VOA慢速英语2015 印度计划建立100个“智能”城市

AS IT IS 2015-04-29 India Plans to Build 100 'Smart' Cities 印度计划建立100个“智能”城市

Many of India’s biggest cities are struggling. They have too many people and not enough places for them to work, live and play. They often lack services, including effective public transportation and recreational areas, like parks.

The number of people living in cities in the fast-growing nation is expected to rise to 814 million by 2050. This kind of sharp growth is known as “mass urbanization.” It has happened before only in China.

To deal with the predicted growth, India will build many “smart cities.” These cities will have clean water, waste collection and a power center. These are luxuries¹ for many Indians.

A year ago, Prime² Minister Narendra Modi announced a plan to build 100 smart cities by 2022, at a cost of one trillion dollars. He hopes the construction of the cities will provide jobs for the one million Indians who join the workforce³ every month.

The first smart city is near Gandhinagar, the capital of the state of Gujarat. It is called Gujarat International Finance⁴ Tec-City, or GIFT. The Indian government hopes it will be a model for future Indian cities.

Officials hope to persuade banks and other businesses to open in GIFT. To do that, the government is reducing their taxes and giving them other financial benefits.

Words in This Story

urbanization – n. the process by which towns and cities are formed and become larger as more and more people begin living and working in central areas

luxury⁵ – n. something that is helpful or welcome and that is not usually or always available

1 luxuries   

n.奢侈( luxury的名词复数 )；豪华；奢侈品；不常有的乐趣（或享受、优势）

参考例句：

• Such luxuries are unavailable to ordinary people. 此等奢侈品普通百姓是难以获得的。
• His salary is low and he gets few luxuries. 他薪水微薄，很少买奢侈品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 prime   

adj.首要的，主要的；最好的，第一流的

参考例句：

• The prime minister spoke of the general insecurity in the country.总理谈到了全国普遍存在的不安全。
• He met with the Prime Minister of Japan for an hour.他和日本首相会见了一个小时。

3 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

4 finance   

n.财务管理，财政，金融，财源，资金

参考例句：

• She is an expert in finance.她是一名财政专家。
• A finance house made a bid to buy up the entire company.一家信贷公司出价买下了整个公司。

5 luxury   

n.难得享受到的愉悦；奢侈，奢华的生活

参考例句：

• He invited me to his suite. The luxury takes your breath away.他请我到他的套房里去，那豪华的气派真会令你吃惊。
• The government has imposed strict reins on the import of luxury goods.政府对奢侈品的进口有严格的控制手段。