欧美文化博览 超级城市纽约 (1)

To really know what makes a great city work, you have to peel back its skin and expose its secret life force. A system of incredible complexity¹ and technology, the millions depend on but few understand. A fantastic voyage now begins, a journey deep inside the world's megacities-- they call it the Big Apple, the largest metropolis² in America.

要想真正知道什么使得一个伟大的城市工作,你必须拨开附着在上面的云雾，探寻其内部奥秘。一个系统的复杂性和难以置信的技术, 数百万人依靠，但却很少有人知道。一次深入世界深处的神秘旅程现在开始启航——他们称它为大苹果,这是美国的大都市。

Eight million people scatter³ across five boroughs⁵, each a city in itself. The core of the Big Apple, the bustling⁶ borough⁴ of Manhattan. Like no place on earth, New York is famed for its pace, yet life here would slow to a crawl without one vital piece of infrastructure⁷, perhaps the most famous transportation system in the world——the New York Subway.

八百万人分散在这个城市的五个行政区。大苹果的核心是熙熙攘攘的曼哈顿。像地球上的任何地方,纽约以自己的快节奏步伐著称,但这里的生活如果没有一个关键的基础设施将会慢如蜗牛,也许在整个世界最著名的运输系统就是——纽约地铁。

It's the engine to drive this megacity. Seventy five percent of New Yorkers have no car, they don't need one, New York has the best transit⁸ system in America, yet the subway is a system under siege. Daily it faces a triple threat, from man, from nature and from time. Count the perils⁹ and mind reels. Two thirds of the subway runs under ground, under roads ,under rivers, under skyscrapers¹⁰, the system truly carries the weight of the city on its shoulders-billions of tons of concrete and steel, asphalt and earth all bearing down. Millions of liters of water threatening to flood in. 100-year-old network struggling to keep up and the most ominous¹¹ number of all, 9-11. In these dark shadows, the specter of terrorism is no illusion; it's a nightmare, New York survived, and struggles daily to never relive.

这是驱动这个大都市的引擎。百分之七十五的纽约市民没有汽车,他们根本不需要,纽约有着美国最好的交通系统,但是地铁是一种遭到恶评的系统。每天都面临着一个三重威胁,从人来的,从自然及时间的。三分之二的地铁是在地面下,道路下,河流下,摩天大楼下。地铁系统真正在肩上扛起了这个城市数十亿吨的混凝土和钢筋、沥青及所有的土壤。数百万公升的洪水涌入。100岁的网络系统疲于应付,最坏的号码就是9-11。在这些挥之不去的阴影中,恐怖主义的幽灵没有幻影;它是一个噩梦。纽约存活了下来,在自己的日常生活中无休止的挣扎着。

1 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

2 metropolis   

n.首府；大城市

参考例句：

• Shanghai is a metropolis in China.上海是中国的大都市。
• He was dazzled by the gaiety and splendour of the metropolis.大都市的花花世界使他感到眼花缭乱。

3 scatter   

vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散

参考例句：

• You pile everything up and scatter things around.你把东西乱堆乱放。
• Small villages scatter at the foot of the mountain.村庄零零落落地散布在山脚下。

4 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。

5 boroughs   

（尤指大伦敦的）行政区( borough的名词复数 )； 议会中有代表的市镇

参考例句：

• London is made up of 32 boroughs. 伦敦由三十二个行政区组成。
• Brooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City. 布鲁克林区是纽约市的五个行政区之一。

6 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

7 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

8 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

9 perils   

极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境）

参考例句：

• The commander bade his men be undaunted in the face of perils. 指挥员命令他的战士要临危不惧。
• With how many more perils and disasters would he load himself? 他还要再冒多少风险和遭受多少灾难？

10 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。

11 ominous   

adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的

参考例句：

• Those black clouds look ominous for our picnic.那些乌云对我们的野餐来说是个不祥之兆。
• There was an ominous silence at the other end of the phone.电话那头出现了不祥的沉默。