文本选自：The Guardian（卫报）
作者：Wilfred Chan
原文标题：New York is building the world’s tallest jail in Chinatown. Can anyone stop it?
原文发布时间：21 Aug. 2023
New York is building the world's tallest jail in Chinatown. Can anyone stop it?
For nearly two centuries, New York City's Chinatown has been home to a quintessentially American story: immigrant workers and their families living shoulder-to-shoulder in low-slung tenements. Workers like Dennis Chung, the owner of Pasteur Grill and Noodles, a Vietnamese pho joint he's run at the neighborhood's western edge for 27 years – weathering disasters like 9/11, Hurricane Sandy and Covid. Now another symbol of the American condition is taking shape, directly across from Chung's shop: a vast new jail. At about 300ft, the new structure is expected to be the tallest correctional facility in the world. And Chung says it could be the thing that finally sinks his business. "With the jail on top of the pandemic, it might be over," he tells me in Cantonese.
City officials and justice reform advocates say the new jail is a necessary project if they're going to close Rikers Island, the notoriously grim jail that New York's city council voted to shut down in 2019. That vote ordered the facility replaced by 2027 with four smaller jails throughout the city, including the one in Chinatown – which planners say will be a more humane institution conveniently located steps from downtown courthouses.
The tower will replace a much shorter jail that's been on the site since the 1980s. But construction is well behind schedule, partially due to years of resistance from a diverse coalition that includes everyone from prison abolitionists to local landlords to, at one point, Eric Adams, who pledged to oppose the new jail when campaigning for mayor. They argue it will be an eyesore that could harm some of New York's most vulnerable immigrants, and that its multibillion-dollar price could be far better spent elsewhere.
美国纽约打算在唐人街建造“超级监狱”？
精听党背景导读
据报道，美国打算在纽约打造一系列相对较小的监狱，总价值80亿美元，功能就是取代里克斯岛监狱。但是说到选址问题，却让很多亚裔感到不满，因为其中一座监狱打算建设到唐人街，而且与其它地面监狱有所不同的是，它将建设成高达300英尺或更高的预计容纳800人的监狱，让其成为世界上最高的监狱。
文本选自：The Guardian（卫报）作者：Wilfred Chan原文标题：New York is building the world’s tallest jail in Chinatown. Can anyone stop it?原文发布时间：21 Aug. 2023关键词：纽约 唐人街 监狱
精听党带着问题听
1.“肩并肩”用英语可以怎么表达？2. 如何理解段一中的“joint”？3. 纽约市议会何时决定将里克斯岛监狱关闭？
精听党选段赏析
标题解读
New York is building the world’s tallest jail in Chinatown. Can anyone stop it?
纽约正在唐人街建造世界上最高的监狱。有人能够阻止吗？
jail n. 监狱；监禁；
Chinatown n. 唐人街，中国城；
段一
For nearly two centuries, New York City’s Chinatown has been home to a quintessentially American story: immigrant workers and their families living shoulder-to-shoulder in low-slung tenements. Workers like Dennis Chung, the owner of Pasteur Grill and Noodles, a Vietnamese pho joint he’s run at the neighborhood’s western edge for 27 years – weathering disasters like 9/11, Hurricane Sandy and Covid. Now another symbol of the American condition is taking shape, directly across from Chung’s shop: a vast new jail. At about 300ft, the new structure is expected to be the tallest correctional facility in the world. And Chung says it could be the thing that finally sinks his business. “With the jail on top of the pandemic, it might be over,” he tells me in Cantonese.
quintessentially adv. 典型地，完全地；
immigrant worker 移民工人，外来工人；1. The construction industry relies heavily on immigrant workers to meet the demand for labor. 建筑行业严重依赖外来工人以满足劳动力需求。
shoulder-to-shoulder 肩并肩地；1. The protesters marched shoulder-to-shoulder in a show of unity. 抗议者肩并肩游行，以示团结。
low-slung adj. 建得很低的；矮的；1. Many low-slung tenements were built in the early 20th century to accommodate urban populations. 许多低矮的公寓楼建于20世纪初，以容纳城市人口。
weather vt. 经受住，平安地渡过（困难）；1. The old house was built to weather the harshest of storms. 这座老房子是为了抵御最猛烈的风暴而建造的。
Hurricane Sandy 飓风桑迪；
take shape 形成，成型；1. The plans for the new building are beginning to take shape. 新建筑的计划正在开始形成。
correctional facility 矫正设施，惩教机构；
sink vt. 下沉；使下沉；使沉没；使失败；
参考译文
近两个世纪以来，纽约市的唐人街一直是一个典型的美国故事的家园：移民工人和他们的家庭在低矮的出租公寓里肩并肩生活。像丹尼斯·钟这样的劳动者，他是Pasteur Grill and Noodles的老板，这是一家越南河粉店，他在这个社区的西边经营了27年，经历了9·11恐怖袭击事件、飓风桑迪和新冠等灾难。现在，美国社会状况的另一个象征正在形成，就在钟的店铺的正对面：一个巨大的新监狱。这座新建筑预计将达到约300英尺，成为世界上最高的矫正设施（惩教机构）。钟说，这可能是最终毁掉他生意的事情。“监狱再加上疫情，可能就完了，”他用粤语告诉我。
段二
City officials and justice reform advocates say the new jail is a necessary project if they’re going to close Rikers Island, the notoriously grim jail that New York’s city council voted to shut down in 2019. That vote ordered the facility replaced by 2027 with four smaller jails throughout the city, including the one in Chinatown – which planners say will be a more humane institution conveniently located steps from downtown courthouses.
justice reform 司法改革；1. The government's focus on justice reform aims to address issues of overcrowding and inequality within the prison system. 政府对司法改革的关注旨在解决监狱系统内过度拥挤和不平等的问题。
advocate n. 倡导者，拥护者；
notoriously adv. 声名狼藉地，臭名昭著地；
grim jail 阴沉的监狱，可怕的监狱；
city council 市议会；
humane institution 人道机构，人性化机构；
conveniently adv. 便利地；合宜地；
参考译文
城市官员和司法改革倡导者表示，如果他们要关闭里克斯岛监狱，新监狱是一个必要的项目。里克斯岛监狱臭名昭著，纽约市议会于2019年投票决定将其关闭。这项投票要求在2027年之前用四个分布在全市的较小监狱取代该设施，其中包括唐人街的监狱，规划者表示这将是一个更人道的机构，距离市中心的法院只有几步之遥。
段三
The tower will replace a much shorter jail that’s been on the site since the 1980s. But construction is well behind schedule, partially due to years of resistance from a diverse coalition that includes everyone from prison abolitionists to local landlords to, at one point, Eric Adams, who pledged to oppose the new jail when campaigning for mayor. They argue it will be an eyesore that could harm some of New York’s most vulnerable immigrants, and that its multibillion-dollar price could be far better spent elsewhere.
replace vt. 替代，取代；1. They decided to replace the old furniture with new pieces to give the room a fresh look. 他们决定用新家具替换旧家具，使房间焕然一新。
on the site 在现场，现场地；1. The construction team is working on the site to complete the building project on schedule. 建筑队正在现场工作，以按时完成建筑项目。
partially adv. 部分地，不完全地；
diverse adj. 多样的，各种各样的；1. The city is known for its diverse cultural heritage and vibrant neighborhoods. 这座城市以其多样的文化遗产和充满活力的社区而闻名。
coalition n. 联盟，联合；
pledge to 承诺，保证；
oppose vt. 反对，抵制；
campaign for 为…而进行宣传活动，为…竞选；
mayor n. 市长，镇长；
eyesore n. 碍眼的建筑；丑陋的东西；令人厌恶的东西；
far better 更好；好得多；
参考译文
这座塔楼将取代自20世纪80年代以来一直位于该地点的较矮的监狱。但施工进度严重滞后，部分原因是由于多元联盟多年的抵抗，该联盟包括从废除监狱主义者到当地房东，甚至曾经的埃里克·亚当斯，他在竞选市长时曾承诺反对新监狱。他们认为这将是一件糟糕的事情，可能会伤害一些纽约最脆弱的移民，并且其数十亿美元的代价可以更好地花在其他地方。
精听党每日单词
jail
/dʒeɪl/ n. 监狱；监禁；
Chinatown
/ˈtʃaɪnətaʊn/ n. 唐人街，中国城；
quintessentially
/ˌkwɪntɪˈsenʃəli/ adv. 典型地，完全地；
immigrant worker
移民工人，外来工人；
shoulder-to-shoulder
肩并肩地；
low-slung
/ˌloʊ ˈslʌŋ/ adj. 建得很低的；矮的；
weather
/ˈweðər/ vt. 经受住，平安地渡过（困难）；
Hurricane Sandy
飓风桑迪；
take shape
形成，成型；
correctional facility
矫正设施，惩教机构；
sink
/sɪŋk/ vt. 下沉；使下沉；使沉没；使失败；
justice reform
司法改革；
advocate
/ˈædvəkeɪt/ n. 倡导者，拥护者；
notoriously
/noʊˈtɔːriəsli/ adv. 声名狼藉地，臭名昭著地；
grim jail
阴沉的监狱，可怕的监狱；
city council
市议会；
humane institution
人道机构，人性化机构；
conveniently
/kənˈviːniəntli/ adv. 便利地；合宜地；
replace
/rɪˈpleɪs/ vt. 替代，取代；
on the site
在现场，现场地；
partially
/ˈpɑːrʃəli/ adv. 部分地，不完全地；
diverse
/daɪˈvɜːrs/ adj. 多样的，各种各样的；
coalition
/ˌkoʊəˈlɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 联盟，联合；
pledge to
承诺，保证；
oppose
/əˈpoʊz/ vt. 反对，抵制；
campaign for
为…而进行宣传活动，为…竞选；
mayor
/ˈmeɪər/ n. 市长，镇长；
eyesore
/ˈaɪsɔːr/ n. 丑物，令人不快的景象；
far better
更好；好得多；
精听党文化拓展
这个传奇故事始于里克斯岛监狱：它位于东河，占地413英亩，距离拉瓜迪亚机场的跑道仅一箭之遥，是美国最可怕的监狱之一。尽管85%的里克斯岛监狱囚犯没有被定罪，只是在等待审判，但囚犯平均要被关押近4个月，是全国平均水平的4倍，而且令人不安的是，许多人在那里煎熬多年，或者最终死亡。
2023年迄今为止，已有7名囚犯在里克斯岛监狱死于非命，使亚当斯上任以来的总死亡人数达到26人，联邦检察官称这是“根深蒂固的集体失败”。调查人员发现，监狱建设摇摇欲坠、环境不卫生，监狱看守系统性地虐待囚犯。一名联邦法官威胁说，如果该市不能结束混乱局面，将把监狱置于联邦控制之下。
即使在唐人街，对于里克斯岛监狱是否需要关闭也没有多少异议。真正的争议在于之后该怎么做。
一个想法是关了这个监狱后，以区为基础，在布鲁克林、皇后区、布朗克斯和曼哈顿建造四座新监狱。这个计划的支持者之一是监狱改革倡导者达纳·卡普兰(Dana Kaplan)，现在她是纽约市刑事司法改革独立委员会的高级顾问。她说：“这是一个千载难逢的机会，可以尝试将这座城市的刑事司法系统改造得更加人性化。”
卡普兰说，这样做的目的不仅仅是让被拘留者分开打散，而是重新设计这个系统，这样他们就可以减少在监狱里等待的时间：“审判前在里克斯岛监狱坐上几年对任何人都没有好处。”她说，“新监狱有必要搬到离法院更近的地方，比如唐人街旁边的刑事法院，而不是像目前的做法，在凌晨3点把人叫醒，把他们装上大巴，经常错过法庭听证会。”
精听党每日美句
Difficulties in life are intended to make us better, not bitter.
生活中的困难旨在让我们变得更好，而不是更苦。