2007年VOA标准英语-Downtown New York Stages Cultural Festival Born

By Carolyn Weaver¹
New York City
24 September 2007
 

Summer in New York is a season of outdoor festivals, and although summer is mostly over, one arts festival continues to the end of September. The River to River Festival was founded in 2001 to lift the downtown economy following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The name refers to the Hudson and East Rivers that meet at the lower tip of Manhattan, an area that encompasses² Wall Street, Battery Park, City Hall, the former site of the World Trade Center, and the South Street Seaport³.

This year's River to River Festival kicked off outside the New York Stock Exchange with a performance by dancers from the Martha Graham Dance Company.

Valerie Lewis, who runs the festival for the Alliance for Downtown New York, says it began when business and civic⁴ groups in lower Manhattan came together after 9/11 to revive the area.

“We banded together with our title sponsor, American Express, and said how can we a), work to really heal this community and b), how do we get people to come back downtown? How do you tell people that all of lower Manhattan hasn't been destroyed? Because people were still afraid to come to lower Manhattan, they still didn't know that you could even get downtown."

Six years later, those fears have vanished, while the festival continues to attract thousands with its free cultural programs, including theatrical⁵ performances and movie nights, museum shows, walking tours and readings. But music and dance  are still the mainstays. Jazz singer Paula West's concert was one highlight this year, organizers said. The California-based singer sang a mix of pop and jazz standards to a packed auditorium⁶ at Stuyvesant High School.

"One of the things we try to do is we try to introduce new artists to new audiences, and new audiences to new artists, even if they're just new to them,” organizer Valerie Lewis said. “And we're trying to build audiences not only for the lower Manhattan cultural scene, but New York City as a whole."

New York artists featured at the festival included Animal Collective, an experimental rock band. It played to a huge crowd at the South Street Seaport, one of the festival's main venues⁷, located next to tall sailing ships anchored in the East River.

Valerie Lewis notes that although all events are free, festival visitors do spend in lower Manhattan’s restaurants and stores, bringing in $35 million annually⁸ to the area. This year's River to River Festival concludes with a public swim in the Hudson River, and a bicycle parade for children.

1 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

2 encompasses   

v.围绕( encompass的第三人称单数 )；包围；包含；包括

参考例句：

• The job encompasses a wide range of responsibilities. 这项工作涉及的职责范围很广。
• Its conservation law encompasses both its magnitude and its direction. 它的守恒定律包括大小和方向两方面。 来自辞典例句

3 seaport   

n.海港，港口，港市

参考例句：

• Ostend is the most important seaport in Belgium.奥斯坦德是比利时最重要的海港。
• A seaport where ships can take on supplies of coal.轮船能够补充煤炭的海港。

4 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

5 theatrical   

adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的

参考例句：

• The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果，叫人失望。
• She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。

6 auditorium   

n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂

参考例句：

• The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。
• The stage is thrust forward into the auditorium.舞台向前突出，伸入观众席。

7 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

8 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。