365个英语简短小故事-248. Pier Collapses

The Oakville pier¹ collapsed³ Saturday afternoon at 3:30. Although hundreds of people were on the pier at the time of the collapse², no one was killed and only 15 people were injured. One person was seriously injured. That person was a 43-year-old man who suffered two broken legs, eight broken ribs⁴, and a punctured⁵ lung.

Hundreds of people gathered around to watch the rescue efforts. Three local television stations and two radio stations broadcast live from the pier. The collapse occurred after a big rig went out of control Saturday morning and slammed into one of the main supports for the pier.

For public safety reasons, a city council member wanted to close the pier immediately. However, local businesses on the pier and nearby protested. Oakville officials decided⁶ to wait until tomorrow before sending out a structural⁷ engineer to investigate the damage.

“The driver reeked⁸ of booze,” said a police officer who had written the truck driver a ticket for driving under the influence. “He was so drunk that he didn't even apply his brakes before he crashed into the support. It's a miracle that he didn’t kill someone,” said the officer, who took the driver to jail.

City officials said it was too early to get a complete damage estimate, but that repairs to the pier would probably cost at least $500,000 and take a month or more. The local business people are very unhappy because the repair process will significantly reduce consumer purchases for the summer season.

“We make 80 percent of our annual profits from June through September,” noted⁹ one T-shirt vendor¹⁰. “This is going to hurt.”

 

1 pier   

n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱

参考例句：

• The pier of the bridge has been so badly damaged that experts worry it is unable to bear weight.这座桥的桥桩破损厉害，专家担心它已不能负重。
• The ship was making towards the pier.船正驶向码头。

2 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。

3 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。

4 ribs   

n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。

5 punctured   

v.在（某物）上穿孔( puncture的过去式和过去分词 )；刺穿（某物）；削弱（某人的傲气、信心等）；泄某人的气

参考例句：

• Some glass on the road punctured my new tyre. 路上的玻璃刺破了我的新轮胎。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A nail on the road punctured the tyre. 路上的钉子把车胎戳穿了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 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。

8 reeked   

v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的过去式和过去分词 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象）

参考例句：

• His breath reeked of tobacco. 他满嘴烟臭味。
• His breath reeked of tobacco. 他满嘴烟臭味。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。