VOA慢速英语2021--What Is NIMBY?

And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning¹ English.

Today, we are going to talk about the idea of community and neighborhoods.

Where we live can make a difference in our happiness. Some people love their neighborhoods just the way they are. They do not want them to change.

For example, let's say a city council² decides that they want to build a big waste treatment plant into a quiet, beautiful neighborhood. A waste treatment plant would be loud. It would bring lots of big trucks through the neighborhood streets. And it would probably smell bad. All these things could lower the quality of living and the property value of the neighborhood's houses.

So, people in the neighborhood hold protests⁴. They collect signatures to show the city council that the neighbors do not want the waste treatment plant in their neighborhood. They know the plant is necessary. But they want it built somewhere else – not near their homes.

And that brings us to our word for today: NIMBY.

NIMBY is an acronym⁵. It stands for: Not In My Backyard. Usually the word "backyard" means the area behind a house. But in this case, it means the whole neighborhood. If you look it up on the internet, NIMBY describes an opposition⁶ to putting something considered undesirable⁷ in one's own neighborhood.

When describing a person, a NIMBY is someone who opposes some form of new development in their community or neighborhood. Their way of thinking is sometimes called NIMBYism.

Now, our first example was a waste treatment plant. But many other facilities can bring out a person's inner⁹ NIMBY -- for example, prisons. They may be necessary, but they are not desirable⁸ to some people. Some may think that they could bring unwanted problems to their neighborhood, like crime.

But a person may be a NIMBY to other kinds of development too – like big stores or sports stadiums. They may bring business to a city, but they also bring more traffic and noise to the neighborhood they're in.

For example, let's say a brand-new food store is coming to your neighborhood. You are very happy. Finally, you won't have to go far to buy food! But some of your neighbors do not share your happiness. They fear the new store will bring many more people, many more cars, and big trucks to their quiet streets. They may not be able to park their cars easily. So, they try to stop the development from happening.

Maybe we all have a little NIMBY in us. Maybe we do not know it until our city wants to build a trash processor next to our home.

Now let's hear NIMBY used at this neighborhood party.

A: Hey did you hear? They city council is voting on the new trash treatment facility tomorrow.

B: I know. And I will be there with about 50 neighbors to protest³.

A: Oh, are they thinking of building it in your neighborhood?

B: Yes. And it just doesn't make sense!

A: Are you sure this isn't just a NIMBY reaction?

B: Maybe a little. But it really WOULD be cheaper to build it in another part of town.

A: And what part of town would that be?

B: Near the railroad¹⁰ tracks. Nobody lives around it. Plus, that location already has an old trash treatment plant. That will save a ton of money.

A: Those are actually pretty good reasons.

B: Yeah, I figured if we didn't bring some good reasons to the fight ... we would just sound like big NIMBYs.

A: Now you sound just like little NIMBYs.

B: I can live with that.

And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories.

Words in This Story

signature –n. a person's name written in their own handwriting

acronym –n. a word formed from the first letters of each one of the words in a phrase

inner –adj. existing as a part of a person's character

stadium –n. a very large building that has an open area surrounded by many seats that is used for sports, musical and other big events

park –v. to put a car or vehicle in a particular place

facility –n. a building or group of structures that is built for a specific purpose

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 council   

n.理事会，委员会，议事机构

参考例句：

• The town council passed a law forbidding the distribution of handbills.市议会通过法律，禁止散发传单。
• The city council has declared for improving the public bus system.市议会宣布同意改进公共汽车系统。

3 protest   

v.反对，抗议；宣称；n.抗议；宣称

参考例句：

• I can't pass the matter by without a protest.我不能对此事视而不见，我要提出抗议。
• We translated his silence as a protest.我们把他的沉默解释为抗议。

4 protests   

n.[体]抗议；抗议，反对( protest的名词复数 )v.声明( protest的第三人称单数 )；坚决地表示；申辩

参考例句：

• The protests have forced the government to back-pedal on the new tax. 抗议活动已迫使政府撤销新的税目。
• Plans to build a new mall were deep-sixed after protests from local residents. 修建新室内购物中心的计划由于当地居民反对而搁浅。

5 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

7 undesirable   

adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子

参考例句：

• They are the undesirable elements among the employees.他们是雇员中的不良分子。
• Certain chemicals can induce undesirable changes in the nervous system.有些化学物质能在神经系统中引起不良变化。

8 desirable   

adj.值得拥有的；可取的，有利的

参考例句：

• Some reasonable adjustments seem desirable.某些合理的调整似乎是可取的。
• Prolonged negotiation was not desirable.拖长了的谈判并不是大家所想要的。

9 inner   

adj.内部的，里面的；内在的，内心的；精神的

参考例句：

• The label is on the inner side of the box.标签贴在盒子内侧。
• Other people seek the mountains for renewal of their inner lives.另一些人到深山中去，寻求新的精神生活。

10 railroad   

n.铁路；vi.由铁路运输

参考例句：

• The railroad connects two cities,namely,New York and Chicago.这条铁路连接两个城市，即纽约与芝加哥。
• My brother is working on the railroad.我兄弟在铁路系统工作。