Officials Unveil Revisions to NY City's Memorial to 9/11 Vic

Officials Unveil Revisions to NY City's Memorial to 9/11 Victims

 

Jenny Falcon¹

The planned memorial for victims of the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York has been revised to include a park, an underground museum, and a chamber² for unidentified remains³.

Last week, officials announced that they had chosen a final proposal for the World Trade Center memorial, designed by Michael Arad, a young architect who works for New York City.

The design, called "Reflecting Absence" features the square outlines of the Twin Towers and includes pools and cascading⁴ water.

Now, Mr. Arad has collaborated⁶ with California-based landscape architect Peter Walker to add an uneven⁷ orchard⁸ of trees, creating a lush, contemplative place to remember the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks, as well as victims of an attack on the World Trade Center .

Mr. Arad said the sense of unity⁹ and grief that he experienced in New York in the aftermath of the disaster influenced his vision. "I understand just how important this memorial is to so many people. What happened on September 11 influenced me greatly and my personal sense of grief and loss led me to submit this memorial design. But my own sense of loss is insignificant¹⁰ compared to what family members feel. I have met these family members in the last few days and these meetings have been very emotional. I know their hopes for this design of this memorial are very high and I will do my very best not to disappoint them.

Relatives of victims had called for the preservation¹¹ of the underground structure, the so-called "slurry wall" and "bedrock", where the World Trade Center once stood.

Visitors are expected to pass that exposed wall while descending¹² a ramp¹³ leading to an underground center for artifacts from September 11, such as twisted steel beams. A chamber to place flowers and light candles, a museum, and a stone container for unidentified remains will also be built at the bottom of the buildings' foundations, more than nine meters deep.

A building intended to separate the memorial from a nearby highway has been removed from the original design.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg praised the decision to list the names of the victims in no particular order, while adding a shield next to the names of rescue workers to recognize their heroism¹⁴ on September 11. He said the list underscores the American value of equality and the brutality¹⁵ of the attacks. "This memorial is not for us, even we have been trusted with its creation. It is for our children and grandchildren. It's for people generations from now will come and know what happened on September 11.2001."

More work lies ahead to combine several selected designs, but the memorial is expected to be the center of the rebuilt World Trade Center site. The "Reflecting Absence" plan was chosen from 5,000 designs submitted by people in more than 60 countries.

 

注释：

memorial [mi5mC:riEl] n. 纪念馆，纪念碑

World Trade Center  世界贸易中心

underground [5QndE^raund] adj. 地下的，地面下的

remains [rI5meIns] n. 遗体

Michael Arad  美国建筑师迈克尔·阿拉德。

architect [5B:kitekt] n. 建筑师

Reflecting Absence  反省缺失，世贸中心遗址纪念馆以缅怀罹难者。

feature [5fi:tFE] n. 以……为特色

Twin Towers  双子塔，指建造得很相似的两幢世界贸易中心高楼。

cascade¹⁶ [kAs5keid] vi. 瀑布般地落下

collaborate⁵ with  合作

orchard [5C:tFEd] n. 果园

contemplative [5kCntempleitiv] adj. 沉思的，冥想的

aftermath [5B:ftEmAW] n. 结果，后果

submit [sEb5mit] vt. 提交

preservation [7prezE(:)5veiFEn] n. 保存

slurry wall  连续壁

bedrock [5bed5rCk] n. 根基

ramp [rAmp] n. 斜坡

artifact [5B:tifAkt] n. 人造物品

beam [bi:m] n. 梁，杆

mayor [mZE] n. 市长

shield [Fi:ld] n. 盾，盾状物

underscore [7QndE5skC:] vt. 强调

brutality [bru(:)5tAliti] n. 残忍，野蛮的行为

trust sb. with sth.   委托某人某事

1 falcon   

n.隼，猎鹰

参考例句：

• The falcon was twice his size with pouted feathers.鹰张开羽毛比两只鹰还大。
• The boys went hunting with their falcon.男孩子们带着猎鹰出去打猎了。

2 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 cascading   

流注( cascade的现在分词 )； 大量落下； 大量垂悬； 梯流

参考例句：

• First of all, cascading menus are to be avoided at all costs. 首先，无论如何都要避免使用级联菜单。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Her sounds began cascading gently. 他的声音开始缓缓地低落下来。

5 collaborate   

vi.协作，合作；协调

参考例句：

• The work gets done more quickly when we collaborate.我们一旦合作，工作做起来就更快了。
• I would ask you to collaborate with us in this work.我们愿意请你们在这项工作中和我们合作。

6 collaborated   

合作( collaborate的过去式和过去分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• We have collaborated on many projects over the years. 这些年来我们合作搞了许多项目。
• We have collaborated closely with the university on this project. 我们与大学在这个专案上紧密合作。

7 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

8 orchard   

n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场

参考例句：

• My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
• Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。

9 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

10 insignificant   

adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的

参考例句：

• In winter the effect was found to be insignificant.在冬季，这种作用是不明显的。
• This problem was insignificant compared to others she faced.这一问题与她面临的其他问题比较起来算不得什么。

11 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

12 descending   

n. 下行 adj. 下降的

参考例句：

• The results are expressed in descending numerical order . 结果按数字降序列出。
• The climbers stopped to orient themselves before descending the mountain. 登山者先停下来确定所在的位置，然后再下山。

13 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

14 heroism   

n.大无畏精神，英勇

参考例句：

• He received a medal for his heroism.他由于英勇而获得一枚奖章。
• Stories of his heroism resounded through the country.他的英雄故事传遍全国。

15 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

16 cascade   

n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下

参考例句：

• She watched the magnificent waterfall cascade down the mountainside.她看着壮观的瀑布从山坡上倾泻而下。
• Her hair fell over her shoulders in a cascade of curls.她的卷发像瀑布一样垂在肩上。