VOA标准英语2014--三座城市争建奥巴马总统图书馆

 

Three Cities Bid for Future Obama Presidential Library 三座城市争建奥巴马总统图书馆 

CHICAGO—

President Barack Obama still has two years left in his term in office, but the effort to establish his post-presidential library is already underway.  The bid for the Obama Presidential Library is down to four locations in three states -- New York, Hawaii, and Illinois.  Each of them played an important part in the president’s life before he reached the White House.

As she works behind her desk at the University of Illinois Chicago campus, Dean of Libraries Mary Case’s office looks out onto what she hopes is the future of her institution -- the potential home of the Obama Presidential Library.

She thinks the location near downtown Chicago is an attractive reason to put the institution on her campus.  The other?

“Diversity -- UIC has one of the most diverse student populations in the country, and many of our students have benefitted from the DREAM Act,” she said.

That’s part of UIC’s pitch to the Obama Library Foundation, a non-profit group formed to plan, develop, and raise money for the president’s future library, museum, and foundation.

“The project, they are estimating, with the library, museum, and institute offices, is around $500 million,” Case said.

Such a facility would be an economic and prestigious¹ boost to the institution hosting it.  While UIC is in Chicago, the place Obama called home before the White House,  Mary Case admits it lacks a personal connection to the man and his family.

“There are no individuals that we are aware of that have connections to him,” she said.

UIC’s competitor in Chicago to win the Obama library bid does have that personal connection.  Several of the president's friends and former advisors² work at the University of Chicago on the South Side.

U-Chicago is also where the president worked as a constitutional law professor before his entry into politics.  

If it comes to Chicago, Dan Weinberg, who owns a bookshop dedicated³ to another famous president from Illinois -- Abraham Lincoln -- says it would be the first presidential library in the National Archives system located in the state.

 “It’s strange that we don’t have a library, and I think -- if the main rival is New York -- all bets are off if the Obamas move to New York,” he said.

The fourth location -- Honolulu -- is the president’s birthplace.  He is the only president born in the state of Hawaii.  Its plans include a beachfront facility available to the eight million tourists who visit the state every year.

But Weinberg says one benefit Chicago has going for it no one else can match is Obama’s connection to the legacy⁴ of President Lincoln.

“He, Obama, is the culmination⁵ of Lincoln’s promise of Emancipation,” he said.

The decision ultimately rests with the president.  But, if he decides to build his library outside Chicago, all is not lost for the Windy City.

Film Director and Star Wars creator George Lucas plans to build the Lucas Museum of Narrative⁶ Arts along the city’s lakefront.  The $300 million facility is set to open in 2018.

New York is home to Columbia University, where Obama attended school as an undergraduate.  Columbia is in the running to have the first presidential library in New York City.

1 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

2 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

3 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

4 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

5 culmination   

n.顶点；最高潮

参考例句：

• The space race reached its culmination in the first moon walk.太空竞争以第一次在月球行走而达到顶峰。
• It may truly be regarded as the culmination of classical Greek geometry.这确实可以看成是古典希腊几何的登峰造级之作。

6 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。