Cherry Trees to Be Removed in Washington Improvement Project

Cherry Trees to Be Removed in Washington Improvement Project

　　Washington D.C. officials say some of the city's famous cherry trees will need to be cut down as part of a major improvement project.

　　Up to 1.5 million people are expected to visit America's capital in the early spring to attend the city's National Cherry Blossom Festival. The event celebrates Japan's 1912 gift to the city of about 3,000 cherry trees.

　　During the festival, blossoms on the cherry trees are in full bloom. The main part of the festival takes place around Washington's Tidal Basin, the area near the Jefferson Memorial that has many cherry trees.

　　But the Tidal Basin – which is connected to the nearby Potomac River – is in need of repairs. Currently, when water levels rise, flooding puts some trees under several centimeters of water. The improvement work will aim to build up and improve an old seawall meant to hold back the floodwaters.

　　The U.S. National Park Service oversees¹ the Tidal Basin, as well as the large green area of downtown Washington D.C. known as the National Mall. Officials say about 300 trees – including nearly 160 cherry trees – will be cut down during the work. After the improvements, about 300 trees will be planted as replacements².

　　Mike Litterst is a spokesman for the National Park Service. He told The Associated Press (AP) the $133 million project is expected to take about three years. "It's certainly going to benefit the visitor experience, and that's very important to us," Litterst said.

　　But he added that most of all, it would "benefit the cherry trees, who right now are every day, twice a day, seeing their roots inundated⁴ with the brackish⁵ water of the Tidal Basin."

　　Litterst said the removed trees will be ground up and mixed with nutrient⁶ rich soil to be used to protect the roots of surviving trees. This way, the effort can be seen as providing "a good second life" for the trees being cut down, he added.

　　One of the trees set to be removed from around the Tidal Basin received so much attention in 2020 that it became a social media star. The tree, nicknamed Stumpy, is short and oddly shaped compared to others in the area.

　　At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Stumpy's popularity led to the sale of many tree-related materials. The tree was also a common spot for visitors to take "selfies" while standing⁷ next to Stumpy.

　　Officials said the U.S. National Arboretum⁸ came up with a way to save the memory of Stumpy. Scientists plan to capture genetic⁹ material and use it to create new copies, or clones, of the famous tree.

　　Organizers of the yearly event said that because of changing climate, the festival's "peak bloom" is beginning earlier and earlier. The peak period describes when at least 70 percent of the city's 3,700 cherry trees will be flowering.

　　This year, peak bloom was expected to happen on March 23, the AP reports. But the official start of the event ended up being declared on March 17.

　　By comparison, 2013's peak bloom began on April 9. Leslie Frattaroli is national resources program manager for the Park Service. She told the AP in February that peak bloom could regularly come in the middle of March by 2050.

　　Words in This Story

　　bloom – v. when a flower fully¹⁰ opens

　　benefit – v. to be helped by something

　　inundate³ – v. to receive a large amount of something; to be covered with water

 

　　peak – n. the highest level or value of something

1 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

2 replacements   

n.代替( replacement的名词复数 )；替换的人[物]；替代品；归还

参考例句：

• They infiltrated behind the lines so as to annoy the emery replacements. 他们渗透敌后以便骚扰敌军的调度。 来自辞典例句
• For oil replacements, cheap suddenly looks less of a problem. 对于石油的替代品来说，价格变得无足轻重了。 来自互联网

3 inundate   

vt.淹没，泛滥，压倒

参考例句：

• If the dam breaks,it will inundate large parts of the town.如果水坝坍塌，该城的大部分将被淹没。
• The course changes frequently,and the area is so flat that a small change in the level of the river may inundate a considerable area.河道变化多端，下游地区却很平坦，水位少许上涨河流就会淹没一大片土地。

4 inundated   

v.淹没( inundate的过去式和过去分词 )；（洪水般地）涌来；充满；给予或交予（太多事物）使难以应付

参考例句：

• We have been inundated with offers of help. 主动援助多得使我们应接不暇。
• We have been inundated with every bit of information imaginable. 凡是想得到的各种各样的信息潮水般地向我们涌来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 brackish   

adj.混有盐的；咸的

参考例句：

• Brackish waters generally support only a small range of faunas.咸水水域通常只能存活为数不多的几种动物。
• The factory has several shallow pools of brackish water.工厂有几个浅的咸水池。

6 nutrient   

adj.营养的，滋养的；n.营养物，营养品

参考例句：

• Magnesium is the nutrient element in plant growth.镁是植物生长的营养要素。
• The roots transmit moisture and nutrient to the trunk and branches.根将水分和养料输送到干和枝。

7 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。

8 arboretum   

n.植物园

参考例句：

• We can go to the arboretum in the southern suburb.我们可以去南郊的植物园。
• The arboretum is full of exotic flowers and rare herbs.植物园里长满了各种奇花异草。

9 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

10 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。