Nineteen buildings disappeared in the space of 10 seconds after being demolished¹ by a controlled explosion in China yesterday.

昨天，中国一次控制爆破让19栋楼在10秒钟之内被夷平。

The blocks of flats which were up to 12 storeys high in the city of Wuhan are making way for a huge new business district including a 707-metre tall skyscraper².

位于武汉的这些楼房有12层楼高，这些建筑（被夷平是）为一个新的商业区让路，这个商业区包括一栋高707米的摩天大楼。

Experts waited until dark had fallen before detonating demolition³ charges which brought down 150000 square metres of concrete glass and steel in 10 seconds.

专家等到夜幕降临才实施爆破，10秒钟内就夷平了十五万平方米的混凝土、玻璃、钢筋。

The residents of the Hankou Binjiang estate⁴ had been moved out weeks before.

汉口滨江的居民数周前就已将财产转移。

The area is close to the city centre and the demolition contractors⁵ had to make sure that when they brought down the buildings they did not damage a light rail viaduct nearby or a shopping mall and electricity sub-station.

这个区域靠近市中心，爆破方必须确保爆破时不会影响到附近的一条轻轨线路、一个购物中心和变电站。

Jia Yongsheng general director of the demolition company told China's state TV channel CCTV: 'For this kind of large-scale blasting demolition conducted in the downtown area we not only need to guarantee the demolition result but also strictly⁶ control the adverse⁷ effects of blasting.'

爆破公司总指挥贾永胜告诉中国国营电视台CCTV说：像这样在市中心的大规模爆破任务，不但要保证爆破结果（精确），还要控制爆破产生的不良影响。