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THIS IS AMERICA - Plans for Ground Zero in New York are Slow to Take Shape in Glass and Steel Above the CityBy Jerilyn Watson and produced by Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Monday, September 11, 2006

VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. This week, five years after the September eleventh attacks, we examine what is being done to rebuild Ground Zero in New York.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:


An artist's plan of the redesigned Freedom Tower in New York City

In April, workers in Lower Manhattan finally broke ground for a high-rise office building called the Freedom Tower. The Freedom Tower is at the center of plans to redevelop the seven-hectare area now known as Ground Zero.

Ground Zero is the name for where the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center stood until September eleventh, two thousand one. Members of al-Qaida flew hijacked1 passenger airplanes into the towers. More than two thousand seven hundred people were killed as the buildings collapsed2 and disappeared from the New York skyline.

VOICE TWO:

The Twin Towers, completed in the early nineteen seventies, were among the tallest buildings in the world. The Freedom Tower will also be one of the tallest buildings, at a cost estimated at more than two thousand million dollars.

Current plans call for occupancy in two thousand eleven.

The building known as Seven World Trade Center was also destroyed on September eleventh. Four other buildings were torn down later because of damage.

So far, only Seven World Trade Center has been rebuilt. The new high-rise building opened in May.

Last week, designs for three other office buildings were made public. Money problems and disputes among public officials, developers and designers, among others, have slowed progress at Ground Zero.

(SOUNDS from September 11, 2001)

VOICE ONE:

In all, the attacks five years ago killed almost three thousand people. Islamic
The Twin Towers on September 11th

terrorists also crashed a plane into the Pentagon. The Defense3 Department headquarters is across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. A fourth plane crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers revolted against the hijackers.

Crews working seven days a week repaired the damage to the Pentagon. Some office workers were back in less than a year in the area that had been struck. Work on a memorial to the victims at the Pentagon began this June.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:


Ground Zero in 2003

Many New Yorkers are angry that the huge hole at Ground Zero has yet to be filled with new buildings. They say it has taken too long to rebuild this economically important part of America's financial capital.

But the job of planning has also been huge. Many agencies are involved. And so are many individuals. They include survivors4 of Nine-Eleven, family members of the victims and people who live near Ground Zero.

Arguments about safety and appearance have at times been highly emotional.

VOICE ONE:

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey5 owns the World Trade Center property. But developer Larry Silverstein signed a ninety-nine year lease to operate the World Trade Center. He did so in July of two thousand one, just weeks before the attacks. Since then he has paid millions of dollars in rent each month for the Twin Towers and other buildings that no longer exist.

Mister Silverstein was able to rebuild Seven World Trade Center, which he owned. But payments from insurance policies did not provide enough money to rebuild all of Ground Zero.

In April, Mister Silverstein agreed to a proposal that aims to make sure there is enough money to complete the project. If this complex agreement becomes final, it could represent a big step toward restoring all of Ground Zero.

VOICE TWO:

The agreement calls for Mister Silverstein to give control of the Freedom Tower to the Port Authority. The Port Authority then would pay him to direct the building of the tower. The agency also would guarantee occupants for the Freedom Tower. Mister Silverstein and the Port Authority would divide responsibility for other buildings on the site.

The city and state of New York and insurance payments for the Twin Towers are to help finance the Freedom Tower.

VOICE ONE:

Mister Silverstein recently announced that more than eight hundred tons of steel is being produced in Luxembourg to provide supports for the Freedom Tower. Kenneth Ringler leads the Port Authority. Mister Ringler said the steel supports will go up early next year. He said this would show the public that work is moving along.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Architects competed to design a plan to restore Ground Zero. In two thousand three, Daniel Libeskind of Studio Libeskind was chosen. Some of his best known buildings are museums, including the Jewish Museum in Berlin.

Mister Libeskind proposed plans for the Freedom Tower as part of his master plan for Ground Zero. But his plans called for separate architects for the buildings. That idea was criticized. Some people also said his vision of the Freedom Tower was too large and costly6.

VOICE ONE:

Back in July of two thousand one, Larry Silverstein had hired architect David Childs of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. Mister Childs had been hired to make some changes to the existing World Trade Center. Later, Mister Silverstein asked Mister Childs to help work on the plans for the Freedom Tower, after the criticism of the Libeskind proposals.

Architects Libeskind and Childs worked together in the second half of two thousand three. But it was not a happy partnership7. The design process was reorganized. David Childs became the architect of the Freedom Tower. In the spring of two thousand five, police officials raised concerns about the security of the proposed building.

VOICE TWO:

Mister Childs hurried to make changes. Within just a few weeks, the new plans for the Freedom Tower were presented. That was in June of last year. David Childs set the building farther back from the street, to leave more room for a public plaza8 area. Being farther back from traffic would also provide more security against a terrorist attack from the street.

The Freedom Tower is expected to rise from a sixty-one meter high base. There are also plans for extensive fire protection systems as well as wide stairways to make an escape to safety easier in an emergency.

Most of Mister Libeskind's ideas were gone from the new design for the Freedom Tower, such as windmills to help provide energy. But the new plans kept his proposal for a total height of about five hundred forty-one meters, including a needle-like spire9 on top.

VOICE ONE:

With the spire, the building will be one thousand seven hundred seventy-six feet tall. Seventeen seventy-six is an important number to Americans. It was the year the United States declared its independence from Britain.

The Freedom Tower will have office space, restaurants and other businesses, as well as an observation deck for visitors. Plans also call for a Beacon10 of Freedom -- a powerful light to shine from the spire.

In late July, New York Governor George Pataki announced good news for the project. He said the General Services Administration, a federal agency, is expected to occupy a large share of the office space.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

The plans for Ground Zero include a memorial, a museum and a visitors' center. The memorial will honor the victims of September eleventh and of the nineteen ninety-three bombing of the Twin Towers.

The memorial is called Reflecting Absence. The design by Michael Arad and Peter Walker won an international competition. Their design places reflecting pools and waterfalls around where the towers stood.

But the project to build a memorial has faced design and financing delays. It has also incited11 some of the most emotional disputes in the debate over what to do with Ground Zero.

VOICE ONE:

Crews are now working on support columns for the memorial. The work stopped for a while in the summer when giving for the project slowed and costs were increasing. A re-design was ordered, and the Port Authority has now take responsibility for the work.

The goal is to open the World Trade Center memorial on September eleventh, two thousand nine.

VOICE TWO:

Another memorial will open much sooner opposite the World Trade Center site. A museum of memories called the Tribute Center is to welcome the public beginning September eighteenth. Four rooms in the center tell the story of the Twin Towers from their first days through their last.

VOICE ONE:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Mario Ritter. Transcripts12 and audio files of our programs can be downloaded at www.unsv.com. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. Please join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 hijacked 54f3e68c506e45e75f9a155a27738c2f     
劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 ); 绑架; 拦路抢劫; 操纵(会议等,以推销自己的意图)
参考例句:
  • The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
  • The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。
2 collapsed cwWzSG     
adj.倒塌的
参考例句:
  • Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
  • The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。
3 defense AxbxB     
n.防御,保卫;[pl.]防务工事;辩护,答辩
参考例句:
  • The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
  • The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。
4 survivors 02ddbdca4c6dba0b46d9d823ed2b4b62     
幸存者,残存者,生还者( survivor的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
  • survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者
5 jersey Lp5zzo     
n.运动衫
参考例句:
  • He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
  • They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致,都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。
6 costly 7zXxh     
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的
参考例句:
  • It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
  • This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用,左不过贵了些。
7 partnership NmfzPy     
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。
8 plaza v2yzD     
n.广场,市场
参考例句:
  • They designated the new shopping centre York Plaza.他们给这个新购物中心定名为约克购物中心。
  • The plaza is teeming with undercover policemen.这个广场上布满了便衣警察。
9 spire SF3yo     
n.(教堂)尖顶,尖塔,高点
参考例句:
  • The church spire was struck by lightning.教堂的尖顶遭到了雷击。
  • They could just make out the spire of the church in the distance.他们只能辨认出远处教堂的尖塔。
10 beacon KQays     
n.烽火,(警告用的)闪火灯,灯塔
参考例句:
  • The blink of beacon could be seen for miles.灯塔的光亮在数英里之外都能看见。
  • The only light over the deep black sea was the blink shone from the beacon.黑黢黢的海面上唯一的光明就只有灯塔上闪现的亮光了。
11 incited 5f4269a65c28d83bc08bbe5050389f54     
刺激,激励,煽动( incite的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He incited people to rise up against the government. 他煽动人们起来反对政府。
  • The captain's example incited the men to bravery. 船长的榜样激发了水手们的勇敢精神。
12 transcripts 525c0b10bb61e5ddfdd47d7faa92db26     
n.抄本( transcript的名词复数 );转写本;文字本;副本
参考例句:
  • Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样,都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
  • You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书,你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句

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