Vision of the Future

Vision of the Future

 

For nearly all of his 86 years, architect Jacque Fresco¹ has been designing cities of the future. Fresco’s structures all derived² from a simple form that ¹⁾fascinated him as a boy.

 

Fresco: When I was about 12 years old I was looking at a ²⁾gear on a table. And I saw the cities of the future. I think all my inventions are based upon experiences like that, I don’t think they come out of nowhere.

Fresco believes that ³⁾civilization will be forced to ⁴⁾colonize³ the sea if land becomes ⁵⁾uninhabitable.

 

Fresco: The earth can only support so many people, comfortably, and if the population exceeds the capacity of the land, we’re going to have to move seaward and build cities through out the sea.

 

Working from his Florida studio, Fresco has spent decades making detailed⁴ drawings of his futuristic ocean cities. He also builds ⁶⁾prototypes, experimenting continually with new materials; he even lives in one.

 

Fresco’s even developed plans for transporting the structures out to sea. They’ll be constructed out of ⁷⁾modular sections, ⁸⁾assembled on land by robots and then towed to their final ocean destinations.

 

Other structures will be made from high tech materials called memory metals.

 

Fresco: These memory metals can be ⁹⁾distorted, ¹⁰⁾twisted, pulled out of shape and then when a certain temperature is provided that memory metal goes right back to its original shape.

 

So buildings made from memory metals can be compressed into small cubes for towing and then snapped back to size upon arrival.

 

Fresco: And almost ¹¹⁾instantaneously you will see a building ¹²⁾erected before your eyes, and no humans working on it all.

 

Fresco’s vision goes beyond architecture; he sees his cities as tools for ¹³⁾fostering humanistic values.

 

Fresco: I feel that environment shapes our values, the people we know, the people we identify with. What will drive people in the future? A world without war, without hatred⁶, without ¹⁴⁾bigotry⁷, without ¹⁵⁾prejudice. The future must extend an invitation for all people to join in because the problems effect everybody.

 

注释：

1) fascinate [5fAsineit ] v. 迷住

2) gear [^iE] n. 齿轮

3) civilization [sivEli5zeiFEn] n. 文明, 文明社会

4) colonize [5kRlEnaiz] v. 开拓殖民地

5) uninhabitable [Qnin5hAbitEbl] a. 不适合人类居住的

6) prototype [5prEutEutaip] n. 模型；模型

7) modular [5mCdjulE] a. 组件的

8) assemble [E5sembl] v. 装配

9) distort [di5stC:t] v. 歪曲，扭曲

10) twist [twist] v. 扭曲，拧, 扭

11) instantaneously [7instEn5teinjEsli] ad. 瞬间的

12) erect⁵ [i5rekt] v. 建起, 建立

13) foster [5fRstE] v. 培养, 促进

14) bigotry [5bi^Etri] n. 顽固, 执拗

15) prejudice [5predVudis] n. 偏见

 

走近未来海上都市

 

将近86年来，建筑师雅克·费雷斯科一直在从事未来城市的设计。费雷斯科的设计全源自儿时见过的一个令他着迷的简单物件。

 

费雷斯科：12岁时我看着桌上的一个齿轮，眼前就浮现出未来城市的景象。我认为我所有发明都是从那样的经历得来的，并不是凭空而来的。

 

费雷斯科认为若陆地变得不适宜居住，文明社会便被迫向海洋扩张。

 

费雷斯科：陆地只能让这么多人舒适地生活，一旦人口超出土地的承载能力，我们便不得不向海洋扩张，建立海上城市。

 

费雷斯科在佛罗里达州的工作室花了几十年来绘画细致的未来海上城市的蓝图。他还建造了多个未来城市的模型，并且不断地尝试使用新的物料；甚至自己就住在其中一个未来城市的模型中。

 

费雷斯科甚至构想出把建筑架构运输到海上的方案。建筑物将由预制部件组成，并由机械人在陆地上组装，然后拖到海上的目的地。

 

其它建筑物则由被称为“记忆金属”的高科技材料建造而成。

 

费雷斯科：这些记忆金属可被扭曲变形，然后当温度达到某个程度温度，记忆金属便可以恢复到原来的形状。

 

因此用记忆金属建造的建筑物在搬运时能压缩成小立方体，到达目的地后便能迅速回复到原来的大小。

 

费雷斯科：一眨眼功夫，就能在你面前矗立起一座建筑物，而无须任何人去搭建。

费雷斯科的观点超越了建筑学，他视其海上城市为提升人类价值的工具。

 

费雷斯科：我认为我们的价值观、我们认识和认同的人，都是由我们所处的环境所塑造的。未来将由什么力量来推动人类前进呢？答案是：一个没有战争、仇恨、偏执和偏见的世界。未来的建设需要全人类的共同参与，因为这些问题影响着我们每一个人。

 

 

 

1 fresco   

n.壁画；vt.作壁画于

参考例句：

• This huge fresco is extremely clear and just like nature itself.It is very harmonious.这一巨幅壁画，清晰有致且又浑然天成，十分和谐。
• So it is quite necessary to study the influence of visual thinking over fresco.因此，研究视觉思维对壁画的影响和作用是十分必要的。

2 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 colonize   

v.建立殖民地，拓殖；定居，居于

参考例句：

• Around 700 Arabs began to colonize East Africa.公元700年阿拉伯人开始把东非变为殖民地。
• Japan used to colonize many countries in Asia.日本曾经殖民过许多亚洲国家。

4 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

5 erect   

n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的

参考例句：

• She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头，把背挺得笔直。
• Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。

6 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

7 bigotry   

n.偏见，偏执，持偏见的行为[态度]等

参考例句：

• She tried to dissociate herself from the bigotry in her past.她力图使自己摆脱她以前的偏见。
• At least we can proceed in this matter without bigotry.目前这件事咱们至少可以毫无偏见地进行下去。