VOA标准英语2012--National Mall Construction to Affect July 4 Celebrations

 

National Mall Construction to Affect July 4 Celebrations

Construction on National Mall

If you are one of the 25 million tourists visiting the National Mall this year, you can't help but notice that it's going through changes.

National Park Service information officer Carol Johnson says there are three massive construction projects. "We've never done projects quite this big. I mean, the Lincoln Reflecting Pool is the Big Kahuna [biggest one]," she explained.

The pool has been gutted¹ and totally rebuilt.

"Washington D.C. is on a landfill and it had started to sink," said Johnson. "It was leaking about 500,000 gallons [2 million liters] of water a week."

There's a levy² project off to the side of the World War II Memorial for storm-water management.

"It's sort of been unobtrusive during the construction, so we haven't had too many complaints," stated Johnson.

And then there's this one. It's a construction project that has ripped apart four blocks of the National Mall. And it's just steps away from the Capitol, which is hosting a big Independence Day concert."

"The people who designed it never anticipated the use we get on it now. We have inaugurations³, we have demonstrations⁴, we have concerts, and it has compacted the soil to the point that it is actually the consistency⁵ of concrete," Johnson said.

Partial fencing, Independence Celebration

And while fences and an extra entrance are being added, part of the Mall will be inaccessible⁶ on Independence Day.

"The big difference this year is that people won't be able to stand from 3rd-7th [streets]," Johnson added. "But we're confident that there's enough room for everybody."

The construction may be inconvenient⁷, but many say the final product will be worth the wait.

"Well, it's a bit little difficult to get around, but otherwise, it looks like they're doing a good job with it. So, hopefully it will look great when they're done and we'll get back one year when they're all finished with it," tourist Paul Brown said.

The Reflecting Pool will be finished in August, and crews will complete the other two projects by the end of the year [2012].

1 gutted   

adj.容易消化的v.毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的过去式和过去分词 )；取出…的内脏

参考例句：

• Disappointed? I was gutted! 失望？我是伤心透了！
• The invaders gutted the historic building. 侵略者们将那幢历史上有名的建筑洗劫一空。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 levy   

n.征收税或其他款项，征收额

参考例句：

• They levy a tax on him.他们向他征税。
• A direct food levy was imposed by the local government.地方政府征收了食品税。

3 inaugurations   

n.就职( inauguration的名词复数 )；就职典礼；开始；开创

参考例句：

4 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

5 consistency   

n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度

参考例句：

• Your behaviour lacks consistency.你的行为缺乏一贯性。
• We appreciate the consistency and stability in China and in Chinese politics.我们赞赏中国及其政策的连续性和稳定性。

6 inaccessible   

adj.达不到的，难接近的

参考例句：

• This novel seems to me among the most inaccessible.这本书对我来说是最难懂的小说之一。
• The top of Mount Everest is the most inaccessible place in the world.珠穆朗玛峰是世界上最难到达的地方。

7 inconvenient   

adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的

参考例句：

• You have come at a very inconvenient time.你来得最不适时。
• Will it be inconvenient for him to attend that meeting?他参加那次会议会不方便吗？