VOA慢速英语听力：缅因州的一家人希望建造世界上最高的旗杆 Family in Maine Hopes to Build World’s Tallest Flagpole

VOA慢速英语听力：缅因州的一家人希望建造世界上最高的旗杆 Family in Maine Hopes to Build World’s Tallest Flagpole

In Maine’s Down East area, large forests and ocean meet in one of the last undeveloped places on the U.S. East Coast.
在缅因州的东部地区，广袤的森林与大海交汇在美国东海岸上最后一片未开发的地方。

The area is also the setting for the Worcester family’s big vision. It involves building the largest flagpole in the world. It would reach higher than the Empire State Building. And at the top of the flagpole? An American flag bigger than a football field.
这个地区也是沃斯特家族宏大愿景的背景。它涉及建造世界上最高的旗杆。它将比帝国大厦还要高。在旗杆的顶部？一面比足球场还大的美国国旗。

To supporters, the $1 billion project, financed in part by donations, would unite Americans and remind them of shared values at a time of political divisions.
对支持者来说，这个耗资10亿美元的项目将部分由捐赠资金支持，它将使美国人团结在一起，并在政治分裂的时刻提醒他们共同的价值观。

But so far, the project — called the Flagpole of Freedom Park — has been a big subject of debate. Columbia Falls, with a population of 485 people, is the place closest to where the pole would rise. People there have different ideas about whether the project is a good idea.
但到目前为止，这个名为自由公园旗杆的项目一直是一个备受争议的问题。哥伦比亚福尔斯是离旗杆将建起的地方最近的地方，那里的人们对这个项目是否是个好主意有不同的看法。

Disputes

Morrill Worcester is the founder of Worcester Wreath and the main force behind the project. He described the goal this way: “We want to bring Americans together...and unite a divided America.”
莫里尔·伍斯特是伍斯特花圈公司的创始人，也是该项目的主要推动力。他这样描述目标：“我们想要把美国人团结在一起...团结一个分裂的美国。”

But some local people have raised questions about the project. Does the quiet area want the visitors it would bring? Would the project hurt the land? How should one balance development and environmentalism?
但是一些当地人对这个项目提出了疑问。这个宁静的地区是否需要它将带来的游客？这个项目会损害土地吗？如何平衡发展和环保？

The flagpole alone is a big proposal. It would be around 445 meters tall. Elevators would bring people to viewing areas where they could see Canada. One worried resident said: “It’s like putting the Eiffel Tower in the Maine wilderness.”
仅仅旗杆本身就是一个庞大的提案。它将高达约445米。电梯将人们带到观景区，他们可以看到加拿大。一位担忧的居民说：“这就像是把埃菲尔铁塔放在缅因州的荒野上。”

Morrill Worcester also imagines a village with living history museums telling the country’s story through veterans’ eyes. There would be restaurants, event buildings, and monument walls with the name of every veteran who has died since the American Revolution — about 24 million names.
莫里尔·伍斯特还设想建立一个村庄，里面设有通过退伍军人的视角讲述国家故事的活体历史博物馆。还会有餐厅、活动建筑和纪念墙，上面刻有美国独立战争以来每位牺牲的退伍军人的名字，大约有2400万个名字。

In Columbia Falls, many were surprised by the size of the project. It would require cutting down trees for parking spaces and building housing for hundreds, maybe thousands of workers.
在哥伦比亚福尔斯，很多人对这个项目的规模感到惊讶。这将需要为停车场砍伐树木，并为数百人甚至上千人建造住房。

“This is the last wilderness on the East Coast,” said Marie Emerson, whose husband, Dell, is a longtime blueberry farmer and university research farm manager.
“这是东海岸最后的荒野，”玛丽·爱默生说道，她的丈夫戴尔是一位长期从事蓝莓种植的农民和大学研究农场经理。

She said the natural environment makes the area special. A large development could destroy forests and wild blueberry areas that have been here for thousands of years.
她说，自然环境使这个地区变得特别。大规模的开发可能会破坏这里已经存在了几千年的森林和野生蓝莓地区。

Economy and social issues

But behind the beauty lies an economy where many are struggling.
但是在这美丽的背后，是一个许多人都在挣扎的经济。

The area has some of the state’s highest unemployment and poverty rates. The area’s residents are among the state’s oldest. The area is dealing with an opioid abuse problem.
该地区拥有该州最高的失业率和贫困率。该地区的居民是该州年龄最大的一部分。该地区正在应对滥用阿片类药物的问题。

There is a joke people tell in the area. It goes something like this: We may send lobsters, blueberries, and wreaths to the world, but our biggest export is young people looking for work.
该地区的人们会讲一个笑话，大致是这样的：我们可能向世界寄送龙虾、蓝莓和花圈，但我们最大的出口是年轻人寻找工作。

Taking sides

After the project became public knowledge, town residents began taking sides. Some saw Worcester as a quiet man trying to do something good. Others saw a businessman used to getting his way, trying to force his version of America onto others.
在该项目为公众所知之后，城镇居民开始分为两派。一些人认为伍斯特是一个安静的人，试图做一些好事。另一些人认为他是一个习惯于按自己的方式办事的商人，试图把自己对美国的看法强加给别人。

Patriotism, critics say, is not measured by the height of a flagpole. But divisive political debates are not good, either, said Jeff Greene, a contractor and one of three members of the town’s Select Board.
批评者说，爱国主义不能以旗杆的高度来衡量。但分裂的政治辩论也不好，城镇选择委员会的三位成员之一、承包商杰夫·格林说道。

“What we’re desperately in need of in this area in the country, or in the world as a whole, is the ability to listen to somebody you disagree with in an attempt to find something of value,” he said, adding: “Even if you disagree with them.”
他说：“我们在这个地区、在整个国家，甚至在整个世界上都迫切需要的是，有能力聆听与你意见不合的人，以寻找有价值的东西。”他还补充说：“即使你与他们意见不合。”

The Worcester family has support and donations. It has not announced how much money it has raised. Mike Worcester is one of Morrill Worcester’s sons. He said in a statement to the Associated Press that the family respects the wishes of town residents who want more time to study the proposal.
伍斯特家族得到了支持和捐款。他们尚未宣布筹集了多少资金。迈克·伍斯特是莫里尔·伍斯特的儿子之一。他在给美联社的一份声明中表示，家族尊重城镇居民希望有更多时间研究这个提案的愿望。

And so, that is how the project stands for now. It represents a moment in the life of a town. It also shows how the love of home and of country can be powerful and can sometimes be at odds.
因此，目前项目就是这样。它代表了一个城镇的时刻。它还显示了对家乡和国家的热爱可以是强大的，但有时也可能存在分歧。

Peter Doak, an army veteran, knows Morrill Worcester as a humble but determined man.
退伍军人彼得·多克认识莫里尔·伍斯特，他认为他是一个谦逊但坚定的人。

Doak describes his friend as a visionary. He describes it like this: People thought Walt Disney World, built in a Florida swampland, was a crazy idea. They thought Mount Rushmore was very strange and unusual. Both are now treasured in the United States.
多克将他的朋友描述为一个有远见的人。他这样形容：人们认为在佛罗里达州的沼泽地建设迪士尼乐园是个疯狂的想法。他们觉得拉什莫尔山非常奇怪和不寻常。现在这两个都是美国的宝藏。

“He’s going to build that flagpole,” Doak says. “So why shouldn’t it be Columbia Falls?”
“他将建造那根旗杆，”多克说。“那为什么不应该是哥伦比亚瀑布呢？”

I’m John Russell.
我是约翰·拉塞尔。

And I'm Ashley Thompson.
我是阿什利·汤普森。

Words in This Story

vision –n. something you imagine or dream of that you believe is an important experience

flagpole – n. a pole used to display a flag

resident – n. one who lives in a place

wilderness – n. a wild and natural area in which few people live

manager – n. ​a person who directs or supervises a business or organization

opioid – n. a kind of drug that is used to reduce pain or cause sleep

wreath – n. an arrangement of leaves or flowers in the shape of a circle that is placed as a sign of honor

at odds – expression in a state of disagreement

humble – adj. not thinking of yourself as better than other people

determined – adj. ​having reached a decision : firmly resolved