VOA慢速英语2013 AS IT IS 2013-05-04 The Wonder Wheel and Spook-A-Rama Reopen at Coney Island

 

AS IT IS 2013-05-04 The Wonder Wheel and Spook-A-Rama Reopen at Coney Island

Hello again, and welcome to AS IT IS… your daily magazine show from VOA Learning English.

I’m June Simms.

Today we hear about how sea levels are rising around the world, and what this could mean for coastal¹ communities like New York City.

But first, we head off to one of the Big Apple’s most popular destinations for fun. Coney Island, hear we come!

When super-storm Sandy hit the east coast of the United States last October, it caused major damage in coastal areas like New York’s Coney Island. VOA’s Adam Phillips followed one family affected² by the storm. He watched as they cleaned up, re-imagined and rebuilt their Coney Island business for opening day 2013. 

For more than a century, Coney Island has been known for seaside fun and a place to escape from New York, the city that never sleeps. But that dreamland turned into a terrible experience for the Vourderis family on October 29th. Rising waters from Sandy flooded their Coney Island amusement rides and games.

“When we got here and saw the devastation³, it was like a death.”

Deno Vourderis is a third generation worker in this family-owned business.  

“I mean figuratively like a death because a lot of the stuff has history.”

Those things include the family’s 93 year old Wonder Wheel. The 45-meter high structure was named an official New York City landmark⁴ in 1989. It survived the strong winds of super-storm Sandy, but the storm’s sand and water nearly destroyed it.

The family’s more than 50 year old Spook-A-Rama house also suffered damage.

The Vourderis family decided⁵ to rebuild. Deno worked with a five man crew he has known since he was a boy. His father Steve directed the clean-up and rebuilding effort.

“We’re men. We do what we have to do. We get it done.”

Steve’s brother, Dennis Vourderis, supervised planning and finances. He says the family had to borrow a huge amount of money to pay for repairs and new equipment.

“But what hurts more is when you have an old piece of equipment that has been around for 70 or 80 years that was underwater and you know it can’t be restored. So that’s especially painful to throw away.” 

“We might be able to fix this. Louis! Don’t throw this guy out, okay?  We’re gonna bring him in the shop and see what we can do with him.”

After months of hard work, the Wonder Wheel is rebuilt. The Spook-A-Rama is all set to frighten people. And the rides for children are ready. The Vourderis family was excited about the results.

“We kept a couple of the old relics⁶, but a lot of it is all new. All new mechanics, all new haunts.”

Coney Island's rebirth became a reality in late March when people gathered together for Opening Day.

The Vourderis family offered up fun at no cost for everyone in attendance.

“I couldn't be happier. Everything worked out the way we wanted it to work out . All the rides are up. They’re running. The Wonder Wheel is at 100 percent. So I couldn’t be happier.”   

Much of what Sandy destroyed has been rebuilt.

It is probably safe to say that nowhere have the results been more fun than here at Coney Island.

“We love you Coney!!”

You are listening to AS IT IS. I’m June Simms.

The continued warming of the earth's climate is melting mountain glaciers⁷ and polar ice. This is causing sea levels around the world to rise. Most scientists believe sea levels could rise by more than one meter by the end of the twenty-first century. That could mean trouble for some island nations and coastal communities like New York City. As we hear from Faith Lapidus, New York officials are studying ways to deal with the rising waters.

When super-storm Sandy struck last October, New York got a taste of what its future could be. Jerry Gonzalez was there. He lives in Brooklyn, the city’s most populous⁸ borough⁹.

“The water was up to half of the door, and then we had to get buckets and try to take out all the water. Until we opened the door, and we saw the refrigerator floating on the water.”

In New York City, the waters rose more than four meters above the average high tide mark.

Studies have found that sea levels around the city could rise up to 70 centimeters by the year 2100. Klaus Jacob is a scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Observatory¹⁰ at Columbia University. He describes what New York would look like under those conditions.

“It would look like that Wall Street doesn’t have yellow taxis. But it may have yellow taxi boats.”

Mr. Jacob believes elevation¹¹ is the answer. He gives an example of the Highline – a former above-ground railroad track that has been turned into a popular walkway.

“We may want to have many more of those Highlines connecting these skyscrapers¹². Some of them even may have transportation systems above ground instead of just subways.” 

The federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, recently released new flood zone maps for New York. Mayor Michael Bloomberg calls the maps a blueprint¹³ for the future.

“Those maps will guide us in setting new construction requirements and will add new structural¹⁴ requirements to ensure that buildings can withstand the intense winds and waves that we expect down the road. The fact of the matter is we live next to the ocean, and the ocean comes with risks... if, as many scientists project, sea levels continue rising. However, there may be some coastline protections that we can build that will mitigate¹⁵ the impact of a storm surge with berms and dunes¹⁶, jetties and levees.”

Michael Byrne is FEMA's coordinator¹⁷ in New York. He says decisions about building and rebuilding after super-storm Sandy must be planned intelligently.

“Elevation is only one of the methods to protect. We can build sea walls, we can build levees, we can choose not to rebuild at a place.”

Scientists say sea levels have risen 20 to 30 centimeters over the past 100 years. Many believe the levels could rise another one-point-five meters by the end of this century. They say coastal cities and island nations face the greatest risk. These areas will either have to develop ways to keep the ocean out or move to higher ground. I’m Faith Lapidus.

That’s AS IT IS for today, I’m June Simms. Thank you for sharing your day with us. We invite you to share your ideas with us as well. 

Have a great day! 

1 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 relics   

[pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸

参考例句：

• The area is a treasure house of archaeological relics. 这个地区是古文物遗迹的宝库。
• Xi'an is an ancient city full of treasures and saintly relics. 西安是一个有很多宝藏和神圣的遗物的古老城市。

7 glaciers   

冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills. 冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
• It has ice and snow glaciers, rainforests and beautiful mountains. 既有冰川，又有雨林和秀丽的山峰。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

8 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

9 borough   

n.享有自治权的市镇；(英)自治市镇

参考例句：

• He was slated for borough president.他被提名做自治区主席。
• That's what happened to Harry Barritt of London's Bromley borough.住在伦敦的布罗姆利自治市的哈里.巴里特就经历了此事。

10 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

11 elevation   

n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高

参考例句：

• The house is at an elevation of 2,000 metres.那幢房子位于海拔两千米的高处。
• His elevation to the position of General Manager was announced yesterday.昨天宣布他晋升总经理职位。

12 skyscrapers   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• A lot of skyscrapers in Manhattan are rising up to the skies. 曼哈顿有许多摩天大楼耸入云霄。
• On all sides, skyscrapers rose like jagged teeth. 四周耸起的摩天大楼参差不齐。

13 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

14 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

15 mitigate   

vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和

参考例句：

• The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
• Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。

16 dunes   

沙丘( dune的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The boy galloped over the dunes barefoot. 那男孩光着脚在沙丘间飞跑。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat. 将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

17 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？