make sure that a life jacket was in the front seat next to him.
- 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。
- 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。
- Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
- A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The house roof was (structurally) unsound. 这屋顶（结构）不牢固。
- Pinhole on shot-hole damage is never structurally significant. 针孔和蛀洞所造成的危害对结构的影响不大。
- The crops are suffering from deficient rain.庄稼因雨量不足而遭受损害。
- I always have been deficient in selfconfidence and decision.我向来缺乏自信和果断。
- The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
- The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。
- The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
- Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。
- Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
- The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。
- 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。
- The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
- Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。