VOA标准英语2010年-What Lights in Yonder Desert Shine?

Each night on Old Las Vegas's Fremont Street, lights and speakers create a show overhead.

Paris may be the City of Light, but the city of lights is the gambling¹ oasis² of Las Vegas, in the western state of Nevada.

Along a downtown casino row that's often called Glitter Gulch³, building facades⁴ pulsate⁵ with millions of lights and glowing neon displays. Even bigger illuminated⁷ signs and animated⁸ marquees line the Las Vegas Strip of casino resorts just outside city limits. Vegas shimmers⁹ all night long.

According to Nevada's power company, the electricity needed to illuminate⁶ just the outdoor signs on the Las Vegas Strip could power an entire city of 25,000 people. 

Aladdin's lamp from the defunct¹⁰ casino of the same name is one of many nostalgic signs of bygone Las Vegas saved in the Neon Boneyard.

Seventy or so years ago, the tradition of light spectacles began downtown, and glittering Fremont Street became world-famous. But as the fancy new resorts on the Strip lured¹¹ away more and more tourist traffic, downtown Vegas declined into a collection of worn-out casinos and run-down motels.

The city responded in the late 1990s by turning five blocks of downtown into a pedestrian and entertainment mall called the Fremont Street Experience, covered by a canopy¹² of 2 million lightbulbs and 218 giant speakers that erupt into a spectacular show each night. 

The Hacienda Hotel was imploded¹³ in 1996 to make room for the gigantic Mandalay Bay Resort. But the Hacienda's beloved illuminated sign was saved, reconditioned, and remounted on a Vegas street.

These are not ordinary lightbulbs. Each is engineered to last 25,000 hours. 

And a more delicate lighting¹⁴ experience - neon - is making a comeback as a decorative¹⁵ feature on the city's newest high-rise casino hotels.

Downtown, neon treasures from a bygone era were stored in a dusty field called the Neon Boneyard. It has evolved into a museum, full of old-time signs from places like Sassy Sally's casino and the Horseshoe Club. 

Casino owners in the place they call Sin City are sometimes asked to dim their lights in the dead of night to help conserve¹⁶ energy for the regional power grid¹⁷. The requests are usually ignored. Their city without lights, they say, would be like Venice without canals, India without the Taj Mahal, or Bali without the sea.
 

1 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

2 oasis   

n.（沙漠中的）绿洲，宜人的地方

参考例句：

• They stopped for the night at an oasis.他们在沙漠中的绿洲停下来过夜。
• The town was an oasis of prosperity in a desert of poverty.该镇是贫穷荒漠中的一块繁荣的“绿洲”。

3 gulch   

n.深谷，峡谷

参考例句：

• The trail ducks into a narrow gulch.这条羊肠小道突然下到一个狭窄的峡谷里。
• This is a picture of California Gulch.这是加利福尼亚峡谷的图片。

4 facades   

n.（房屋的）正面( facade的名词复数 )；假象，外观

参考例句：

• Terraces of asphalt are placed by the building's south and west facades. 沥青露台位于建筑的南面和西面。 来自互联网
• Preserving historic buildings or keeping only their facades (or fronts) grew common. 保存历史建筑或是保持它们普通的正面增长。 来自互联网

5 pulsate   

v.有规律的跳动

参考例句：

• Hues of purplish,rose and amber begin to pulsate in the sky.淡紫色的、玫瑰色的和琥珀色的色调开始在天空中微微颤动起来。
• Building facades pulsate with millions of lights and glowing neon display.在千万灯光和霓虹灯的照耀下，建筑物的外墙规律地闪动着。

6 illuminate   

vt.照亮，照明；用灯光装饰；说明，阐释

参考例句：

• Dreams kindle a flame to illuminate our dark roads.梦想点燃火炬照亮我们黑暗的道路。
• They use games and drawings to illuminate their subject.他们用游戏和图画来阐明他们的主题。

7 illuminated   

adj.被照明的；受启迪的

参考例句：

• Floodlights illuminated the stadium. 泛光灯照亮了体育场。
• the illuminated city at night 夜幕中万家灯火的城市

8 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

9 shimmers   

n.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的名词复数 )v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The hot pavement sent up shimmers. 晒热的道路浮起热气晃动的景象。 来自辞典例句
• Sunlight shimmers on the waters of the bay. 阳光在海湾的水面上闪烁。 来自辞典例句

10 defunct   

adj.死亡的；已倒闭的

参考例句：

• The scheme for building an airport seems to be completely defunct now.建造新机场的计划看来整个完蛋了。
• This schema object is defunct.No modifications are allowed until it is made active again.此架构对象不起作用。在重新激活之前，不能进行任何改动。

11 lured   

吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The child was lured into a car but managed to escape. 那小孩被诱骗上了车，但又设法逃掉了。
• Lured by the lust of gold,the pioneers pushed onward. 开拓者在黄金的诱惑下，继续奋力向前。

12 canopy   

n.天篷，遮篷

参考例句：

• The trees formed a leafy canopy above their heads.树木在他们头顶上空形成了一个枝叶茂盛的遮篷。
• They lay down under a canopy of stars.他们躺在繁星点点的天幕下。

13 imploded   

v.（使）向心聚爆( implode的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The economies of Brazil and Russia imploded in 1998. 巴西与俄罗斯的经济在1998年宣告破裂。 来自互联网
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

14 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

15 decorative   

adj.装饰的，可作装饰的

参考例句：

• This ware is suitable for decorative purpose but unsuitable for utility.这种器皿中看不中用。
• The style is ornate and highly decorative.这种风格很华丽，而且装饰效果很好。

16 conserve   

vt.保存，保护，节约，节省，守恒，不灭

参考例句：

• He writes on both sides of the sheet to conserve paper.他在纸张的两面都写字以节省用纸。
• Conserve your energy,you'll need it!保存你的精力，你会用得着的！

17 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。