A
Party Turns Tragic: The Formosa
Fun Coast Explosion
On June 27, 2015, the
lives of nearly 500 young people were changed forever. Excited by the coming of
the summer vacation and wishing to celebrate the semester’s end with friends, many
young people had purchased tickets for an event called
Color Play Asia, which was held at a New Taipei City water park, Formosa Fun Coast.
The party featured DJs playing electronic dance music in a swimming pool that had been emptied of water. On the night of the party, the dance floor in front of
the DJ stage was crowded with happy people, most wearing only bathing suits and
in sandals or bare feet.
As the crowd danced,
employees of the event’s organizer used pressurized gas to shoot colored powder into the air, covering
the whole crowd. Suddenly, without warning, the air turned into a giant fireball as the colored powder,
which was actually cornstarch, burst into flames. Trapped in the emptied swimming pool with nowhere to run, the dancing crowd was swallowed by the fire. Almost five
hundred were immediately cooked alive, many left with severe burns covering to 80 or 90 percent of their bodies.
Tragically, one month
later, eleven of the most seriously injured victims have died. Hundreds of
others remain in the intensive care units (ICUs) of hospitals around the island, where exhausted doctors and nurses are struggling to keep them alive and help them
recover. The public has responded generously, donating over 1.5 billion NT
dollars for the victims’ ongoing medical care. The exact cause
of the explosion is still being investigated.
In the latest shocking
twist, seven government safety inspectors from New Taipei City are being
investigated for their role in giving Formosa Fun Coast the go-ahead to host the Color Play
Asia party. The investigation is focusing on evidence that the inspectors were
given thousands of dollars worth of gifts, including coupons for hotels and entrance tickets to the water park, when they went
to check the site ten days before the event. The concern is that in exchange
for these gifts, the inspectors may have filed a false report, allowing the
party to take place, even though the park owners and government employees were
aware of the dangers. The investigation is continuing, and the New Taipei City
mayor has promised that anyone found guilty of abusing their position, neglecting their duty, and taking bribes will be punished to the full extent of the law.
Reading Comprehension
(
) 1. It could be inferred that the powder catching fire was made of
________.
(A) rice (B)
bone (C) wood (D)
corn
( ) 2. Which of the following statements
about the Formosa Fun Coast explosion is NOT true?
(A) The accident was probably caused
by human’s negligence and carelessness.
(B)
It occurred at the beginning of the summer vacation.
(C)
It took place in the central plaza at Formosa Fun Coast.
(D)
It caused at least 11 deaths and hundreds of injuries.
(
) 3. Why did the crowd have difficulty running away from the fire?
(A) The gate was closed and
locked by the security guards of the park.
(B)
The crowd was at an emptied pool surrounded by walls.
(C)
Most people had been too drunk to walk properly, not to mention running.
(D)
The exit was blocked by victims so no one could get out.
( ) 4. Who
should be blamed for the explosion at the water park?
(A) Party organizers who used the powder that was able
to burn easily.
(B) Park owners who were aware of the possible dangers
of the activity.
(C) Inspectors who took bribes and ignored the
security problems.
(D) All of the above should be responsible for this
fatal accident.
( ) 5. The government safety inspectors were
suspected of receiving all the following bribes EXCEPT for ________.
(A) thousands of dollars in
cash (B) hotel coupons
(C)
entrance tickets to the water park (D)
thousands of dollars worth of gifts
Vocabulary and Phrases
1. explosion [Ik`sploZ1n] n. [U][C] 爆炸
．The explosion gas blasted the
external wall of the apartment.
2. purchase [`p3tS1s] vt. 購買
．All the furniture in Anna’s new house was purchased from Italy last summer.
3. empty [`EmptI] vt. 清空，倒空
．Mother asked me to clean and empty
my room so that we could paint it in the weekend.
4. sandal [`s8ndL] n. [C] 涼鞋，拖鞋
．It is considered quite improper to wear shorts and sandals to work.
5. organizer [`OrG1&naIz2] n. [C] 籌辦者，組織者
．The organizer argued that they had
never intended the activity to turn out to be a tragedy.
6. pressurized [`prES1raIzd] adj. （容器，機艙等）加壓的，增壓的
．The pressurized cabins of
airplanes could provide an environment where passengers could breathe normally.
7. colored [`k^l2d] adj. 彩色的，有顏色的
．People consider it safer for the elderly to wear bright-colored clothes at night.
8. nowhere [`no&hwEr] adv. 無處，哪裡都不
．Be careful when walking on the streets. Cars can come out of nowhere and hit you.
9. severe [s1`vIr] adj. 嚴重的，劇烈的
．We are afraid of typhoons because they often bring floods and cause severe damage.
10. percent [p2`sEnt] n. [C] 百分之一
．Fifty percent of Tommy’s salary
is spent on food and clothing.
11. exhausted [IG`zOstId] adj. 精疲力竭的
．Joan looked exhausted after
climbing up the stairs to get to the top of the building.
12. donate [`donet] vt. 捐獻，捐贈
．Many people had sympathy for the earthquake victims and donated a great amount of money to
them.
13. ongoing [`An&GoI9] adj. 仍在進行的；不間斷的
．The officer refused to reveal any detail of the murder case since the
investigation was still ongoing.
14. investigate [In`vEst1&Get] vt. 調查，偵查
investigation [In&vEst1`GeS1n] n. [C][U] 調查，偵查
．Prison officials are investigating
how the prisoner escaped while the guards had been keeping a close watch over
him.
．The police carried out a full investigation
of the murder.
15. evidence [`Ev1d1ns] n. [U] 證據
．Since there was no evidence to
prove that Greg had committed the crime, he was soon released.
16. coupon [`kupAn] n. [C] 優惠券，減價優待券
．Sammy cut out some fast-food coupons
from the newspaper so that he could buy hamburgers at half price.
17. guilty [`GIltI] adj. 有罪的，犯下…罪的
．According to the law, the man should be considered innocent until he is
proved guilty.
18. abuse [1`bjuz] vt. 濫用，妄用
．The manager abused his power to
such an extent that no one wanted to work for him anymore.
19. neglect [nI`GlEkt] vt. 疏忽，忽略
．The mother neglected her
responsibility and let her little kid stay at home alone.
20. bribe [braIb] n. [C] 行賄物，賄賂
．It is illegal for government officials to accept bribes from those who ask favors of them.
Words for
Recognition
1. Formosa Fun
Coast n. 八仙海岸
舊名八仙水上樂園，通稱八仙樂園，位於新北市八里區，是北臺灣最大的水上樂園，但在2015年6月27日 發生粉塵爆炸事故後被勒令無限期停業。
2. Color Play Asia n. 彩色派對
3. DJ n. [C] 唱片音樂節目主持人
為disc jockey（唱片騎士）之簡稱，是指選擇並播放事先錄製的音樂以娛樂觀眾的人，工作地點包含電視臺、廣播電臺、舞廳、舞會現場等。
4. fireball [`faIr&bOl] n. [C] 火球
5. cornstarch [`kOrn&stArtS] n.
[U] 玉米粉
6. intensive
care unit [In`tEnsIv kEr `junIt] n. [C] 加護病房（簡稱ICU）
7. go-ahead n. sing. 許可
Translation
派對生悲：八仙樂園塵爆案
在2015年6月27日 這一天，有近500條年輕的生命就此永遠改變。由於對暑假的到來感到興奮，再加上想和朋友一同慶祝學期的結束，許多年輕人都購買了彩色派對的門票，那是一場在新北市八仙水上樂園所舉辦的活動。這個派對主打的是DJ會在抽乾水的泳池內播放電子舞曲。在派對當晚，DJ臺前的舞池擠滿了歡樂的群眾，其中大部分的人都只穿著泳裝、拖鞋或打赤腳。
當群眾跳舞的時候，派對主辦者所僱用的員工利用增壓氣瓶，將彩色粉末噴向天空，灑落在群眾身上。突然間，在毫無預警的情況下，實際原料為玉米粉的色粉突然燃燒起來，空氣在瞬間化為一團巨大的火球。因受限在抽乾的泳池中無處可逃的跳舞群眾慘遭火舌吞噬，近500人在剎那間就像被活活烹煮，其中有許多人的身體都遭到百分之80到90的嚴重燒傷。
悲慘地是，一個月後，其中11名最嚴重的傷患不幸身亡，而還有其它數百名則是在全臺各地醫院的加護病房中，由已經筋疲力竭的醫護人員奮力保住他們的性命並協助復原。臺灣大眾也都慷慨解囊，捐贈超過15億臺幣，以補助受難者後續的醫療照護。而至於爆炸發生的確切起因，則仍在調查當中。
此案令人震撼的最新轉折，就是有7名新北市政府的安全督導人員，因為准許八仙樂園舉辦彩色派對而遭到調查。調查重點在於是否有證據可以證明，這些督導人員在事件發生10天前到八仙檢查設施時，收受了價值數千元的禮物，其中包括旅館折價券以及八仙的入場門票。而值得關注的是，在禮物的交換下，即便是八仙業主及政府雇員都明知可能會有危險，這些督導人員還是做出了一份虛假的報告，讓彩色派對得以舉辦。調查目前仍持續進行中，而新北市市長也已承諾，任何被證實濫用職權、怠忽職守及收受賄賂者，絕對會依法嚴懲、絕不寬貸。
閱讀測驗解答：1. D
2. C 3. B 4. D 5. A
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