(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
I'm Steve Ember. And I'm Faith Lapidus with People in America in VOA Special English. Today we tell about James Rouse. He was a developer who found new ways to improve American cities. It was a gray day in nineteen seventy-three. James Wilson Rouse got off a train in Boston, Massachusetts. He had come to see a very old building that was almost empty. Mister Rouse owned a company that developed property. Another official of the company was on that trip. The official remembered that the building looked terrible. Part of it was burned out. It was filled with holes where rats lived. Yet, the official said: "Jim was very happy. He said it was going to be great. The man could see things no one else could see." The damaged building James Rouse was inspecting became the beginning of Boston's famous Faneuil Hall. Repaired and rebuilt, it is an important part of a historic cultural center for stores, ethnic foods and street performers.
The center is designed to show life as it was in the seventeen hundreds. Millions of people from all over the world have visited Faneuil Hall. Faneuil Hall is just one of many "festival marketplaces" that James Rouse created in the centers of older cities. Festival marketplaces are large centers for shopping, eating and other pleasant activities. He built other major centers in New York City; Baltimore, Maryland and Miami, Florida. Harborplace in Baltimore is a good example of James Rouse's festival marketplaces. In the seventeen hundreds, the land on which the Harborplace development was built served as a trade center for Baltimore. Many ships sailed to and from this area of the eastern American port city. Over the years, however, this busy, successful waterfront area changed. By the middle of the twentieth century, businesses were failing. Many buildings were empty and in need of major repair.
The Baltimore city government decided to establish a plan to re-build the area. The plan called for a waterfront development that would combine business and pleasure. James Rouse's company won the right to develop part of the area. The project was to be called Harborplace. The first part of Harborplace opened in nineteen eighty. Later in the nineteen eighties, the Rouse Company developed another area called The Gallery at Harborplace. Today, millions of people each year visit Harborplace and The Gallery in Baltimore, Maryland. They shop and eat in many stores and restaurants. They watch music, dancing and plays performed near the water. And they enjoy the mix of people and activities that brings new life to the center of that old city. James Rouse was born in nineteen fourteen. His family lived in a farming area on the eastern shore of Maryland. His father and mother died within a few months of each other in nineteen thirty. They left their five children without much money.
The parents owed a bank a lot of money for their house. So the bank was forced to take away the family home. James was able to find a job to pay for his college education. He later graduated from the University of Maryland Law School in nineteen thirty-six. He began working for a bank in Baltimore. In nineteen thirty-nine, James Rouse and a banker, Hunter Moss, borrowed twenty-five thousand dollars. They formed a company that lent money to people who wanted to buy homes. During World War Two, Mister Rouse served as an officer in the Navy in the Pacific area.
After the war, he returned to Baltimore. His business grew. It represented banks and provided loans to people returning from the war who wanted to buy homes. James Rouse became a rich man. During the early nineteen-fifties, he also became known for social action as well as property development. He tried to improve a poor, undeveloped area in east Baltimore. The mayor of the city said he would not offer complete support for a plan to rebuild the poor area. So Mister Rouse resigned from a citizens' committee that was supporting the plan. Also in the nineteen fifties, Mister Rouse began a project that brought him national fame. He began building some of the first enclosed shopping centers in America. He built a lot of these shopping malls in Maryland and other states. Each mall had stores and businesses inside a large building. They were built outside cities, in the growing housing areas called suburbs.
James Rouse wanted to develop land for the good of society and the environment, not just for profit. In the nineteen sixties, he dreamed of building a complete new city between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland. His company bought ten percent of the property in Howard County, Maryland. The company bought more than fifty-seven square kilometers of land from one hundred forty separate owners. In nineteen sixty-three, James Rouse announced that his company would help build a new planned community. By creating separate villages within the community, it was to seem like a small town. Each village would have a shopping center, open spaces and homes. The new community of Columbia, Maryland began in nineteen sixty-seven. Today, more than ninety-four thousand people live in the city. In nineteen seventy-two, three members of a Washington, D.C. church came to visit James Rouse. The three belonged to the Church of the Saviour, where James and Patricia Rouse had been married.
The women asked Mister Rouse for advice about creating housing for poor people in the Adams Morgan area of Washington. But Mister Rouse thought people who knew nothing about development, money or building could not possibly create low-income housing. The women did not give up their goal. Instead, they invested money to buy two apartment house buildings in Adams Morgan. The buildings were in terrible condition. Mister Rouse helped them get six hundred twenty-five thousand dollars to complete the deal. He also helped them get one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars to repair the buildings. Their project was huge. People worked for no pay for fifty thousand hours to repair the buildings. Workers cleaned out garbage and rats. People also gave additional financial help for the restoration. More than nine hundred housing violations were corrected. The completed project provided ninety apartment homes for poor people. They were called Jubilee Housing.
James and Patricia Rouse served as advisors for Jubilee Housing. Mister Rouse retired as head of his development company. Then, in nineteen eighty-two, they took a further step toward helping poor and middle-income people. They established a new organization, the Enterprise Foundation. They used profits from Mister Rouse's company to start the foundation. Its goal is to give poor people in America a chance to live in clean, pleasant places. Since then, the Enterprise Foundation has worked with thousands of community groups and other organizations. Each year it provides thousands of new or re-built homes for poor and middle-income families. Many experts say that James Rouse helped shape the look of the United States for years to come. In nineteen ninety-five, President Clinton gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is the highest award a civilian can receive. He was honored for his work restoring the central areas of cities. President Clinton said that James Rouse's life was based on a strong belief in the American spirit.
James Rouse died in nineteen ninety-six. But the work of the Enterprise Foundation continues with help from family members. One of these is the Rouses' grandson, Edward Norton, a movie actor. He developed a project to help poor people heat their homes. It is a joint project with the organization his grandparents established. The influence of James Rouse continues today in other ways. Developers continue to re-build and improve poor areas of cities. And millions of people visit historic centers like Faneuil Hall and Harborplace every year.
重点解析
1.inspect 检查；视察
Elaine went outside to inspect the playing field.
伊莱恩到外边去检查运动场。
2.be designed to 目的是；被设计用于做
This project is designed to help landless people
这一项目旨在帮助那些没有土地的人。
3.serve as 担任…，充当…；起…的作用
The Ambassador said he hoped the statement would serve as a wake-up call to the government.
大使说，他希望这一声明能给政府敲响警钟。
4.owe 欠
The company owes money to more than 60 banks.
这家公司欠六十多家银行的钱。
5.loan 贷款；借款
The country has no access to foreign loans or financial aid.
该国得不到外国贷款或财政援助。
6.undeveloped 欠发达的
The big losers will be the undeveloped countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
最大的损失者将为不发达国家，特别是撒哈拉以南的非洲国家。
参考译文
我是史蒂夫·恩贝尔。我是菲丝·拉伯蒂斯。这里是VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。今天我们将讲述詹姆士·劳斯的故事。他是一名城市规划师，是他发现了改善美国城市的新方法。那是1973年的一天，天空灰暗。詹姆士·劳斯在马萨诸塞州波士顿下了火车。他要去看那个空旷老旧的建筑。劳斯有一家房地产公司。公司的另一名高层和他同行。这名高层货已到那栋建筑看起来很糟糕。建筑部分烧毁，里边都出都是老鼠洞。但他说：吉姆很开心。他说这幢建筑会很不错的。这个男人可以看见别人发现不了的事物。”
詹姆士·劳斯检查的这幢建筑成为了波士顿著名法尼尔厅的开端。经过修护和重建，它变成了历史文化中心的一部分，里边满是商店、各地美食以及街头艺人。这个中心的设计是为了展现18世纪的生活。世界各地百万游客来此参观法尼尔厅。法尼尔厅只是詹姆士·劳斯在这个古老城市中心创造的众多‘游园风味市集广场’之一。游园风味的市集广场是供购物、饮食和其他娱乐活动的大型中心。纽约、马里兰巴尔的摩以及佛罗里达迈阿密都有他建造的主要中心。巴尔的摩的Harborplace就是詹姆士·劳斯建造的游园风味市集广场的佳作。18世纪，Harborplace区的这块地是巴尔的摩的贸易中心。很多船只往来美国东部港口城市的这片区域。但多年来，这个繁忙成功的海岸区发生了变化。到20世纪中期，商业落寞。很多建筑都空了且需要大量修复。巴尔的摩市政府决定制定方案重建这块区域。该计划需要开发一个将商业和娱乐相结合的滨水区。詹姆士·劳斯的公司赢得了开发这块区域的权利。该项目被称为Harborplace。
Harborplace的第一部分于1980年开放。之后在20世纪80年代，劳斯公司开发了另一个区域The Gallery at Harborplace。如今每年有百万游客参观马里兰巴尔的摩的Harborplace and The Gallery。他们在众多商店和餐厅里购物用餐。他们在海岸附近听音乐、观看舞蹈和戏剧，享受着人潮和活动的混合，为这个老城市的中心带来新生命。詹姆士·劳斯出生于1914年。他们一家住在马里兰东海岸的一个农场地区。他的父亲和母亲在1930年几个月内相继去世。他们没有给他们的5个孩子留下多少钱。父母们欠了银行一大笔房贷。因此银行收走了他们的房子。
詹姆士可以找工作付大学学费。之后的1936年，他从马里兰大学法学院毕业。他开始在巴尔的摩的一家银行工作。1939年，詹姆士·劳斯和一名银行家亨特·莫斯借了25000美元。他们成立了一家公司借钱给需要买房的人。二战期间，劳斯在太平洋海军服役，他是一名军官。战争结束后，他回到巴尔的摩。事业得到发展。他代表银行向需要买房的退役士兵提供贷款。詹姆士·劳斯成了一名富商，20世纪50年代早期，他也因社会运动和房地产开发而知名。
他试图改善巴尔的摩东部贫穷落后的区域。城市市长表示他不会提供修建计划地完全支持。因此劳斯从支持该计划的市民委员会辞职。同样在20世纪50年达，劳斯开始实施的一项项目让他享誉全国。他开始建造了几座美国首批封闭的购物中心。马里兰和其他州的很多购物商场都是他的作品。每个购物商场都有商店和商家入驻一个大楼中。它们建在城市之外，在住宅逐渐增长的区域—郊区。詹姆士·劳斯想要开发一块利于社会和环境而非利益的地方。20世纪60年代，他梦想在华盛顿和马里兰巴尔的摩之间建造一个全新城市。他的公司买下了马里兰霍华德县10%的地产。公司从140多家独立所有者手里买下了57多平方公里的土地。
1963年，詹姆士·劳斯宣布他的公司将帮助建一个新规划的社区。通过在社区内建立独立村庄，这个社区看上去就像是一个小城镇。每个村庄都有一个购物中心、空地和房屋。马里兰哥伦布新社区于1967年开工。如今，94000人住在这个城市。1972年，一家华盛顿教堂成员来拜访詹姆士·劳斯。三人来自救世主教堂，那里是詹姆士和帕特丽夏·劳斯结婚的地方。几名女士前来询问劳斯关于在华盛顿亚当斯·摩根地区为穷人建造房屋的建议。但是劳斯认为那些开发、资金或建筑的人不可能建出低收入住宅。几名女士没有放弃她们的目标。相反，她们投资购买了亚当斯·摩根的两栋公寓建筑。两栋公寓环境很糟糕。劳斯帮助她们拿到25000美元完成交易。他还帮助她们获得了125000美元用于修复公寓。她们的项目巨大。人们免费修复两栋公寓的50000所房间。工人们清理垃圾和老鼠。人们还为修复提供了额外帮助。900所房屋的违规建筑被清理。完成后的项目为穷人提供了90多间房子。这些房子被称为Jubilee Housing。詹姆士和帕特丽夏·劳斯成了Jubilee Housing的顾问。劳斯从地产公司退休。
1982年，他们进一步帮助穷人和中等收入家庭。他们成了新的机构—企业基金会。他们利用公司的利润开创基金。其目标是给美国穷人一个居住在干净美丽地方的机会。自那时起，企业基金会和数千个社区群体及其他组织合作。每年基金会为穷人和中等收入家庭提供数千个新的或重建的房子。很多专家表示詹姆士·劳斯帮助塑造了美国未来的样貌。
1995年，克林顿总统授予他总统自由勋章。这是授予市民的最高荣誉。他因在城市中心的修复贡献而受尊敬。克林顿总统称詹姆士·劳斯的一生是基于对美国精神的强烈信仰。詹姆士·劳斯于1996年去世，但其家族成员还在继续支持企业基金会。其中就有劳斯的外孙爱德华·诺顿，一位电影明星。他发起了一个项目帮助穷人提供暖气。他外公成立的组织也参与这个项目。詹姆士·劳斯的影响以其他方式继续。开发商继续修复并改善城市贫困地区。每年百万人参观像法尼尔厅和Harborplace这样的历史中心。
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