VOA常速英语2019--华盛顿纪念碑修缮后重新开放

Washington Monument Reopens After Repairs, Upgrades

This iconic landmark¹ in the nation’s capital has been closed for most of the past eight years after a five point eight magnitude earthquake in 2011 left a hundred fifty cracks in the stones. The Washington Monument briefly² opened in 2016 but closed again after a series of elevator malfunctions³.We totally rehabbed and rebuilt the elevator system, so that’s new cabling, new programming that goes with it, refurbished the motor,that’s part of it and then also incorporated security screening requirements.First Lady Melania Trump⁴ took a ceremonial first ride to the top with local students as the first public visitors.Named after the first President of the United States the Washington Monument is the most dramatic feature on the city skyline and one of the most popular tourist attractions on the National Mall averaging 500,000 visitors a year.And now tourists are very excited to be able to go back on top of the monument to see a most dramatic spectacular view of the city. People lined up in the early morning to get tickets. This couple from Shanghai who do not speak English asked for spare tickets by showing a handwritten sign.That said their ancestors donated one of the commemorative stone tablets in the Monument. They were very persistent⁵, they were... they really wanted to get up there and I had two extra tickets.

这座位于国家首都的标志性建筑在过去8年的大部分时间里一直处于关闭状态，2011年的5.8级地震给这座纪念碑留下了150处裂痕。华盛顿纪念碑在2016年暂时开放，但在一系列电梯故障后再次关闭。我们彻底修缮和重建了电梯系统，所以电梯系统有新的电缆，新的程序，我们整修了发动机，那是部分工作，然后还增加了安全检查要求。第一夫人梅拉尼娅·特朗普在剪彩仪式上和当地学生作为第一批公众游客到达纪念碑顶端。华盛顿纪念碑以美国第一任总统的名字命名，它是城市天际线上最引人注目的景观，也是国家广场上最受欢迎的旅游景点之一，平均每年有50万游客前来参观。现在游客们非常兴奋能够重返纪念碑的顶部，看到这座城市最壮观的景色。人们一大早排队买票。这对来自上海夫妇不会说英语，他们通过展示一张手写标记牌来寻求别人多余的票。那上面说他们的祖先捐赠了纪念碑中的一块纪念石碑。他们非常执着，他们……他们真的很想去那里，我有两张多余的票。

There are 193 commemorative stone tablets set into the interior walls of the Monument. According to the National Park Service’s one of them was donated by the American mission in Ningbo China whom the Zhang’s claim as their ancestors. We are very happy.We are very thank.All the tickets are sold out and we’ll fly back to China tomorrow. Construction began in 1848 and took nearly forty years to complete due to the Civil War and lack of funding.This time the Monument’s repair was funded not only with taxpayers⁶ money but also with millions of dollars in private donations.

纪念碑的室内墙上镶嵌着193块纪念石碑。据国家公园管理局介绍，其中一块纪念石碑是由美国驻中国宁波代表团捐赠的，这对张姓夫妇称那是他们的祖先。我们非常开心。非常感谢。所有的票都卖完了，我们明天就要乘飞机回中国了。华盛顿纪念碑于1848年开始建设，由于内战和缺乏资金，花了近40年才建完。这次修缮华盛顿纪念碑的资金不仅来自纳税人，还有数百万美元的私人捐赠。

1 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

2 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

3 malfunctions   

n.故障，功能障碍（malfunction的复数形式）vi.失灵（malfunction的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• The mood of defeat was as pervasive as the odor of malfunctions and decay. 失败的情绪就象损坏腐烂的臭味一样弥漫全艇。 来自辞典例句
• Possibility of engine malfunctions due to moisture, are lessened. 发动机故障的可能性，由于水分，也将减少。 来自互联网

4 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

5 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

6 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。