新視野大學英語讀寫教程第二冊unit2-b Green Spaces in Cities

Section B

Green Spaces in Cities

Where do children play? Years ago, any open field, any vacant lot, any group of trees — these were the places where children played. As families left family farms, small towns, and the countryside, and moved into cities, the places for their children to play in became rarer. Children in the cities had few options, fewer choices of places to play.
In fact, all people's lives change a lot when they move to the city. In cities, homes are built on top of one another — in enormous apartment buildings. The feeling of private space and ownership no longer exists in houses literally piled one on the other.
Psychologists have been studying the changes people experience when they leave rural areas and move into urban environments. One clear finding from their studies is that people need green spaces for better mental health. Children can play on paved playgrounds. That's true. However, they just don't have as much fun as children in small towns. Without grass and trees and bushes and, yes, dirt and mud to get dirty in, children miss an important part of childhood. The human soul, it seems, needs to stay close to its roots.
Adults can plant lots of things like bulbs in window boxes and large containers. However, tending window boxes isn't the same as being an amateur gardener and growing peas, tomatoes and salad greens in a backyard garden. The lack of green space is now recognized and understood as a problem.
City planners — the people who design neighborhoods — have begun to work on a solution. They want to build more parks, but land in cities is quite costly. So they look for land that no one else wants. Along rivers, under power lines, near ditches and highways — these are the spaces that no one uses and they are everywhere. Why not use these unused spaces for green areas? Neighborhood groups have coordinated their efforts to clean up the trash or garbage. Soil from new building projects in the city has been trucked by lorries into these areas. This soil has been dumped along the sides of rivers, and strong walls have been erected to hold it there. Trees and bushes have been planted; the roots of these plants will hold the soil, too, and the green leaves make the area beautiful.
"People in and near cities have little opportunity to experience parks or unprotected open spaces, and that's becoming a problem," says Mister Ernest Cook, a senior vice president of the Trust for Public Land (TPL). This organization was started over twenty-one years ago. Its purpose is to protect land and public resources for people. In the past nineteen years, TPL has completed up to a thousand conservation projects in Canada and the United States.
In Portland, Maine, the land along the old train tracks near the coast has become a green belt of trails between areas characterized by housing developments and those characterized by downtown businesses. To Mister Charles Jordan, the director of the Portland Parks and Recreation Department, it's just a beginning. Jordan has plans for an environmental university — a huge urban park (5,000 acres ). It will include different environments, from canals and wetlands to forests. Jordan's plans include a network of trails and paths for people to use for excursions all over the city. He also wants to build a green belt from Portland, across Canada and the United States, all the way back to the Pacific Ocean. Communities across the continent could be connected by such a green belt.
Other cities have comparable projects. In Phoenix, Arizona, for instance, the sides of the Salt River bed that have washed away are becoming a park. In Baltimore, a long strip of land (which was used for dumping garbage) is becoming a series of biking and walking trails. These trails will link a dozen neighborhoods and the downtown business areas. In some cities, the bicycle paths connect every area to every other area. In Flagstaff, Arizona, a thousand miles of bike trails lead into the San Francisco Peaks, the highest summit in the state.
In other areas, planners have made places for bicycle trails and playgrounds, for public gardens and private garden plots, and paths for walking and running excursions. The costly result is a growing greenness in the cities and a healthier environment for all the civilians who live there.
Words: 728

NEW WORDS

vacant
a. 1. not filled or occupied; empty 未被占用的，空著的
2. (position or post) unfilled （職位、工作等）空缺的
3. showing no interest or activity 茫然的，空虛的

rare
a. 1. not often happening or seen, etc.; not common 稀有的，罕見的；冷僻的
2. not common and as a result sometimes valuable 稀罕的，珍奇的

option
n. 1. [C] a thing that is or may be chosen; a choice 供選擇的事物，可選擇的事物；選擇
2. [U] power or freedom of choosing; choice 選擇權(quán)，選擇自由，選擇

enormous
a. very large 巨大的，龐大的，極大的

private
a. 1. of, belonging to or for the use of one particular person or group only; personal 私人的，個人的，私用的，私有的
2. not to be told to others; secret 秘密的，私下的
3. of, belonging to or run by an individual or a self-governed company rather than the State; not state-controlled 私營的，私立的；非國家控制的

ownership
n. [U] state of being an owner; (right of) possession 物主身份；擁有（權(quán)）

▲literally
ad. in a way that follows exactly the original; exactly 照字義，逐字地；真正地

urban
a. of, located in or living in a city or town 都市的，位于都市的，住在都市的

▲pave
vt. cover (a surface) with flat stones or bricks or tar 給（道路路面）鋪上石板或磚

mud
n. [U] soft wet earth 濕泥，泥

childhood
n. [C, U] condition or period of being a child 童年時期，孩提時代

bulb
n. 1. [C] 長在土里的植物球莖（如百合、洋蔥、郁金香等植物）
2. [C] 電燈泡

container
n. [C] a box, bottle, etc. in which sth. is kept, transported, etc. 容器（箱、瓶等）

amateur
a. taking part in an activity for pleasure, not as a job, or (of an activity) done for pleasure, not as a job 業(yè)余的，非專業(yè)的
n. [C] a person who practices a sport or arts skill without receiving money for it （指不為賺錢而從事體育或藝術(shù)的）業(yè)余愛好者

gardener
n. [C] a person who works in a garden, either for pay or as a hobby （因愛好或掙錢） 在花園從事勞動的人，園丁

pea
n. [C] 豌豆，豌豆屬植物

salad
n. 1. [U] 適于生吃的萵筍、萵苣或其他蔬菜
2. [C, U] 沙拉（涼拌菜），生菜

costly
a. costing much; expensive 昂貴的，代價高的

ditch
n. [C] a narrow water course dug at the edge of a field, road, etc., esp. to hold or carry off water（在田邊、路邊挖的，尤指用來儲水或排水的）溝，渠道

lorry
n. [C] 卡車

erect
vt. 1. build, set up; establish 建造，建立
2. set straight up; put up 豎立，直立
a. standing on end 豎直的，挺直的，直立的

mister
n. （略作Mr. , 全稱很少用于書面）先生

vice
a. acting instead of 代理的，副的

nineteen
num. 十九，十九個

conservation
n. [U] prevention of loss, waste, damage, destroying, etc. 保護，保存, 節(jié)省

trail
n. 1. [C] a path, esp. through country 小道，崎嶇小路
2. [C] a mark or sign in the form of a long line left by sth. or sb. passing by 蹤跡，痕跡
v. 1. drag; be dragged along behind 拖，拉，下垂
2. fall behind （在比賽中）落后，失利
vt. follow the trail of; track 追蹤，尾隨

characterize (英characterise)
vt. 1. be common to (sb./sth.) 成為……的特征，以……為特征
2. describe... by stating its main qualities 描繪（人或物的）特征，歸納（人或物的）特征

housing
n. 1. [U] houses, flats, etc. 住宅或公寓，住宿（集合名詞）
2. [U] providing houses or flats for people 提供住宿，住房供給

recreation
n. [C, U] (means of) entertaining oneself after work; relaxation 休養(yǎng)，娛樂，消遣，精神放松

acre
n. 英畝（=4,840平方碼或約4,047平方米）

canal
n. [C] a long water way cut through land for boats or ships to travel along, or to carry water from one place to another 運河，溝渠

excursion
n. [C] a short journey for pleasure 短途旅行，遠足

comparable
a. 1. similar, that can be compared, equal to 相似的，同類的
2. meriting being compared 可比的，比得上的

strip
n. [C] a long narrow piece (of material, etc.) or area (of land, etc.) 狹長的一塊（材料）或一片（土地）
vi. take off one's clothes 脫去衣服
vt. 1. take off (clothes, parts, etc.) from sb./sth. 剝?nèi)?，揭去，除去（衣服、遮蔽物、某部分?br /> 2. take away (money, honors, etc.) from sb. 剝奪……的（錢財、榮譽等）

summit
n. 1. [C] highest point; top, esp. of a mountain 最高點；（尤指山的）頂，絕頂
2. [C] a meeting between the heads of two or more governments, esp. of the world's most powerful countries 兩國或兩國以上（尤指世界上最強的國家）政府首腦的最高級會談

plot
n. 1. [C] a small marked or measured piece of land, esp. for a special purpose （尤指用于某特定目的）小塊土地, 小塊地皮
2. [C] (plan or sketch of the) events in the story of a play or novel （戲劇或小說的故事）情節(jié)
3. [C] a secret plan made by several people to do sth. 秘密計劃，陰謀
v. make a secret plan (to do sth.); plan (sth.) with others 密謀；計劃

civilian
n. [C] a person not serving in the armed forces or the police force 平民

PHRASES AND EXPRESSIONS

open field
field which is not covered with trees, etc. 曠野

in fact
in truth; really 事實上，實際上

on top of
over or above 在……之上

work on
give one's attention to doing or trying to do 致力于

power line
【電】電力線，輸電線，電源線

coordinate one's efforts to
work together efficiently 齊心努力

clean up
make a place clean by removing the dirt 清掃，收拾，清理

up to
reach a certain number or amount 多達，直到

for instance
as an example; for example 例如

wash away
(of water) remove or carry (sb./sth.) away to another place （指水）洗掉，沖走

lead into
(of a road, etc.) provide a way (for sb.) to enter (a place) 通往，通向

PROPER NAMES

Ernest Cook
歐內(nèi)斯特·庫克

Portland
波特蘭（美國緬因州西南部港市）

Maine
緬因州（美國州名）

Charles Jordan
查爾斯·喬丹

Pacific
太平洋

Phoenix
菲尼克斯（美國亞利桑那州首府）

Arizona
亞利桑那州（美國州名）

Baltimore
巴爾的摩（美國馬里蘭州中北部港市）

Flagstaff
弗來格斯達佛市