万花筒 Kaleidoscope2007-10-07&10-08, 不仅仅是墓碑

In the course of our coverage¹ of this nation's wars, we try everyday here to focus on the sacrifice of those who serve and their families. Nowhere is that sight more striking than when you come across the graves of those Americans who have served. And there's one place where it's their job to get that just right. Our report tonight from NBC's Mike Taibbi.

In a small Vermont village of hobby shops and ice-cream, the flags in the breeze, and no need for a multiplex. They are writing the ends of war stories on a few acres on the edge of town. This is an operation called Granite² Industries in Barre which makes the gravestones for the dead of America's wars. Around 100 markers a day and most for veterans of past wars cut from the Granite Mother Road beneath the nearby hills. This is not just a job.

These men have died for us for our country and they deserve a decent stone, and, and I’m glad that we can do it. I'm proud of what I do.

Well, even though this vast quarry³ has provided jobs and revenue for Barre since the Civil War, it isn't Granite supplying the markers for the acts of war in Afghanistan and Iraq.

It's marble, from another quarry 19 miles to the south under a contract to make the symbol markers for Arlington and other national cemeteries⁴. On most days one or more offer fallen soldiers born in the 70s and even the 80s.

It's really sad. They have not a chance to live.

And that melancholy⁵ deepens for the workers on the line. When they know the story they are finishing in a sense.

We hear something, He's been all over the news.

As Robert Macallan knew the story of Private Joseph Anzack. One of the 3 10th Mountain division soldiers ambushed⁶ and kidnapped in May outside Baghdad leading to a massive search effort, Anzack found in the Euphrates river 2 weeks later. Macallan still on the army reserve himself, and in Kuwait at the start of the war, felt like Anzack's team mate working on his marker.

It's more of a sense of duty and... pride, he is, um, I think soldiers should be taking care of soldiers.

In a town built on stone, in its buildings, in its ample sculptures, there is everyday heartfelt work underway, a somber⁷ economic link to war that saddens as it sustains, as it helps the nation acklnowledge and remember. Mike Taibbi NBC News, Barre Vermont.

That's our broadcast for this Tuesday night. Thank you for being with us. I'm Brian Williams. We hope you'll join us right back here tomorrow night. Good night.

1 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

2 granite   

adj.花岗岩，花岗石

参考例句：

• They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。
• The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。

3 quarry   

n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找

参考例句：

• Michelangelo obtained his marble from a quarry.米开朗基罗从采石场获得他的大理石。
• This mountain was the site for a quarry.这座山曾经有一个采石场。

4 cemeteries   

n.（非教堂的）墓地，公墓( cemetery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It's morbid to dwell on cemeteries and such like. 不厌其烦地谈论墓地以及诸如此类的事是一种病态。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In other districts the proximity of cemeteries seemed to aggravate the disease. 在其它地区里，邻近墓地的地方，时疫大概都要严重些。 来自辞典例句

5 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

6 ambushed   

v.埋伏( ambush的过去式和过去分词 )；埋伏着

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The military vehicles were ambushed. 军车遭到伏击。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 somber   

adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• He had a somber expression on his face.他面容忧郁。
• His coat was a somber brown.他的衣服是暗棕色的。