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 sixteen 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.
New words and expressions 生詞和短語
trap v. 陷入,使陷于困境
surface n. 地面,表面
explosive n. 炸藥
vibration n. 震動(dòng)
collapse v. 坍塌
drill v. 鉆孔
capsule n. 容器
layer n. 層
beneath prep. 在......之下
lower v. 放下,降低
progress v. 進(jìn)展,進(jìn)行
smoothly adv. 順利地
6個(gè)人被困在礦井里已有17個(gè)小時(shí)了。如果不把他們盡快救到地面上來,他們就有可能喪生。然而,事實(shí)證明營救工作非常困難。如果用炸藥爆破,震動(dòng)會(huì)引起礦頂塌落。因此,營救人員在礦井的北側(cè)鉆了一個(gè)洞。他們準(zhǔn)備用一種特制的容器把這6個(gè)人救上來。如果不是因?yàn)橥寥老旅嬗幸粚訄?jiān)硬的巖石,他們的營救工作僅用幾個(gè)小時(shí)就可以完成了。實(shí)際情況是,他們已連續(xù)鉆了16個(gè)小時(shí)了,但離鉆透還早著呢。與此同時(shí),兩個(gè)小時(shí)以前放下井去的一只麥克風(fēng)使井下的人可以與其親屬保持聯(lián)系。雖然他們的食物和飲料都快消耗盡了,但這些人的心情很好,堅(jiān)信他們很快就會(huì)出去。他們一直被告知營救工作進(jìn)行得非常順利。如果他們知道了鉆透那堅(jiān)硬的巖石有多么困難,他們會(huì)喪失信心的。