美国国家公共电台 NPR Engineers Say Tax Increase Needed To Save Failing U.S. Infrastructure

 

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

President Trump¹ often talks about the poor condition of the nation's roads, bridges, tunnels and airports. Well, today, the nation's civil engineers joined him in telling us just how bad it is. The American Society of Civil Engineers has given the infrastructure² of the United States a nearly failing grade of D-plus. NPR's David Schaper reports.

DAVID SCHAPER, BYLINE³: It's not as though many of our bridges are about to collapse⁴ or our cars will be swallowed up by potholes⁵. But according to the American Society of Civil Engineers, a significant number of the critical structures and systems that we rely on to get us to and from work, that provide us with clean drinking water and that protect us from floods are in pretty bad shape. Take the nation's roads, for example, which the ASCE's Greg DiLoreto says get the same disappointing grade as four years ago - a D.

GREG DILORETO: More than two out of every five miles of America's urban interstates are congested. And traffic delays cost this country $160 billion in wasted fuel and time.

SCHAPER: DiLoreto says, on average, Americans waste 43 hours a year stuck in traffic, and he says our aging airports are increasingly congested, too.

DILORETO: It is expected that by 2020, 24 of our 30 major airports will experience Thanksgiving Day peak traffic at least once a week.

SCHAPER: America's water systems are leaking trillions of gallons of water. More than 2,000 dams are at high risk of failure. Fifty-nine thousand bridges around the country are structurally⁶ deficient⁷. And DiLoreto says mass transit⁸ earns the worst grade of all - a D-minus.

DILORETO: The nation's transit systems are chronically¹⁰ underfunded, resulting in aging infrastructure and a $90 billion maintenance backlog¹¹.

SCHAPER: Getting all of the nation's infrastructure into relatively¹² good shape by the year 2025 would cost more than four and a half trillion dollars, according to the engineers who design and maintain infrastructure. ASCE's executive director Tom Smith says the chronic⁹ failure to invest in infrastructure is a huge drain on the nation's economy.

TOM SMITH: Unfortunately, we have a tendency to wait for disasters and be reactive. And we want to do is be proactive and not reactive because when we're reactive, it ends up costing significantly more than when we're proactive.

SCHAPER: The engineers group applauds President Trump for his attention to fixing the nation's crumbling¹³ infrastructure. But they note his call to spend up to $1 trillion is not enough and that his plan to leverage¹⁴ private investment is inadequate¹⁵. ASCE president Norma Jean Mattei...

NORMA JEAN MATTEI: There's no magic wand to address this crisis, no infrastructure money tree, no infrastructure private sector¹⁶ angel.

SCHAPER: The group is calling for a huge 25-cents-a-gallon increase in the federal gasoline tax to help pay for infrastructure improvements, noting that the current tax of 18-point-four cents a gallon hasn't been raised since 1993 and hasn't kept up with inflation and with growing needs. But White House spokesman Sean Spicer says the president is sticking with his original plan.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

SEAN SPICER: I think we're looking at a public-private partnership¹⁷ as a funding mechanism¹⁸. There is a lot of work being done behind the scenes, and I don't want to put a timeline on that.

SCHAPER: Despite the urgent call from engineers, Spicer says for now infrastructure will have to wait until after the repeal¹⁹ of replacement²⁰ of Obamacare and reform of the tax code. David Schaper, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF KHRUANGBIN SONG, "PEOPLE EVERYWHERE - STILL ALIVE")

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

5 potholes   

n.壶穴( pothole的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Potholes are also home to tiny desert animals. 洞穴也是弱小动物的家。 来自互联网
• If you're going to enjoy the good times, you've certainly got to deal with some potholes. 如果要享受甜美的胜利果实，当然要应付这些战绩不佳的指责压力。 来自互联网

6 structurally   

在结构上

参考例句：

• The house roof was (structurally) unsound. 这屋顶（结构）不牢固。
• Pinhole on shot-hole damage is never structurally significant. 针孔和蛀洞所造成的危害对结构的影响不大。

7 deficient   

adj.不足的，不充份的，有缺陷的

参考例句：

• The crops are suffering from deficient rain.庄稼因雨量不足而遭受损害。
• I always have been deficient in selfconfidence and decision.我向来缺乏自信和果断。

8 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

9 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

10 chronically   

ad.长期地

参考例句：

• Similarly, any pigment nevus that is chronically irritated should be excised. 同样，凡是经常受慢性刺激的各种色素痣切勿予以切除。
• People chronically exposed to chlorine develop some degree of tolerance. 人长期接触氯气可以产生某种程度的耐受性。

11 backlog   

n.积压未办之事

参考例句：

• It will take a month to clear the backlog of work.要花一个月的时间才能清理完积压的工作。
• Investment is needed to reduce the backlog of repairs.需要投资来減轻积压的维修工作。

12 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

13 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

14 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

15 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

16 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

17 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

18 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

19 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

20 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。