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博物馆通常担心的是失窃或游客不小心碰坏展品，可英国约克郡博物馆最大的麻烦却来自天上的雨水。这座 1830 年开馆的老博物馆，后来加建的排水系统应付不了大雨，雨水会从建筑内部流走，多次险些损坏珍贵藏品。文章先介绍博物馆和漏水原因，再列举几次“险情”，接着说明漏水带来的看不见的代价：展厅时常关闭、不能借展重要文物、观众和收入流失；然后介绍获批的维修计划和 200 万英镑拨款，最后交代局限：整个工程约需 500 万英镑，这笔钱只够完成第一阶段。阅读时可留意 Instead of、As a result、However 等如何连接原因、结果与转折，以及 is expected to、could 等表达如何区分计划、预测和已经发生的事实。

正文

Most museums worry about keeping their treasures safe from thieves or careless visitors. At the Yorkshire Museum in York, England, a bigger danger has been coming from the sky. Rainwater has been getting into the building for years. Now, according to a BBC report on October 29, plans to repair the roof have been approved, and the work is expected to take about two years.

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大多数博物馆担心的是如何防止小偷或粗心的游客伤害珍宝。而在英格兰约克的约克郡博物馆，更大的危险一直来自天上。多年来，雨水不断渗进这座建筑。据 BBC 10 月 29 日报道，现在屋顶维修计划已获批准，工程预计需要大约两年。

The museum opened in 1830 and is one of the oldest purpose-built museums in Britain. It holds objects from the Iron Age and from Roman, Viking and medieval times, as well as fossils and dinosaur bones. The problem, its managers explain, is the way water leaves the roof. Parts were added to the drainage system after the museum was first built, and today the system cannot deal with heavy rain. Instead of running away outside, some water drains through the inside of the building.

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这座博物馆于 1830 年开馆，是英国最早专门建造的博物馆之一。馆内藏有铁器时代以及罗马、维京和中世纪时期的文物，还有化石和恐龙骨骼。博物馆管理方解释说，问题出在屋顶的排水方式上。博物馆最初建成后，排水系统又加建了一些部分，如今这套系统应付不了大雨。一部分雨水没有排到室外，而是从建筑内部流走。

There have been several near misses. In the last three years, a pool of water formed on top of a cabinet holding Iron Age objects. Water also ran down the back of a case with a Jurassic ichthyosaur, an ancient sea reptile, and dripped into a cabinet of Roman burial finds. Senior curator Andrew Woods said it was mainly luck that the collections had not suffered more damage.

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已经发生过好几次险情。过去三年里，一个存放铁器时代文物的展柜顶上积了一摊水。雨水还顺着一个展柜的背面流下——柜里是一件侏罗纪鱼龙化石，鱼龙是一种古代海洋爬行动物——并滴进了一个装有罗马墓葬出土物的展柜。高级策展人安德鲁·伍兹说，藏品没有受到更多损坏，主要是靠运气。

The leaks also cause problems that are harder to see. Woods said the museum closes its galleries about five times a year because of major leaks. Some rooms are too risky for the most important or sensitive objects, so the museum cannot borrow items from other institutions to show there. As a result, he said, it is missing out on up to 75,000 visitors a year and more than 500,000 pounds in yearly income, which could threaten its future.

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漏水还带来一些不那么容易看到的问题。伍兹说，由于严重漏水，博物馆平均每年要关闭展厅约五次。有些展厅对最重要或最脆弱的文物来说风险太大，因此博物馆无法从其他机构借来展品在那里展出。他说，结果博物馆每年少接待多达 7.5 万名观众，每年少收入超过 50 万英镑，这可能威胁到它的未来。

Money for the first stage of the work comes from a two-million-pound grant from Arts Council England, a public body that supports culture. The repairs will focus on the roof above the museum’s Tempest Anderson Hall and its main entrances. Kathryn Blacker, chief executive of York Museums Trust, said the money would help with essential building work, improve the experience for visitors and keep the museum sustainable.

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第一阶段工程的资金来自英格兰艺术委员会的一笔 200 万英镑拨款，该委员会是一个支持文化事业的公共机构。维修将集中在博物馆 Tempest Anderson 大厅上方的屋顶和主入口。约克博物馆信托首席执行官凯瑟琳·布莱克说，这笔钱将帮助完成必要的建筑工程，改善观众的参观体验，并让博物馆能够持续运营下去。

However, the grant will not solve everything. The whole roof project is expected to cost five million pounds, so the trust is still raising money for the rest, and another funding bid is planned. For now, the repairs are a first step toward keeping the past dry.

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不过，这笔拨款并不能解决所有问题。整个屋顶项目预计耗资 500 万英镑，因此信托仍在为其余部分筹款，并计划再提交一份资金申请。就目前而言，这些维修是让“过去”保持干燥的第一步。

新闻来源

• BBC News · Roof repairs approved to tackle museum leaks (29 Oct 2026)
• Yorkshire Post · Yorkshire Museum: Action to stop ‘threat’ to one of UK’s oldest museums backed (29 Oct 2026)
• York Museums Trust · York Museums Trust awarded £2million to upgrade roof at the Yorkshire Museum

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