VOA慢速英语2019--巴黎面貌的变化

Changes Coming to the Look of Paris

Paris is known as one of the most elegant¹ cities in the world. Visitors talk about the magic of Montmartre, the Left Bank, the city’s beautiful, old buildings and tree-lined streets. But changes might be coming to Paris.

The mayor² of Paris has plans to change the City of Lights. The changes include building the first city-center skyscraper³ since the 1970s and changing the grounds around the Eiffel Tower.

The plans have fueled criticisms⁴, especially when it comes to the skyscraper project. It dates back to 2008, when a glass-and-steel pyramid-type structure was first proposed⁵.

A Paris court rejected several legal cases brought against what is being called the Triangle Tower last month. The rulings gave Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo an important win if the 180-metre tower is to be finished as planned for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. The skyscraper project is expected to cost at least 500-million euros.

The design is to have reflective glass steps on two sides. It will be built a few kilometers south of the Tour Montparnasse, a 210-meter tall structure.

Montparnasse has divided and angered Parisians since it was completed in 1973.

“I don’t like it,” said Vincent Julien, 66, looking towards the building from the Luxembourg Gardens.

Asked about the new skyscraper, he was unsure, but not completely opposed to it. “I’m not against big buildings, big towers in Paris,” he said, “but you have to be careful.”

Seine pedestrian⁶ bridge

The other planned changes would affect the area around the 130-year-old Eiffel Tower. It stands at the head of the Champs de Mars⁷, a public park and important gathering⁸ place since the French Revolution.

Today, the 25 hectare green space is very popular — more than 140,000 people visit it each day.

But the small numbers of restrooms and waste bins¹⁰ means it has also become popular for Paris’ rat population.

Last month, a London-based business won a competition to redesign the area, including a new point of entry to the Eiffel Tower from across the river Seine.

The plan, at an estimated¹¹ cost of 72 million euros, involves turning the bridge across the river into a pedestrian-only space. It would also create a green area from the Trocadero on one side to the end of the Champs de Mars.

The project has worried some visitors. Their reaction is similar to what Parisians have expressed about rebuilding Notre-Dame Cathedral after the fire.

The city is home to about two million people, and has over 40 million visitors a year.

“Paris for me, it’s something historic,” said Nunz Paolano, 20, a visitor from the United States. “I want to come and see what was here, not what’s new.”

Others suggest that while Paris might be showing a willingness to try out new ideas, they don’t always work.

“Changing something that’s so old and has already functioned perfectly¹² fine, not trying to fix what actually is here but start something new,” said Julia Wraith¹³, a 20-year-old exchange student. “I feel like Parisians do that a lot.”

I'm John Russell.

Words in This Story

elegant – adj. pleasing in appearance; tasteful; beautiful

pyramid-type – adj. like a pyramid, a three-sided structure like those built of stone in ancient Egypt

reflective - adj. something that sends of throws back light, sound, or heat

park – n. a public area, usually made up of green space

bin⁹ – n. a can or container

function - v. to work or operate

1 elegant   

adj.优美的，文雅的，简练的，简结的

参考例句：

• She was an elegant and accomplished woman.她是位优雅的才女。
• She has a life of elegant ease.她过着风雅悠闲的生活。

2 mayor   

n.市长

参考例句：

• The new mayor said he would clean the city up.新市长说，他要整顿本市。
• The mayor hurried into his office,brushing off the reporters.市长赶快走进办公室，拒不接见记者。

3 skyscraper   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• The skyscraper towers into the clouds.那幢摩天大楼高耸入云。
• The skyscraper was wrapped in fog.摩天楼为雾所笼罩。

4 criticisms   

批评( criticism的名词复数 )； 批判； 评论； 评论文章

参考例句：

• His criticisms of the president stirred up a hornet's nest. 他对董事长的批评造成众愤难平。
• It would be wise not to give undue importance to his criticisms. 最好不要过分看重他的批评。

5 proposed   

被提议的

参考例句：

• There is widespread discontent among the staff at the proposed changes to pay and conditions. 员工对改变工资和工作环境的建议普遍不满。
• an outcry over the proposed change 对拟议的改革所发出的强烈抗议

6 pedestrian   

n.行人，步行者；adj.徒步的，呆板的，通俗的

参考例句：

• The criminal pushed a pedestrian down and ran away.罪犯推倒了一个行人逃跑了。
• The city built a pedestrian overpass over the highway.城里在公路上建了一座过街天桥。

7 Mars   

n.火星，战争

参考例句：

• As of now we don't know much about Mars.目前我们对火星还知之甚少。
• He contended that there must be life on Mars.他坚信火星上面一定有生物。

8 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

9 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

10 bins   

n.大储藏箱( bin的名词复数 )；宽口箱（如面包箱，垃圾箱等）v.扔掉，丢弃( bin的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Garbage from all sources was deposited in bins on trolleys. 来自各方的垃圾是装在手推车上的垃圾箱里的。 来自辞典例句
• Would you be pleased at the prospect of its being on sale in dump bins? 对于它将被陈列在倾销箱中抛售这件事，你能欣然接受吗？ 来自辞典例句

11 estimated   

adj．根据估计的

参考例句：

• She estimated the breadth of the lake to be 500 metres. 她估计湖面大约有500米宽。
• The man estimated for the repair of the car. 那人估算了修理汽车的费用。

12 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

13 wraith   

n.幽灵；骨瘦如柴的人

参考例句：

• My only question right now involves the wraith.我唯一的问题是关于幽灵的。
• So,what you're saying is the Ancients actually created the Wraith?照你这么说，实际上是古人创造了幽灵？