Now that those flames have been extinguished, questions will turn to why Notre Dame burned, and how it can be rebuilt. The Paris public prosecutor has opened an investigation, declaring that “nothing suggests it was a deliberate act.” If this was indeed an accident, the focus will be the works to renovate the 19th-century spire, which began last summer. It was the oak-beamed roof above the vaults that proved to be both so flammable, and so difficult for the fire brigade to get to. Thanks to the efforts of 400 firefighters—as well as to the craftsmanship of the 12th- and 13th-century stonemasons who built the soaring stone vaults beneath the roof—the cathedral’s main medieval structure was largely saved. Firefighters also managed to save many religious artefacts and relics.

現(xiàn)在這些火焰已經(jīng)熄滅，問題將轉(zhuǎn)向?yàn)槭裁词ツ冈罕粺龤?，以及如何重建。巴黎檢察官已展開調(diào)查，稱“沒有證據(jù)表明這是故意行為”。如果這真的是一場意外，那么修復(fù)這座19世紀(jì)尖塔的工作將成為焦點(diǎn)。事實(shí)證明，拱頂上方的橡木橫梁屋頂非常易燃，消防隊很難到達(dá)。多虧了400名消防員的努力，以及12世紀(jì)和13世紀(jì)石匠們的精湛技藝——他們在教堂屋頂下建造了高高石拱頂，這使得教堂的大體的中世紀(jì)結(jié)構(gòu)被盡可能的保留了下來。消防隊員還設(shè)法搶救了許多宗教文物和遺物。

詞匯

Deliberate/故意的；深思熟慮的；從容的

Flammable/易燃的；可燃的；可燃性的

Craftsmanship/技術(shù)；技藝

How stable the remaining structure is, and whether the stone has been permanently weakened by the intense heat, say engineers, will have to be assessed once the masonry has cooled. Mr Macron vowed that, no matter what, the cathedral will be rebuilt, and launched a fundraising initiative to that end. In a country that lacks a tradition of private philanthropy, it was notable that France’s richest businessmen vowed to contribute. Two luxury titans, Bernard Arnault and Fran?ois Pinault, between them pledged €300m ($340m).

工程師們說，剩下的結(jié)構(gòu)有多穩(wěn)定，以及石頭是否被高溫永久地削弱，這些都必須在石頭冷卻后進(jìn)行評估。馬克龍發(fā)誓，無論如何，大教堂都會重建，并為此發(fā)起了一項籌款倡議。在一個缺乏私人慈善傳統(tǒng)的國家，法國最富有的商人發(fā)誓要捐款頗引注意。伯納德?阿爾諾(Bernard Arnault)和弗朗索瓦?皮諾(Francois Pinault)這兩家奢侈品巨頭承諾出資3億歐元(合3.4億美元)。

詞匯

Masonry/石工；石工行業(yè)；石造建筑

The search for somebody to blame will absorb France for some time. Many will want to know exactly what precautions were taken by those working on the renovation, and what exactly was the nature of the disaster-planning for a monument of this scale and national importance, situated amid narrow streets on an inaccessible island in the centre of the city. A broader question is whose responsibility it should be to maintain secular France’s great religious buildings. The government had contributed to the renovation of Notre Dame’s spire. But the cathedral had to raise funds to renew its bells in 2012, and the agreement between the archdiocese and the government over upkeep is unclear.

在一段時間內(nèi)，尋找替罪羊?qū)⒄紦?jù)法國的主要精力。許多人想知道在對于之前的翻新工作，工作人員對于這座古跡是做了怎樣的防范措施，尤其是對于坐落于這狹窄的街道，一塊位于市中心而難以接近的區(qū)域，規(guī)模又如此巨大，在世界上都有重要意義的歷史遺跡，修繕人員是采取了怎樣的自然災(zāi)害防范措施。一個更深度的問題是，誰應(yīng)當(dāng)負(fù)責(zé)維護(hù)世俗的法國偉大的宗教建筑。政府為圣母院尖塔的修繕做出了貢獻(xiàn)。但是，2012年，這座教堂不得不籌集資金來翻新它的鐘，而大主教管區(qū)和政府之間關(guān)于維護(hù)的協(xié)議還不清楚。

詞匯

Precautions/防范；預(yù)防措施；

Monument/紀(jì)念碑；歷史遺跡；不朽的作品

Archdiocese/大主教之管區(qū)

Upkeep/維持；維修費(fèi)；保養(yǎng)

On the morning after the fire, tourists gathered along the cobbled quays to get their shot of the old survivor, damaged but unfallen. For locals, sadness at the damage was mixed with deep relief that it had not been far worse. At one point, and after five months of unrest by?gilets jaunes?(yellow jackets), the fire seemed to be a ghastly symbol for the torment of France. It broke out just before Mr Macron was due to unveil his response to those protests, and to his “great national debate”, in a speech he promptly had to postpone. The moment was supposed to mark the end of a disaster. Instead, it brought another.

火災(zāi)發(fā)生后的第二天早上，游客們聚集在鋪滿鵝卵石的碼頭上，想要拍下這位受傷但沒有倒下的老婦女。對當(dāng)?shù)厝藖碚f，災(zāi)難帶來的悲傷中夾雜著深深的慰藉，因?yàn)榍闆r并沒有變得太糟。在經(jīng)歷了gilets jaunes(黃衫軍)五個月的動亂之后，這場大火似乎是痛苦的法國的可怕象征。而這場大火就恰巧發(fā)生在馬克龍即將公布他對這些抗議活動的回應(yīng)的前夕，而至于他“偉大的全國辯論”，這篇講話也因此而立刻不得不推遲。這次大火的結(jié)束本應(yīng)標(biāo)志著一場災(zāi)難的結(jié)束。相反，然而他卻帶來了新的挑戰(zhàn)。

詞匯

Cobbled/鋪有鵝卵石的

Quay/碼頭

Ghastly/可怕的；慘白的；驚人的；極壞的

Torment/痛苦，苦惱；痛苦的根源

Unveil/使公之于眾，揭開；揭幕

Promptly/迅速地；立即地；敏捷地

Mr Macron now faces a different challenge. The country was already divided, and the president unloved. Today Notre Dame is charred, and Paris, and all of France, is in pain. Just occasionally, such a national drama can help to pull a divided country together. On the night, Mr Macron made a good start. But he has yet to bring closure to his great debate. It will take particular skill to do this while offering solace to a nation still in shock after the drama of Notre Dame.

馬克龍現(xiàn)在面臨著不同的挑戰(zhàn)。這個國家已經(jīng)分裂，總統(tǒng)不受歡迎。如今，圣母院被燒焦了，而巴黎，乃至整個法國，都處在痛苦之中。但這也提供了一個機(jī)遇，這樣一出民族大戲可以幫助一個分裂的國家團(tuán)結(jié)起來。當(dāng)晚，馬克龍先生開了個好頭。但他還沒有結(jié)束這場偉大的辯論。要做到這一點(diǎn)，還需要特別的技巧；同時他還要為一個在巴黎圣母院燒焦這一悲劇背后為仍處于震驚中的國家提供安慰。