VOA标准英语2012--Eisenhower Memorial Design Debated

Eisenhower Memorial Design Debated

 

Washington, D.C., is full of grand tributes to U.S. presidents who are judged to have made remarkable¹ contributions to the nation and the world.

They include monuments or memorials to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and, most recently, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Over the past few years, plans have progressed to honor the nation’s 34th president, Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower, as well. “Ike,” as his friends - and the nation - liked to call him, served from 1953 to 1961. He was immensely popular, thanks to his U.S. Army exploits in which he led Allied² forces to victory over Germany in World War II.

Eisenhower got more recent acclaim³ in 2002 when the huge Old Executive Office Building, next door to the White House, was renamed in his honor. But a group of supporters worked to get him his own memorial as well, and a commission was appointed to make it happen.

It chose a location just across Independence Avenue from the Washington National Mall - and incidentally, next door to our Voice of America headquarters building. And it approved a park-like design by modernist architect Frank Gehry, which emphasizes Eisenhower’s pastoral youth in rural Kansas.

Scenes from the war and Ike’s presidency⁴ appear on a series of tapestries⁵ in the background, near the U.S. Department of Education Building.

But some architectural critics and some of Ike’s descendants roundly criticized the design.They want to put a halt to what they call the “fast track” to getting the monument built by 2015.

In a letter to the National Capital Planning Commission, the family members argue that the design does not adequately recognize Eisenhower's military and national leadership. They maintain that it dwells far too much on his roots as a “barefoot boy from Kansas.” 

The family also argues that Gehry’s tapestries would "not likely be sustainable over the centuries.” 

Congress heard about all this, loud and clear. And next Tuesday at the U.S. Capitol, down the street from the proposed Eisenhower Memorial, a committee of the House of Representatives has scheduled hearings on the controversy⁶.

1 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

2 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

3 acclaim   

v.向…欢呼，公认；n.欢呼，喝彩，称赞

参考例句：

• He was welcomed with great acclaim.他受到十分热烈的欢迎。
• His achievements earned him the acclaim of the scientific community.他的成就赢得了科学界的赞誉。

4 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

5 tapestries   

n.挂毯( tapestry的名词复数 )；绣帷，织锦v.用挂毯（或绣帷）装饰( tapestry的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The wall of the banqueting hall were hung with tapestries. 宴会厅的墙上挂有壁毯。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rooms were hung with tapestries. 房间里都装饰着挂毯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。