美国国家公共电台 NPR--A historic building flooded during a hurricane, so the owner made it a haunted house

A historic building flooded during a hurricane, so the owner made it a haunted house

Transcript¹

A historic Philadelphia building flooded during the remnants of Hurricane Ida last year. Its owner found a creative and terrifying way to adapt to future storms: a flood-resistant haunted house.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Climate change is increasing the risk of floods across the United States, so a business owner in Philadelphia found a way to adapt. On this Halloween, here's WHYY's Sophia Schmidt.

SOPHIA SCHMIDT, BYLINE²: OK, we're rounding a corner. I'm, like, genuinely scared.

I'm in a haunted house, approaching a hidden chamber³ that was revealed when floodwaters receded⁴ last fall - at least that's according to the story.

All right. There is, like, ominous⁵ music. It's very winding⁶. So there's a lot of, like, blind corners. (Screaming) OK.

Inside the chamber is evidence of horrifying⁷ experiments a fictional⁸ mill owner did on his employees about a century ago. I should mention I don't normally go to haunted houses, so I'm pretty terrified.

Oh, God. OK. There's, like, a bunch of old equipment, which I think might be the textile mill. OK, there is, like, a head - like, a really scary head.

There's plenty of gore⁹, human puppets, a big, bloody¹⁰ fish. Costumed actors are waiting in dark corners, ready to scare anyone who dares to walk through.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) There's no escape here for you.

SCHMIDT: The haunted house is in an old mill building along the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, and it has a story of its own. It was flooded last year during the remnants of Hurricane Ida. The building owner, Brian Corcodilos, heads an architecture and design firm in the neighborhood and co-created the haunted house. But when Corcodilos first bought the building, he had other plans.

BRIAN CORCODILOS: I bought it in March of 2021. And then Ida hit in September of '21 - totally wiped it out, so...

SCHMIDT: Corcodilos showed me how high the flood waters reached.

CORCODILOS: The water was essentially¹¹, you know, seven feet up on this first floor that we're standing¹² on. And prior to this, no water had ever hit in this floor before.

SCHMIDT: Corcodilos says the flood caused over a million dollars' worth of damage to the big stone building along the river. It wiped out a commercial kitchen from back when the building housed a popular bar. The flood also took out elevator equipment, flooring, drywall and the building's entire back deck. Corcodilos tried to find another bar or restaurant to rent space in the building but...

CORCODILOS: Every time someone came here to look at the space, it was - where'd the water come to, was the first question. And I would point up onto the ceiling like I did to you earlier. And you could see their eyes get a little big and go, I don't know about this.

SCHMIDT: So he opted¹³ for a different business model, one that wouldn't require so much permanent infrastructure¹⁴, like a kitchen, that could get damaged in the future as climate change increases Philly's flood risk. He also made some changes to the building, like adding flood vents¹⁵ around the foundation to protect the structure by letting water flow in and out. He moved major electrical systems up to the second floor. And he built what he calls the concrete bathtub.

CORCODILOS: So the whole first floor has concrete on it now. We have, like, concrete and stucco up the walls. So if it does flood again, it's not drywall that we're ripping apart.

SCHMIDT: The haunted house is inside this bathtub. Its maze-like walls are made of drywall, but they're movable and temporary. Corcodilos' plan is to have a new pop-up event each quarter - something like nightmare before Christmas, scary Valentine's Day or an escape room.

CORCODILOS: So when it floods again, I get - hopefully it's not in my lifetime. When it floods again, this building won't be as damaged.

SCHMIDT: He's keeping the space flexible to accommodate whatever comes from the river.

For NPR News, I'm Sophia Schmidt in Philadelphia.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

4 receded   

v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• The floodwaters have now receded. 洪水现已消退。
• The sound of the truck receded into the distance. 卡车的声音渐渐在远处消失了。

5 ominous   

adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的

参考例句：

• Those black clouds look ominous for our picnic.那些乌云对我们的野餐来说是个不祥之兆。
• There was an ominous silence at the other end of the phone.电话那头出现了不祥的沉默。

6 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

7 horrifying   

a.令人震惊的，使人毛骨悚然的

参考例句：

• He went to great pains to show how horrifying the war was. 他极力指出战争是多么的恐怖。
• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate. 战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。

8 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

9 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

10 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

11 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

12 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

13 opted   

v.选择，挑选( opt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was co-opted onto the board. 她获增选为董事会成员。
• After graduating she opted for a career in music. 毕业后她选择了从事音乐工作。

14 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。

15 vents   

（气体、液体等进出的）孔、口( vent的名词复数 )； （鸟、鱼、爬行动物或小哺乳动物的）肛门； 大衣等的)衩口； 开衩

参考例句：

• He always vents his anger on the dog. 他总是拿狗出气。
• The Dandelion Patch is the least developed of the four active vents. “蒲公英区”在这四个活裂口中是发育最差的一个。