1.(remains of sth damaged)+of empire, career, life, economy残余部分；残存部分
He stood very still, staring in at the ruins of his work.他一动不动地站着, 呆呆地看着他残余的作品。
the ruins of a shattered life破碎生活的残余
the ruins of a political career政治生涯的残存部分
the ruins of a great empire一个伟大帝国的残余
2.(remains of destroyed building)废墟；遗迹；断壁残垣
Some of the houses were no more than ruins.这些房屋中, 有些只是废墟。
the ruins of the castle城堡的遗迹
3.in ruins
(spoiled)被毁灭；没落；垮掉
Its heavily-subsidized economy is in ruins.其靠大量资助维持的经济已经完全崩溃了。
The education system seems to be in ruins.教育体制好像垮掉了。
(mostly destroyed)一片废墟；满目疮痍
The abbey was in ruins.这个修道院成了一片废墟。
Within Germany, the city of Berlin lay in ruins.在德国, 柏林市已经满目疮痍。