VOA慢速英語：麥加踩踏事故逾700人遇難

More than 700 people were crushed to death Thursday near Mecca, Saudi Arabia, in a stampede.

周四，在沙特阿拉伯麥加附近的一次踩踏事件中，700多人被踩死。

More than 800 others were injured. The victims were part of the Muslim Hajj pilgrimage, which began Tuesday.

超過800人受傷。受害者中有一部分是穆斯朝覲者，該活動于周二開始。

A pilgrim is treated by a medic after a stampede that killed and injured pilgrims in the holy city of Mina during the annual hajj pilgrimage, Sept.24. The image was posted on the official Twitter account of the directorate of the Saudi Civil Defense agency.

Saudi officials say the stampede happened in Mina, about five kilometers from Mecca. Hajj pilgrims go to Mina to throw rocks at three stone walls that represent evil. It is the final part of the Hajj ritual before the yearly Eid al-Adha religious observance. The pilgrims also spend the night at Mina. The area has more than 160,000 tents for the visitors.

沙特官員表示，踩踏事件發(fā)生在米納，離麥加大約只有5公里。朝覲者用石頭對著一面石墻猛砸，以示驅(qū)散惡魔。在每年宰牲節(jié)的宗教儀式之前，這是朝覲活動的最后部分。朝覲者還在米娜借宿。該地區(qū)有16多萬頂游客的帳篷。

The Saudi Arabian civil defense department reported the number of dead and injured on the social media website Twitter.

沙特阿拉伯民防部門在社交媒體網(wǎng)站Twitter上公布死亡人數(shù)與受傷人數(shù)。

There have been several deadly stampedes at the Hajj during the past 25 years. Huge numbers of people gather for the five-day-long event. This year, 2 million pilgrims are taking part. All Muslims are required to go on the Hajj at least once, if they are able.

過去25年，在朝覲時已發(fā)生過幾次致命的踩踏事件。大量人們聚集在一起，參加這個為期5天的活動。今年，有200萬朝覲者參加。如果可以，所有的穆斯林必須至少一次前往麥加朝覲。

Last year, Saudi Arabia reduced the number of pilgrims because of concerns about safety.

去年，出于對安全問題考慮，沙特阿拉伯減少朝覲者的數(shù)量。

The worst Hajj stampede happened 25 years ago inside a tunnel in Mina. More than 1,400 people were killed. Stampedes in three other years -- 1994, 2004 and 2006 -- each killed more than 200 people. Visit the website www.chinavoa.com to get more information!

最嚴(yán)重的朝覲踩踏事件發(fā)生在25年前，在米娜隧道內(nèi)。1400余人喪生。1994年，2004年和2006年——這3年，每次踩踏事件造成200多人死亡。

Earlier this month, a construction crane collapsed during Friday prayers at the Grand Mosque in Mecca. Workers had been expanding the mosque. More than 100 people were killed and more than 200 others injured. Officials said high winds during a rainstorm caused the crane to collapse. The machine had reportedly been operating at the construction project for three or four years.

本月早些時候，星期五禱告期間，在麥加大清真寺一輛建筑起重機倒塌。工人們已經(jīng)將清真寺擴大。100多人死亡，200余人受傷。官員們表示，在暴風(fēng)雨期間，強風(fēng)導(dǎo)致起重機倒塌。據(jù)報道，該機器已經(jīng)為該建設(shè)項目運行長達三四年。

The Grand Mosque is Islam's holiest site. It is among the largest religious centers in the world and has millions of visitors every year.

大清真寺是伊斯蘭教的圣地。它是世界上最大的宗教中心之一，每年擁有數(shù)以百萬計的游客。

I'm Christopher Jones-Cruise.

我是Christopher Jones-Cruise。

VOA's Chris Hannas reported this story from Washington. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

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Words in This Story

stampede– n. an event in which a large group of frightened or excited animals or people run together in a wild and uncontrolled way to escape from something

Hajj – n. a visit to Mecca that is a religious duty for Muslims

pilgrimage– n. a trip to a holy place

ritual – n. an official ceremony or series of acts that is always performed in the same way

tent– n. a shelter that is used outdoors, and usually made of cloth

tunnel– n. a passage that goes under the ground or through a hill

construction– adj. related to the development or repair of buildings or other structures

crane– n. a big machine with a long arm that is used by builders for lifting and moving heavy things

mosque – n. a building that is used for Muslim religious services