VOA常速英语2013--巴勒斯坦现代城市出现在西岸

 

Modern Palestinian City Going Up in West Bank 巴勒斯坦现代城市出现在西岸

RAWABI, WEST BANK — A new Palestinian city is rising on a hill in the West Bank. The first tenants¹ are due to move in to the billion-dollar project next year, but there are many challenges.

RAWABI,西岸的巴勒斯坦城市——一个新的上升在山上的西岸。第一个租客都将迁移到十亿美元项目明年,但也有许多挑战。

Rawabi means “hills” in Arabic, and the inspiration for the name is clear from this hilltop some 10 kilometers northwest of Ramallah and 25 kilometers north of Jerusalem.

Rawabi在阿拉伯语中意思是“小山”，该地之所以得此名，显然是由于拉姆安拉西北10公里、耶路撒冷北部25公里处的这个小山顶。

Several thousand people are to move next year into the first 600 homes. Eventually a city will rise with a population of 25,000.

明年将有几千人搬到这里，这600户人家将成为这里的第一批人。最终这座城市将崛起成为拥有2.5万人的地方。

Rawabi will be the first modern planned Palestinian city - as seen in this promotional video - incorporating a grand vision for schools, sports and entertainment facilities, a business district and shopping malls. All will be linked by fiber² optic cable and other advanced technologies.

Rawabi将是巴勒斯坦第一个有计划建设的现代城市，就像在这个宣传片中看到的那样，这个宏大的设想包括学校、运动和休闲设施、一个商业区和购物中心。所有这些将由光线等现代科技连接起来。

It is the brain child of Bashar Masri, born in the West Bank 52 years ago. He worked 25 years in America before returning home with a vision.

巴沙尔·马斯里52年前生于西岸，这个城市就是他构想出来的。他先是在美国工作了25年，然后回国提出了这个构想。

“I wanted to do a large project that has an impact on the Palestinian economy, create thousands of jobs instead of hundreds of jobs and created by our own, Palestinian people," said Masri.

“我想做一个能对巴勒斯坦经济产生影响的大项目，由我们巴勒斯坦自己人创造数千个就业岗位，而不仅仅是数百个。”

His project employs some 10,000 construction workers and dozens of Palestinian contractors³. When completed, Rawabi will generate several thousand permanent jobs.

他的项目雇佣了大约一万名建筑工人和几十名巴勒斯坦承包商，一旦完工，Rawabi将创造几千个长期就业岗位。

The project has attracted a doctor from Jerusalem, 38-year-old Hussam, and his wife Tanya. He does not want to use his last name.

这个项目吸引了来自耶路撒冷的38岁医生胡山和妻子塔尼娅，他不想公布他的姓。

“When I looked at the proposal, I liked it so much. It’s something different from the things that are in place here [in the territories], something different," said Hussam.

“当我看到这个提议时就很喜欢，它和这里已经有的东西不一样。”

There are challenges. Although Rawabi lies in an area under Palestinian control, it is only accessible by a single road that is under Israeli control. Its water supply, also under Israeli control, is subject to cutoffs.

不过这里仍存在挑战，尽管Rawabi在巴勒斯坦控制之下，但只能通过一条由以色列控制的道路进入。这里总是出现断水情况，而水也是受以色列控制的。

The Palestinian Authority, which governs here, has not provided funds for the schools, clinics or infrastructure⁴.

控制该地区的巴勒斯坦当局尚未给这里的学校、诊所或基础设施提供资金。

Nearby Israeli settlers oppose the project. But Masri refuses to back down, saying Rawabi is sending a message.

附近的以色列定居者反对该项目，但马斯里不愿放弃，他说Rawabi正在传递一个信号。

“That yes, we can. We can build a nation, despite occupation. If we can do this under occupation, try us without the occupation and see what we can do," he said.

He says he wants Rawabi to show that the Palestinians can build a modern state and deserve one.

“是的，我们能成功的，我们能建设一个国家，尽管是占领区。如果我们能在占领区做到这一点，那么就试试非占领区，看看我们能做成什么！”

他说希望Rawabi能向世人展示巴勒斯坦人是能建设现代国家的，也应该拥有这样的国家。

1 tenants   

n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者

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。
• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。

2 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

3 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。