[00:04.22]第107课  电视日: 火--既是朋友又是敌人
[00:08.44]Who doesn't love sitting beside a cosy fire on a cold winter's night?
[00:12.13]谁不喜欢在寒冬夜晚坐在暖暖和和的火炉旁?
[00:15.83]Who doesn't love to watch flames curling up a chimney?
[00:18.43]谁不喜欢看火苗沿着烟囱缕缕升起?
[00:21.03]Fire is one of man's greatest friends,
[00:23.24]火是人类最好的朋友之一
[00:25.44]but also one of his greatest enemies.
[00:27.44]又是人类最危险的敌人之一.
[00:29.44]Many big fires are caused by carelessness
[00:31.69]许多大火因不慎引起的.
[00:33.93]A lighted cigarette thrown out of a car or train window
[00:36.48]一个点着的烟蒂从汽车或从火车窗户扔出来
[00:39.03]or a broken bottle lying on dry grass can start a fire.
[00:41.97]或者一个干草上的破瓶都可能引起一场火灾.
[00:44.90]Sometimes,though,a fire can start on its own.
[00:47.31]然而,有时火灾是自燃引起.
[00:49.71]Wet hay can begin burning by itself.
[00:51.91]潮湿的草会自燃.
[00:54.10]This is how it happens
[00:55.75]自燃是这么发生的:
[00:57.39]the hay starts to rot and begins to give off heat which is trapped inside it.
[01:00.73]先是草腐烂,并开始散发裹在里面的热量.
[01:04.08]Finally,it bursts into flames.
[01:06.08]最后草就着火了.
[01:08.08]That's why farmers cut and store their hay when it's dry.
[01:11.37]所以农民割完草要等草干才贮藏起来.
[01:14.66]Fires have destroyed whole cities.
[01:16.60]火毁掉过整座城市.
[01:18.55]In the 17th century,a small fire which began in a baker's shop
[01:21.66]17世纪一场小火从一家面包房开始
[01:24.77]burnt down nearly every building in London.
[01:26.96]几乎把伦敦所有楼屋全化为灰烬.
[01:29.16]Moscow was set on fire during the war against Napoleon.
[01:32.06]在反抗拿破仑战争时,莫斯科起了火.
[01:34.96]This fire continued burning for seven days.
[01:37.31]这场火连续烧了7天.
[01:39.66]And,of course,in 64 A.D.
[01:42.26]当然在公元64年,
[01:44.86]Nero fiddled while Rome burned!
[01:47.10]当罗马城正大火燃烧时,尼罗却还在拉提琴呢.
[01:49.35]Even today,in spite of modern fire-fighting methods,
[01:52.14]即使今天已经有了现代化的灭火方法,
[01:54.94]fire causes millions of pounds' worth of damage each year
[01:57.84]每年造成数以百万英镑计的损失
[02:00.74]both in our cities and in the countryside.
[02:03.04]在城乡的火灾.
[02:05.34]It had been wisely said that fire is a good servant but a bad master.
[02:09.58]有人说得好:火是个好的奴仆也是个坏主人.