密歇根新闻广播 荷兰加热的人行道

Imagine, in the wake of a big snowstorm, city sidewalks and streets that never get caked with snow and ice. No salt, no slopping your way through slush or gingerly walking on ice.

That's a luxury people in Holland, MI have been enjoying for some time now, thanks to their heated sidewalks and streets.

What started out as a daring idea and a monetary¹ long shot seems to have paid off.

Former Mayor Al McGeehan was a city councilman when the decision was made to install the heated streets and sidewalks.

McGeehan tells us Holland's "snowmelt" system takes heated water the nearby power plant would usually feed into an adjacent lake, and instead runs it through miles of piping laid under the surface of the city's streets and sidewalks.

According to downtownholland.com, the system can melt about an inch of snow per hour at temperatures as low as 15 degrees.

McGeehan says the idea first came up in spring 1988, when Holland's downtown area was already undergoing a massive overhaul².

"We had torn up our downtown from storefront to storefront. Sidewalks, curb³, gutter⁴, street—we were putting in all new infrastructure," McGeehan says. "A leading industrialist⁵ here in Holland by the name of Edgar Prince who had seen this kind of a system used in some piazzas⁶ and plaza⁷ areas in Europe, he said … why don't we dream? Could we, while the streets are torn up, could we put in a system that would use that heat energy to save us money from snow plowing⁸ and shoveling and all that?"

Though it was inspired by similar setups in Europe, Holland's snowmelt system would be the first in America and presented a number of challenges.

"Back in 1988, when the idea was first launched, it was rocket science to us," McGeehan says. "We didn't know anything about it. It had never been done before in the United States. We had no idea, number one, how it worked, how we could hook it up to our power plant. We had no idea how much it was going to cost to create, and the biggest question was, how much is it going to cost to operate it and maintain it?"

Despite these uncertainties⁹, McGeehan tells us, "The majority of the city council said, 'Let's dare to dream big, and let's give it a shot.'"

According to McGeehan, that gamble has paid off. He says the operating costs turned out to be "much less than anybody had anticipated." Holland continued to expand the system until all heat from the wastewater had been put to use.

A new gas-fired power plant is being built in Holland, and McGeehan tells us that current city leaders plan to use hot water from the turbines there to quintuple the snowmelt system's coverage¹⁰ downtown.

1 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

2 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

3 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

4 gutter   

n.沟，街沟，水槽，檐槽，贫民窟

参考例句：

• There's a cigarette packet thrown into the gutter.阴沟里有个香烟盒。
• He picked her out of the gutter and made her a great lady.他使她脱离贫苦生活，并成为贵妇。

5 industrialist   

n.工业家，实业家

参考例句：

• The industrialist's son was kidnapped.这名实业家的儿子被绑架了。
• Mr.Smith was a wealthy industrialist,but he was not satisfied with life.史密斯先生是位富有的企业家，可他对生活感到不满意。

6 piazzas   

n.广场，市场( piazza的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• In the cities of Italy, piazzas are the acknowledged centers of local activity. 在意大利的城市里，广场是公认的群众活动中心。 来自互联网
• Alleyways wind through the city like a maze, opening up into surprising, sunny fountained piazzas. 小巷子像迷宫一般蜿蜒穿过这座城市，出现在令人惊讶、绚烂的喷泉广场上。 来自互联网

7 plaza   

n.广场，市场

参考例句：

• They designated the new shopping centre York Plaza.他们给这个新购物中心定名为约克购物中心。
• The plaza is teeming with undercover policemen.这个广场上布满了便衣警察。

8 plowing   

v.耕( plow的现在分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• "There are things more important now than plowing, Sugar. "如今有比耕种更重要的事情要做呀，宝贝儿。 来自飘（部分）
• Since his wife's death, he has been plowing a lonely furrow. 从他妻子死后，他一直过着孤独的生活。 来自辞典例句

9 uncertainties   

无把握( uncertainty的名词复数 )； 不确定； 变化不定； 无把握、不确定的事物

参考例句：

• One of the uncertainties of military duty is that you never know when you might suddenly get posted away. 任军职不稳定的因素之一是你永远不知道什么时候会突然被派往它处。
• Uncertainties affecting peace and development are on the rise. 影响和平与发展的不确定因素在增加。 来自汉英非文学 - 十六大报告

10 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。