9 面對增長(doc)
9. Dealing with Growth In a world today of immense1 technology, population growth and economic flourish2, planning for future residential and commercial developments needs careful analysis with well thought through assumptions3 about effects on the environment and the people of the community. One example of a growing city, residentially and commercially, is Wooster, Ohio, my place of residency. Wooster in the last five years has grown considerably4 in population, leading to a growth in commercial business. Surrounded by farmland, Wooster’s planning commission chose to extend the community into these farm areas in the form of residential and commercial areas. Picture this--a quiet, peaceful, old farmhouse with a barn, fixed appropriately on the outskirts5 of a city of about twenty thousand. Corn fields, old trees, clean air, country roads, and wildlife are all part of the area. Within four years, the people living on this farm step outside on their front porch6 to view an extensive shopping center containing Wal- Mart, JC Penny, Elder-Beerman’s, Lowe’s, McDonalds, Wendy’s, TCBY, and a Cinemark movie theater. The once quiet road is now a city street with traffic lights, busy with automobiles day and evening. The air smells of car exhaust7 and fast food. Some destruction of farm land is unavoidable when a city expands.Instead of expanding outward, planning commissions should consider interior remodeling8 of a city. Tearing down9 unusable10 buildings could remodel many areas inside the city. In addition, commercialized buildings could extend upwards to avoid unnecessary use of land. I also question the necessity of these commercial businesses. For example, Wooster now has three McDonalds, two Wendy’s, two Hardy’s, Burger King and a Taco11 Bell. In a town of twenty thousand people, this many fast food restaurants seem extremely unnecessary. When a community is introduced to a large amount of nationwide commercial businesses, the community loses its uniqueness, loses small private owned businesses, and becomes a mirror image of every other average city. Environmentally, commercial expansion is detrimental12 to the land. Besides forms of pollution, wildlife, including both plants and animals, is put at risk. A 300-year-old oak tree was cut down in 1994 in the north end of Wooster so a street could be widened. A planning commission could realize the benefits of an historic tree and refuse to allow its destruction. Why not retain13 the beauty and naturalness14 of the land while at the same time allowing for growth? Many developments of homes have been established in the past five years in Wooster. These homes are similar in style, causing a uniformity15 in appearance of new neighborhoods. Planning commissions should avoid uniformity in neighborhoods and allow for a combination16 of styles for homes. 　　Many older homes located in downtown17 areas that have become decrepit18 could be replaced by newer homes, thus saving the surrounding farmland and trees. With the transition from old, run-down19 homes to contemporary homes, the city as whole would be improved in appearance and cleanliness. Neglecting what a community already has is a factor in planning that should change. With a steady growth of population and the need for more homes and more work places, many problems arise when planning for the future. The hillsides, fields, animal habitats and forests need to be preserved while expanding cities. In the future, a world covered with concrete20 and asphalt21 could become reality. Serious research and analysis are needed when planning for the future of our home communities and for the entire globe to avoid such a tragedy. 面對增長 當今世界無窮盡的技術(shù)、人口的增長、經(jīng)濟的繁榮，對未來居民區(qū)和商業(yè)區(qū)的發(fā)展規(guī) 劃需要謹慎的分析，要充分設(shè)想其對環(huán)境與社區(qū)居民所造成的影響。 　　一個居住與商業(yè)都快速發(fā)展的城市的實例就是我所生活的地方——俄亥俄州的伍斯特 。在過去的五年中，伍斯特人口劇增，促進了其商業(yè)的發(fā)展。由于它被農(nóng)田所包圍，于 是伍斯特規(guī)劃委員會選擇了將社區(qū)向農(nóng)場擴展的這樣一種居民區(qū)與商業(yè)區(qū)模式。 　　請想象一下這種情景：一個安靜祥和、帶有谷倉的舊式農(nóng)舍，恰當?shù)匕才旁谝粋€擁 有兩萬人口的城市的郊區(qū)。玉米地、老樹、清潔的空氣、鄉(xiāng)村公路以及野生動植物都是 這個地區(qū)的組成部分。短短的四年間，生活在這個農(nóng)場的居民走出家門，映入眼簾的卻 是大型的購物中心，包括沃爾瑪特、JC便士、老比爾曼、洛沃斯、麥當勞、溫迪斯、TC BY以及辛馬克電影院。 　　曾經(jīng)寧靜的道路現(xiàn)在成為了一條交通燈林立、從早到晚都車水馬龍的都市街道?？?氣中彌漫著汽車的廢氣以及快餐的味道。 　　當一座城市擴張時，對農(nóng)田部分的破壞是不可避免的。規(guī)劃委員會應當考慮城市內(nèi) 部改造而不是向外擴張。拆掉那些不合用的樓房能夠改建市區(qū)的許多地方。此外，商業(yè) 大樓可以向高處延伸以避免不必要地占用土地。 　　而且，我對建設(shè)這些商業(yè)設(shè)施的必要性也心存疑慮。比方說，伍斯特現(xiàn)在有三家麥 當勞、兩家溫迪斯、兩家哈代斯、漢堡王以及一家貝爾煎玉米卷。在一個人口僅有兩萬 的城鎮(zhèn)，這么多快餐館似乎極其不必要。當一個社區(qū)有了大量的全國性的商業(yè)設(shè)施后， 該社區(qū)便失去了其特色，丟掉了自己小型的私有生意，變成了其他一般城市的翻版。 　　環(huán)境上，商業(yè)擴展對土地是有害的。除了各種污染外，野生物種，包括動物和植物 都面臨著危險。 　　1994年在伍斯特北端，一棵300年樹齡的櫟樹被砍掉以加寬一條街。規(guī)劃委員會是能 夠認識到一棵具有歷史意義的古樹的益處而拒絕對它的損毀的。為什么不能在允許發(fā)展 的同時保留土地的美麗和自然特色呢？ 　　在過去的五年中，伍斯特開發(fā)了許多家庭住宅項目。這些住宅風格雷同，形成了外 觀一樣的新住宅區(qū)。規(guī)劃委員會應該避免這種雷同并允許住宅風格的多樣化。 　　位于城區(qū)的許多年久失修的老房可以被新居取代，這樣就可以拯救四周的農(nóng)田和樹 木。隨著老房、危房被改造成現(xiàn)代住宅，整個城市將面目一新、干凈整潔。漠視一個社 區(qū)已經(jīng)擁有的東西是規(guī)劃委員會必須改變的一點。 　　隨著人口的逐步增長以及人們對更多住宅與工作場所的需求，未來的規(guī)劃中會出現(xiàn) 許多問題。在城市擴展時，山坡、田野、動物棲息地以及森林需要得到保護。在未來， 由混凝土和瀝青覆蓋著的世界會可能成為現(xiàn)實。因此，在規(guī)劃我們的居住社區(qū)以及全球 的未來時，我們需要認真研究與分析，以避免這種悲劇的發(fā)生。 1.immense[ι5μενσ]adj.巨大的 2.flourish[5φλΘριΦ]n.繁榮 3.assumption[Ε5σΘμπΦΕν]]n.假定，假設(shè) 4.considerably[κΕν5σιδΕρΕβλ]adv.相當大地 5.outskirt[5αυτσκΕ:τ]n.[常作～s]市郊，郊區(qū) 6.porch[πΧ:τΦ]n.門廊，走廊，陽臺 7.exhaust[ι⊥5ζΧ:στ]n.廢氣 8.remodel[5ρι:5μΧδλ]vt.改造，改建 9.teardown拆毀 10.unusable[(((((((((((]adj.不可用的 11.taco[5τΒ:κΕυ]n.墨西哥煎玉米卷 12.detrimental[7δετρι5μεντλ]adj.有害的 13.retain[ρι5τειν]vt.保留，保持 14.naturalness[5ν“τΦΕρΕλ(((]n.自然 15.uniformity[7φυ:νι5φΧ:μιτι]n.一樣，一致 16.combination[7κΧμβι5νειΦΕν]n.結(jié)合 17.downtown[5δαυνταυν]adj.(城鎮(zhèn)的)商業(yè)區(qū)的，鬧市區(qū)的 18.decrepit[δι5κρεπιτ]adj.破舊的，失修的 19.run-down[(((((((((]adj.失修的，破敗的 20.concrete[5κΧνκρι:τ]adj.混凝土的 21.asphalt[5“σφ“λτ]n.瀝青，柏油
9 面對增長(doc)