VOA标准英语2012--Custom Homes Set New Standard for Injured US Soldiers

Custom Homes Set New Standard for Injured US Soldiers

A pretty, yellow house in a residential¹ suburb of Northern Virginia may look like a typical American home from the outside. But inside, it's anything but.

Almost every aspect of this light and spacious² model home has been designed for U.S. soldiers, with severe disabilities, who are returning to Fort Belvoir army base.

An open floor plan, with long, wide hallways, allows easy movement for a wheelchair. Vinyl floors provide a smooth rolling surface. Cabinets are equipped with shelves that pull out, bathrooms have sturdy grab bars, and almost every room has a sliding door.

The home was constructed by Clark Realty, a real estate development company that, together with the U.S. Army, collaborated³ with IDEO, an international design firm, and renowned⁴ architect Michael Graves, to create homes for wounded warriors⁶.

More than 200,000 U.S. soldiers have returned from Iraq or Afghanistan with physical and emotional disabilities. Fifty-four million Americans have some degree of disability. So the homes could be models for civilian⁷ homes as well. 

Golden features

The Wounded Warrior⁵ Home Project has multiple objectives. 

One is to surpass the minimum standards set by the U.S. government, according to Casey Nolan, a project director for Clark Realty, and “to create a place where anyone wants to live.”

In the kitchen, for example, the sink moves up and down with a touch of a button, and so does the stove top. The counter overlooking the kitchen can be adjusted for any family member.

Another appealing feature is the spacious closet in the master bedroom, which provides a private area for extra wheelchairs and prosthetics. 

Award-winning architect Michael Graves feels uniquely qualified⁸ to design homes for injured soldiers. In 2003, a rare infection left him paralyzed from the waist down.

“We intended, when we started this project, to make houses that didn’t look as though they screamed ‘a disabled person lives here,’” he says. “We wanted to make normalcy.”

While he and his team have designed more than 350 buildings worldwide, this project was special to him.

“I’ve been able to do for them all the things that I would have done to my house," Graves says, "if I’d known before I was paralyzed 10 years ago.”

Hidden wounds

While many soldiers come home in a wheelchair, many more return with other hidden disabilities.

Retired⁹ Capt. Alvin Shell was injured in Iraq while rescuing a fellow soldier from a burning truck. He suffered third-degree burns over 30 percent of his body.

“On my right side, from just under my shoulder all the way down to my ankle,” Shell says.

He also has vision loss and post-traumatic stress disorder¹⁰ (PTSD). Because of his multiple injuries, the Wounded Warrior team asked Shell and his wife Danielle - who's provided strong support throughout his ordeal¹¹ - to serve as advisors¹² on the house. 

One of Shell’s recommendations was to incorporate large windows and glass doors, to let in therapeutic¹³ natural light and provide a sense of security. Touch pads installed near the doors help burn victims like him open doors more easily. 

Also, since Shell's burns make it difficult for him to regulate his body temperature, he suggested multiple thermostats¹⁴ throughout the house. 

“I really hope that the concept of this house becomes contagious¹⁵ throughout the army and all of the military,” Shell says. 

Michael Graves hopes it will extend beyond the military. “Those houses that we’ve done for Belvoir would work all over the country for people who are disabled or simply arthritic¹⁶, or obese¹⁷ or just elderly.”

Two Wounded Warrior homes have already been completed. Nineteen more are planned for service members returning to active duty at Fort Belvoir in the coming years.

1 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

2 spacious   

adj.广阔的，宽敞的

参考例句：

• Our yard is spacious enough for a swimming pool.我们的院子很宽敞，足够建一座游泳池。
• The room is bright and spacious.这房间很豁亮。

3 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。

4 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

5 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

6 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

7 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

8 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

9 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

10 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

11 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

12 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

13 therapeutic   

adj.治疗的，起治疗作用的；对身心健康有益的

参考例句：

• Therapeutic measures were selected to fit the patient.选择治疗措施以适应病人的需要。
• When I was sad,music had a therapeutic effect.我悲伤的时候，音乐有治疗效力。

14 thermostats   

n.恒温（调节）器( thermostat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This is the basic operating principle of many thermostats. 这是许多恒温箱的基本工作原理。 来自辞典例句
• Thermostats can be used to regulate the temperature of a room. 恒温器可用来调节室内温度。 来自辞典例句

15 contagious   

adj.传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• It's a highly contagious infection.这种病极易传染。
• He's got a contagious laugh.他的笑富有感染力。

16 arthritic   

adj.关节炎的

参考例句：

• Somehow the geriatric Voyager 2, arthritic and partially deaf, managed to reach Neptune. 得了关节炎而且局部变聋、衰老的“旅行者2号”最后总算抵达海王星。 来自百科语句
• Femoral head ostectomy is a surgery performed on severely arthritic dogs. 股骨断截骨术’都是针对关节炎严重的狗狗的手术。 来自互联网

17 obese   

adj.过度肥胖的，肥大的

参考例句：

• The old man is really obese,it can't be healthy.那位老人确实过于肥胖了，不能算是健康。
• Being obese and lazy is dangerous to health.又胖又懒危害健康。