万花筒 Kaleidoscope2007-10-22&10-23, 奥运---北京大变脸

A phoenix¹ is rising from the ashes of a battered² Beijing. With less than a year into the start of the Olympics, the Chinese capital is being given a twenty billion-euro face-lift. No matter where you go, you’re surrounded by cranes and scaffolding. There are currently more building sites in Beijing than in the whole of Europe. The Olympics is a perfect excuse for the authorities to turn a slumbering³ Beijing into a 21st century capital.

The country is undergoing a rapid development. On the one hand, the historical districts of Beijing must be preserved. This must go hand-in-hand with the modernization⁴ of the city. Some of the changes would of course affect the layout of the city. For example, widening the roads will obviously cause the destruction of old houses. As the standard of living increases though, we are obliged to modernize⁵ these traditional residences.

But for many Beijingese this modernization is a bitter pill to swallow. Tens of thousands have been evicted⁶ from their homes and demonstrations⁷ take place daily. Nothing has come off them though, the majority of traditional districts still being destroyed. It’s necessary to make space to accommodate the symbols of new Beijing, an opera house, an Olympic stage and towering office blocks. Of the old city little remains⁸ other than a few houses, and these completely renovated⁹.

When I was young, we had to burn charcoal¹⁰ to stay warm during the colder months. I remember it burning my eyes. Today though the government has renovated these districts and installed electricity and running water. It’s much more practical. Hutong has become even more beautiful.

More than a hundred million euros a year are currently earmarked for heritage protection. But many don’t think it's enough and the government should be spending more to safeguard the city's history.

One hopes that the democratic spirit—the spirit of culture and heritage protection will increase and improve. We need to protect this city’s heritage and sometimes it’s necessary to fight for this.

On the countdowns, completion has already started there are just three hundred days left for the excavators to finish their work., just enough time for the dust to settle before the Olympics. The authority is guarantying the work will be completed in plenty of time for the opening ceremony.

1 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

2 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

3 slumbering   

微睡，睡眠（slumber的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• It was quiet. All the other inhabitants of the slums were slumbering. 贫民窟里的人已经睡眠静了。
• Then soft music filled the air and soothed the slumbering heroes. 接着，空中响起了柔和的乐声，抚慰着安睡的英雄。

4 modernization   

n.现代化，现代化的事物

参考例句：

• This will help us achieve modernization.这有助于我们实现现代化。
• The Chinese people are sure to realize the modernization of their country.中国人民必将实现国家现代化。

5 modernize   

vt.使现代化，使适应现代的需要

参考例句：

• It was their manifest failure to modernize the country's industries.他们使国家进行工业现代化，明显失败了。
• There is a pressing need to modernise our electoral system.我们的选举制度迫切需要现代化。

6 evicted   

v.（依法从房屋里或土地上）驱逐，赶出( evict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
• They had evicted their tenants for non-payment of rent. 他们赶走了未交房租的房客。

7 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

8 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。

9 renovated   

翻新，修复，整修( renovate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He renovated his house. 他翻修了房子。
• The house has been renovated three years earlier. 这所房子三年前就已翻新。

10 charcoal   

n.炭，木炭，生物炭

参考例句：

• We need to get some more charcoal for the barbecue.我们烧烤需要更多的碳。
• Charcoal is used to filter water.木炭是用来过滤水的。