VOA标准英语2013--Rangoon's Historic Buildings Face Threat of Development

 

Rangoon's Historic Buildings Face Threat of Development

One building in downtown Rangoon was built 98 years ago by Indian traders, seized by the government in the 1960s and then abandoned several years ago when the government moved the capital to Naypyitaw.

Now the cavernous mixed-use structure is used for everything from legal offices to government housing.

The once majestic¹ marble entrance opens to a cob-webbed wrought-iron elevator shaft² and an elevator that hasn't worked in decades.

The building is so poorly maintained that most taps leak, and its inner courtyard serves as a garbage dump.

After surviving two world wars, decades of military rule, and a devastating³ cyclone⁴, it may finally fall victim to Burma’s building binge.

Daw Gyi has been living here for five years. Mom, daughter, grandchild, daughter’s husband. The government provides the family with free housing because the daughter is a civil servant. Daw Gyi worries about eviction⁵. "It's old, it's not beautiful, somewhat ramshackle. It's not like when it was new. I think it would look good if you renovated⁶ it, the floor is all still good," she added.

Property prices have doubled in Rangoon in the last year alone, and the government has been selling off property to address its growing debt. Many of the buildings, some of which had been condemned⁷, have already been torn down, displacing residents like Daw Gyi.

The Yangon Heritage Trust is one organization trying to assure that Rangoon's historic buildings survive the threats of modernity, but the group has not yet been able to secure actual legal protection for any of the buildings. Moe Moe is the co-director.

"We are racing⁸ against time," Moe Moe said. "If they have the foresight⁹, they should realise by saving the heritage it will making more money or more attracting to the investors¹⁰, or attracting tourists."

Some entrepreneurs have recognized the value of historic buildings, and have gone through the painstaking¹¹ and expensive process of renovating¹² these old buildings as a way of preserving them.

Anthony Alderson owns a bar in an old two-story building he refurbished on 50th Street in downtown Rangoon. He says he has had to wait for 15 years for his investment to start paying off, and thinks there simply isn't enough return on investment for other businesses to follow suit.

“It's an added value to any tourist coming to the country to go inside old buildings because they've seen them from the outside they often don't go inside. A lot of these smaller buildings will come down and give way to, unfortunately, a sky city, as it were. I think Yangon [Rangoon] is going to grow upwards¹³ rather than outwards," Alderson stated. "I think you'll see in this particular area in five years this will be one funny little building in amongst a lot of towers.”

Unless Burma's more monied businessmen can take the plunge¹⁴ to make enormous investments for sentimental¹⁵ value, Southeast Asia may lose its time capsule.

1 majestic   

adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的

参考例句：

• In the distance rose the majestic Alps.远处耸立着雄伟的阿尔卑斯山。
• He looks majestic in uniform.他穿上军装显得很威风。

2 shaft   

n.(工具的)柄，杆状物

参考例句：

• He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
• This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

3 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

4 cyclone   

n.旋风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• An exceptionally violent cyclone hit the town last night.昨晚异常猛烈的旋风吹袭了那个小镇。
• The cyclone brought misery to thousands of people.旋风给成千上万的人带来苦难。

5 eviction   

n.租地等的收回

参考例句：

• The family have won a temporary reprieve from eviction.这个家庭暂时免于被逐出。
• He claimed damages for unlawful eviction.他要求对非法驱逐作出赔偿。

6 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。

7 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

8 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

9 foresight   

n.先见之明，深谋远虑

参考例句：

• The failure is the result of our lack of foresight.这次失败是由于我们缺乏远虑而造成的。
• It required a statesman's foresight and sagacity to make the decision.作出这个决定需要政治家的远见卓识。

10 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

11 painstaking   

adj.苦干的；艰苦的，费力的，刻苦的

参考例句：

• She is not very clever but she is painstaking.她并不很聪明，但肯下苦功夫。
• Through years of our painstaking efforts,we have at last achieved what we have today.大家经过多少年的努力，才取得今天的成绩。

12 renovating   

翻新，修复，整修( renovate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The increased production was largely attained by renovating old orchards and vineyards. 通过更新老果园和葡萄园，使生产大大增加。
• Renovating that house will cost you a pretty penny. 为了整修那所房子，你得花很多钱。

13 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

14 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

15 sentimental   

adj.多愁善感的，感伤的

参考例句：

• She's a sentimental woman who believes marriage comes by destiny.她是多愁善感的人，她相信姻缘命中注定。
• We were deeply touched by the sentimental movie.我们深深被那感伤的电影所感动。