VOA慢速英語(yǔ):美國(guó)著名國(guó)家廣場(chǎng)進(jìn)行徹底修理

Almost two kilometers of green grass stretch from the front of the U.S. Capitol building to the Washington Monument. Thousands of people walk on it every day. They also play games, have picnics, run their dogs and bike.

從美國(guó)國(guó)會(huì)大廈到華盛頓紀(jì)念碑總共有大約2千米長(zhǎng)的草坪綠地。每天有數(shù)千人在上面行走。人們還在草地上玩游戲，野餐，遛狗和騎自行車。

The activities have damaged the expanse of land known as the National Mall. Now workers are in the middle of a $45 million project to return thick, healthy grass to the area.

這些行動(dòng)對(duì)大家熟知的國(guó)家廣場(chǎng)的擴(kuò)張?jiān)斐闪藫p害。現(xiàn)在工人們正在進(jìn)行價(jià)值4500萬(wàn)美元的綠化保護(hù)工程。

"This thick blade, this thick, flat blade, is tall fescue."

這些又厚又平坦的草皮是高羊茅。

That is Michael Stachowicz. He is a man who knows his grass. Stachowitz spent 20 years caring for golf courses. Now, he manages one of the best-known green spaces in the world.

這位是Michael Stachowicz。他很清楚他負(fù)責(zé)的草坪情況。Michael Stachowicz有著20年打理高爾夫球場(chǎng)的經(jīng)歷?，F(xiàn)在他負(fù)責(zé)管理著世界上最著名的綠地之一。

"It is really cool to work on a piece of property that so many people around the world can relate to."

在這塊財(cái)富土地上工作是一件很酷的事情，因?yàn)檫@里能與世界各地的人產(chǎn)生聯(lián)系。

More than twenty-five million people visit the Mall each year for concerts, festivals and rallies, and, of course, to visit its popular museums. Over the years all those feet have compressed the soil to the density of brick. Only weeds can succeed in the rock-hard soil.

每年有2500多萬(wàn)人參加音樂(lè)會(huì)，節(jié)日和集會(huì)，當(dāng)然還有參觀博物館的。日積月累年復(fù)一年這些腳步使得土壤擠壓成塊。在這種堅(jiān)硬的土地上只有野草才能存活。

The whole Mall is in a very poor condition. But the repair project is rebuilding it, from the ground up. The old soil will be replaced with new soil like you'd find under a professional baseball field.

整個(gè)廣場(chǎng)綠地現(xiàn)在處于一個(gè)非常貧瘠的條件下。但是修理工程正在對(duì)這種情況進(jìn)行改善，首先要從地面開始。舊土換新土，就像職業(yè)棒球場(chǎng)一樣。

The workers are even improving the grass itself. University researchers are helping to find the highest quality grasses for the space.

工人們甚至在提高草坪本身的質(zhì)量。大學(xué)里的研究人員正在努力尋找適合廣場(chǎng)的高質(zhì)量草種。

"It being the most heavily trafficked piece of turf in the world, we're trying to find the most traffic-resistant, the toughest turf that we can."

這是世界上最繁忙的綠地。我們?cè)噲D找到最能抵抗頻繁踩踏的草種，希望能找到最不容易倒的草種。

Workers are also burying devices called cisterns that will capture nearly four million liters of rainwater. Michael Stachowicz says they will help reduce pollution during heavy storms.

工人們也在忙于設(shè)置地下蓄水池裝置。這個(gè)蓄水池可以容納將近400萬(wàn)公升的降水。Michael Stachowicz說(shuō)這種裝置可以幫助在暴雨期間減少污染。

Sometimes, storm waters flood waste sewers. Then that water and the waste flow directly into the Potomac River, polluting it.

有些時(shí)候，暴雨雨水會(huì)通過(guò)下水道排出。隨后這種水和廢水會(huì)直接流到波托馬克河造成污染。

The cisterns will help prevent that.

而這種裝置就可以避免污染事件的發(fā)生。

The dig of such a huge stretch of ground has been a complex effort.

這種巨大的地下安裝工程是非常復(fù)雜的。

"There's at least a century's worth of wiring, piping and tunneling underneath the Mall."

廣場(chǎng)地下裝置至少安裝著有一個(gè)世紀(jì)歷史的配線，管道和隧道。

The job of rebuilding the Mall is expected to be completed by early 2017.

重建綠地廣場(chǎng)工程預(yù)計(jì)2017年完工。

Hundreds of thousands of people will again walk all over it to attend the presidential inauguration in front of the Capitol.

成千上萬(wàn)的人將會(huì)再次踏上這片綠地參加總統(tǒng)的就職典禮。

I'm Jim Tedder.

VOA science correspondent Steve Baragona reported this story from Washington. Caty Weaver adapted it for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

picnic – n. a meal that is eaten outdoors especially during a trip away from home

manage – v. to have control of; to take care of and make decisions about

yard – n. an outdoor area that is next to a house and is usually covered by grass

compress – v. to press or squeeze (something) so that it is smaller or fills less space

turf – n. the upper layer of ground that is made up of grass and plant roots