2007年VOA标准英语-Tsunami Museum Sparks Debate in Indonesia

By Chad Bouchard
Jakarta
27 August 2007

tsunami1 museum by architect Ridwan Kamil in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, 21 Aug 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070901/0829540.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

This poster displays the winning design of tsunami museum by architect Ridwan Kamil in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, 21 Aug 2007

Indonesia has picked an architect to design a museum in Aceh province in memory of the close to 170,000 people who died there during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. But as Chad Bouchard reports from Jakarta, the project is not without controversy².

The more than $7.4 million museum project in Banda Aceh will mark one of the most devastating³ natural disasters of modern times.

Aceh province was decimated nearly three years ago when an undersea earthquake - registering nine on the Richter scale - pushed towering waves onto its shores. The giant tsunami touched a dozen nations ringing the Indian Ocean - but Indonesia suffered the most casualties with 170,000 people dead and missing.

Adamy Aulina, assistant manager for public facilities and building at the Aceh-Nias Rehabilitation⁴ and Reconstruction⁵ Agency, says she hopes the museum will help survivors⁶ heal.

"Aceh Tsunami Museum is a symbol. Respecting the victims and spirit of the survivors," she said. "It would be nice if Acehnese people were proud with the building. It facilitates for people who want to remind their family, friends, or colleagues who died because of the tsunami."

But the museum has its critics who are concerned the project comes too soon after the disaster, and could draw resources away from thousands of people who are still battling to rebuild their lives.

Aceh Heritage Community Foundation co-founder, Yeyen Rahmayati, says a less expensive commemoration would be more appropriate.

"The idea is good, but I think the timing⁷ is not right at the moment because there are many tsunami survivors that still need a house, job and something like that," said Rahmayati.

Another issue is the building's location. Museum planners selected a site high on a hill in the middle of Banda Aceh, where hundreds of residents scrambled⁸ to escape the waves. But Rahmayati says that hill has historic significance.

"The location is very strategic in the heart of the city center," said Rahmayati. "There was a colonial heritage used as a railway station office, and they already demolished¹⁰ that building, they plan to demolish⁹ another building next to the first building, so there will be two heritage buildings demolished to build the tsunami museum, and for me it's an irony¹¹, I think."

Reconstruction officials say one of the historic buildings at the site was damaged beyond repair. But, in response to concerns, the museum committee is discussing ways to incorporate remaining structures into the museum design.

The building will be raised on stilts¹², using an element of traditional Acehnese houses.

Ridwan Kamil, the architect who won a contest to design the museum, says the elevated structure will also incorporate an evacuation center in case of another disaster.

"That escape hill in the future can be used for an emergency situation, in case there is a flood of tsunami people can use that hill as an escape space," he said.

Kamil adds that he wanted to create a structure that would serve as more than a storage place for artifacts or exhibits.

"For me, the tsunami museum has to reflect also the psychology¹³ that people went through during these terrible times," he said.

Kamil says the entrance to the museum, called the tsunami passage, is designed to evoke¹⁴ cathartic¹⁵ emotions for survivors and visitors.

"It's a very tight corridor but very high walls with a waterfall from the left and the right, so people walk through the first space to experience how desperate the victims of the tsunami," he added. "The sound of the water will remind them of the situation."

The names of Acehnese who died in the tsunami will be inscribed¹⁶ in the atrium. The museum will also feature a scientific exhibition on earthquakes and tsunamis¹⁷, with a before-and-after display demonstrating changes to Aceh's coastline.

Adamy Aulina, with the Aceh-Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency, says the building signals a transition in the community's recovery, from focusing on immediate¹⁸ needs to exploring hopes for the future.

"It's also a message. We have to learn from the past," she said. "Well we can learn also what is a tsunami, how we can avoid it. That we can respect and learn nature, yeah? Because with that I hope we can make a better environment and a better life."

Museum officials plan to begin construction on the museum by the end of the year, and hope to have it completed for inauguration¹⁹ on the fourth anniversary of the disaster in December 2008.

1 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

2 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

3 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

4 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

5 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

6 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

7 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

8 scrambled   

v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 demolish   

v.拆毁(建筑物等)，推翻(计划、制度等)

参考例句：

• They're going to demolish that old building.他们将拆毁那座旧建筑物。
• He was helping to demolish an underground garage when part of the roof collapsed.他当时正在帮忙拆除一个地下汽车库，屋顶的一部份突然倒塌。

10 demolished   

v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。
• They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来，为了不让拆除他们的房子，他们一直在进行最后的努力。

11 irony   

n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄

参考例句：

• She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
• In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。

12 stilts   

n.（支撑建筑物高出地面或水面的）桩子，支柱( stilt的名词复数 )；高跷

参考例句：

• a circus performer on stilts 马戏团里踩高跷的演员
• The bamboo huts here are all built on stilts. 这里的竹楼都是架空的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

14 evoke   

vt.唤起，引起，使人想起

参考例句：

• These images are likely to evoke a strong response in the viewer.这些图像可能会在观众中产生强烈反响。
• Her only resource was the sympathy she could evoke.她以凭借的唯一力量就是她能从人们心底里激起的同情。

15 cathartic   

adj.宣泄情绪的；n.泻剂

参考例句：

• His laughter was cathartic,an animal yelp that brought tears to his eyes.他哈哈大笑以宣泄情绪，声音如野兽般尖厉，眼泪都笑出来了。
• The drug had a cathartic effect.这药有导泻的作用。

16 inscribed   

v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接

参考例句：

• His name was inscribed on the trophy. 他的名字刻在奖杯上。
• The names of the dead were inscribed on the wall. 死者的名字被刻在墙上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 tsunamis   

n.海啸( tsunami的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our oceans are alive with earthquakes, volcanoes, and more recently, tsunamis. 海中充满着地震、火山，包括最近发生的海啸。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年2月号
• Please tell me something more about tsunamis! 请您给我讲讲海啸吧！ 来自辞典例句

18 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

19 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。