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Section B
Green Spaces in Cities
Where do children play? Years ago, any open field, any vacant lot, any group of trees — these were the places where children played. As families left family farms, small towns, and the countryside, and moved into cities, the places for their children to play in became rarer. Children in the cities had few options, fewer choices of places to play.
In fact, all people's lives change a lot when they move to the city. In cities, homes are built on top of one another — in enormous apartment buildings. The feeling of private space and ownership no longer exists in houses literally piled one on the other.
Psychologists have been studying the changes people experience when they leave rural areas and move into urban environments. One clear finding from their studies is that people need green spaces for better mental health. Children can play on paved playgrounds. That's true. However, they just don't have as much fun as children in small towns. Without grass and trees and bushes and, yes, dirt and mud to get dirty in, children miss an important part of childhood. The human soul, it seems, needs to stay close to its roots.
Adults can plant lots of things like bulbs in window boxes and large containers. However, tending window boxes isn't the same as being an amateur gardener and growing peas, tomatoes and salad greens in a backyard garden. The lack of green space is now recognized and understood as a problem.
City planners — the people who design neighborhoods — have begun to work on a solution. They want to build more parks, but land in cities is quite costly. So they look for land that no one else wants. Along rivers, under power lines, near ditches and highways — these are the spaces that no one uses and they are everywhere. Why not use these unused spaces for green areas? Neighborhood groups have coordinated their efforts to clean up the trash or garbage. Soil from new building projects in the city has been trucked by lorries into these areas. This soil has been dumped along the sides of rivers, and strong walls have been erected to hold it there. Trees and bushes have been planted; the roots of these plants will hold the soil, too, and the green leaves make the area beautiful.
"People in and near cities have little opportunity to experience parks or unprotected open spaces, and that's becoming a problem," says Mister Ernest Cook, a senior vice president of the Trust for Public Land (TPL). This organization was started over twenty-one years ago. Its purpose is to protect land and public resources for people. In the past nineteen years, TPL has completed up to a thousand conservation projects in Canada and the United States.
In Portland, Maine, the land along the old train tracks near the coast has become a green belt of trails between areas characterized by housing developments and those characterized by downtown businesses. To Mister Charles Jordan, the director of the Portland Parks and Recreation Department, it's just a beginning. Jordan has plans for an environmental university — a huge urban park (5,000 acres ). It will include different environments, from canals and wetlands to forests. Jordan's plans include a network of trails and paths for people to use for excursions all over the city. He also wants to build a green belt from Portland, across Canada and the United States, all the way back to the Pacific Ocean. Communities across the continent could be connected by such a green belt.
Other cities have comparable projects. In Phoenix, Arizona, for instance, the sides of the Salt River bed that have washed away are becoming a park. In Baltimore, a long strip of land (which was used for dumping garbage) is becoming a series of biking and walking trails. These trails will link a dozen neighborhoods and the downtown business areas. In some cities, the bicycle paths connect every area to every other area. In Flagstaff, Arizona, a thousand miles of bike trails lead into the San Francisco Peaks, the highest summit in the state.
In other areas, planners have made places for bicycle trails and playgrounds, for public gardens and private garden plots, and paths for walking and running excursions. The costly result is a growing greenness in the cities and a healthier environment for all the civilians who live there.
Words: 728
NEW WORDS
vacant
a. 1. not filled or occupied; empty 未被占用的，空着的
2. (position or post) unfilled （职位、工作等）空缺的
3. showing no interest or activity 茫然的，空虚的
rare
a. 1. not often happening or seen, etc.; not common 稀有的，罕见的；冷僻的
2. not common and as a result sometimes valuable 稀罕的，珍奇的
option
n. 1. [C] a thing that is or may be chosen; a choice 供选择的事物，可选择的事物；选择
2. [U] power or freedom of choosing; choice 选择权，选择自由，选择
enormous
a. very large 巨大的，庞大的，极大的
private
a. 1. of, belonging to or for the use of one particular person or group only; personal 私人的，个人的，私用的，私有的
2. not to be told to others; secret 秘密的，私下的
3. of, belonging to or run by an individual or a self-governed company rather than the State; not state-controlled 私营的，私立的；非国家控制的
ownership
n. [U] state of being an owner; (right of) possession 物主身份；拥有（权）
▲literally
ad. in a way that follows exactly the original; exactly 照字义，逐字地；真正地
urban
a. of, located in or living in a city or town 都市的，位于都市的，住在都市的
▲pave
vt. cover (a surface) with flat stones or bricks or tar 给（道路路面）铺上石板或砖
mud
n. [U] soft wet earth 湿泥，泥
childhood
n. [C, U] condition or period of being a child 童年时期，孩提时代
bulb
n. 1. [C] 长在土里的植物球茎（如百合、洋葱、郁金香等植物）
2. [C] 电灯泡
container
n. [C] a box, bottle, etc. in which sth. is kept, transported, etc. 容器（箱、瓶等）
amateur
a. taking part in an activity for pleasure, not as a job, or (of an activity) done for pleasure, not as a job 业余的，非专业的
n. [C] a person who practices a sport or arts skill without receiving money for it （指不为赚钱而从事体育或艺术的）业余爱好者
gardener
n. [C] a person who works in a garden, either for pay or as a hobby （因爱好或挣钱） 在花园从事劳动的人，园丁
pea
n. [C] 豌豆，豌豆属植物
salad
n. 1. [U] 适于生吃的莴笋、莴苣或其他蔬菜
2. [C, U] 沙拉（凉拌菜），生菜
costly
a. costing much; expensive 昂贵的，代价高的
ditch
n. [C] a narrow water course dug at the edge of a field, road, etc., esp. to hold or carry off water（在田边、路边挖的，尤指用来储水或排水的）沟，渠道
lorry
n. [C] 卡车
erect
vt. 1. build, set up; establish 建造，建立
2. set straight up; put up 竖立，直立
a. standing on end 竖直的，挺直的，直立的
mister
n. （略作Mr. , 全称很少用于书面）先生
vice
a. acting instead of 代理的，副的
nineteen
num. 十九，十九个
conservation
n. [U] prevention of loss, waste, damage, destroying, etc. 保护，保存, 节省
trail
n. 1. [C] a path, esp. through country 小道，崎岖小路
2. [C] a mark or sign in the form of a long line left by sth. or sb. passing by 踪迹，痕迹
v. 1. drag; be dragged along behind 拖，拉，下垂
2. fall behind （在比赛中）落后，失利
vt. follow the trail of; track 追踪，尾随
characterize (英characterise)
vt. 1. be common to (sb./sth.) 成为……的特征，以……为特征
2. describe... by stating its main qualities 描绘（人或物的）特征，归纳（人或物的）特征
housing
n. 1. [U] houses, flats, etc. 住宅或公寓，住宿（集合名词）
2. [U] providing houses or flats for people 提供住宿，住房供给
recreation
n. [C, U] (means of) entertaining oneself after work; relaxation 休养，娱乐，消遣，精神放松
acre
n. 英亩（=4,840平方码或约4,047平方米）
canal
n. [C] a long water way cut through land for boats or ships to travel along, or to carry water from one place to another 运河，沟渠
excursion
n. [C] a short journey for pleasure 短途旅行，远足
comparable
a. 1. similar, that can be compared, equal to 相似的，同类的
2. meriting being compared 可比的，比得上的
strip
n. [C] a long narrow piece (of material, etc.) or area (of land, etc.) 狭长的一块（材料）或一片（土地）
vi. take off one's clothes 脱去衣服
vt. 1. take off (clothes, parts, etc.) from sb./sth. 剥去，揭去，除去（衣服、遮蔽物、某部分）
2. take away (money, honors, etc.) from sb. 剥夺……的（钱财、荣誉等）
summit
n. 1. [C] highest point; top, esp. of a mountain 最高点；（尤指山的）顶，绝顶
2. [C] a meeting between the heads of two or more governments, esp. of the world's most powerful countries 两国或两国以上（尤指世界上最强的国家）政府首脑的最高级会谈
plot
n. 1. [C] a small marked or measured piece of land, esp. for a special purpose （尤指用于某特定目的）小块土地, 小块地皮
2. [C] (plan or sketch of the) events in the story of a play or novel （戏剧或小说的故事）情节
3. [C] a secret plan made by several people to do sth. 秘密计划，阴谋
v. make a secret plan (to do sth.); plan (sth.) with others 密谋；计划
civilian
n. [C] a person not serving in the armed forces or the police force 平民
PHRASES AND EXPRESSIONS
open field
field which is not covered with trees, etc. 旷野
in fact
in truth; really 事实上，实际上
on top of
over or above 在……之上
work on
give one's attention to doing or trying to do 致力于
power line
【电】电力线，输电线，电源线
coordinate one's efforts to
work together efficiently 齐心努力
clean up
make a place clean by removing the dirt 清扫，收拾，清理
up to
reach a certain number or amount 多达，直到
for instance
as an example; for example 例如
wash away
(of water) remove or carry (sb./sth.) away to another place （指水）洗掉，冲走
lead into
(of a road, etc.) provide a way (for sb.) to enter (a place) 通往，通向
PROPER NAMES
Ernest Cook
欧内斯特·库克
Portland
波特兰（美国缅因州西南部港市）
Maine
缅因州（美国州名）
Charles Jordan
查尔斯·乔丹
Pacific
太平洋
Phoenix
菲尼克斯（美国亚利桑那州首府）
Arizona
亚利桑那州（美国州名）
Baltimore
巴尔的摩（美国马里兰州中北部港市）
Flagstaff
弗来格斯达佛市
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