crumple, Don't wash your dirty linen in public.

The earthquake that hit Kobe, a city of 1.4m in central Japan, struck at 5.46am while most people were still asleep. About 5,000 people died in the first few seconds of the quake, crushed by buildings that Japanese engineers were amazed – and ashamed – to see crumple like cards. It is thought that most of the thousands of buildings that collapsed were built before 1981, when building standards were tightened.
神户位于日本中部，有140万人口。地震来袭时是凌晨5:46，大多数人都还在梦中。约有5000人在地震发生后的几秒钟内就被建筑物砸死——见到建筑物像纸片一样坍塌时，日本工程师既惊且愧。据信，数以千计的倒塌建筑物中，有许多是1981年建筑标准提高之前建造的。




The dollar’s crumpling, the recession’s thundering, the Dow’s bungee-jumping and the world’s disapproving, yet George Bush has turned into Gene Kelly, tap dancing and singing in a one-man review called “The Most Happy Fella.”


crumple
verb
1 [I or T] to become, or cause something to become, full of irregular folds:
This shirt crumples easily

2 [I] If someone's face crumples, it becomes full of lines because of a strong emotion:
Her face crumpled with laughter.

3 [I] If someone crumples, they fall to the ground suddenly:
The bullet hit him and he crumpled into a heap on the floor.

crumpled
adjective
crumpled clothes
the crumpled charm of linen

Don't wash your dirty linen in public.

《汚れた下着を人前で洗うな》 ⇒ 教訓１３５
= One does not wash one’s dirty linen in public