Officials Unveil Revisions to NY City's Memorial to 9/11 Victims

Jenny Falcon

The planned memorial for victims of the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York has been revised to include a park, an underground museum, and a chamber for unidentified remains.

Last week, officials announced that they had chosen a final proposal for the World Trade Center memorial, designed by Michael Arad, a young architect who works for New York City.

The design, called "Reflecting Absence" features the square outlines of the Twin Towers and includes pools and cascading water.

Now, Mr. Arad has collaborated with California-based landscape architect Peter Walker to add an uneven orchard of trees, creating a lush, contemplative place to remember the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks, as well as victims of an attack on the World Trade Center .

Mr. Arad said the sense of unity and grief that he experienced in New York in the aftermath of the disaster influenced his vision. "I understand just how important this memorial is to so many people. What happened on September 11 influenced me greatly and my personal sense of grief and loss led me to submit this memorial design. But my own sense of loss is insignificant compared to what family members feel. I have met these family members in the last few days and these meetings have been very emotional. I know their hopes for this design of this memorial are very high and I will do my very best not to disappoint them.

Relatives of victims had called for the preservation of the underground structure, the so-called "slurry wall" and "bedrock", where the World Trade Center once stood.

Visitors are expected to pass that exposed wall while descending a ramp leading to an underground center for artifacts from September 11, such as twisted steel beams. A chamber to place flowers and light candles, a museum, and a stone container for unidentified remains will also be built at the bottom of the buildings' foundations, more than nine meters deep.

A building intended to separate the memorial from a nearby highway has been removed from the original design.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg praised the decision to list the names of the victims in no particular order, while adding a shield next to the names of rescue workers to recognize their heroism on September 11. He said the list underscores the American value of equality and the brutality of the attacks. "This memorial is not for us, even we have been trusted with its creation. It is for our children and grandchildren. It's for people generations from now will come and know what happened on September 11.2001."

More work lies ahead to combine several selected designs, but the memorial is expected to be the center of the rebuilt World Trade Center site. The "Reflecting Absence" plan was chosen from 5,000 designs submitted by people in more than 60 countries.

注释：

memorial [mi5mC:riEl] n. 纪念馆，纪念碑

World Trade Center  世界贸易中心

underground [5QndE^raund] adj. 地下的，地面下的

remains [rI5meIns] n. 遗体

Michael Arad  美国建筑师迈克尔·阿拉德。

architect [5B:kitekt] n. 建筑师

Reflecting Absence  反省缺失，世贸中心遗址纪念馆以缅怀罹难者。

feature [5fi:tFE] n. 以……为特色

Twin Towers  双子塔，指建造得很相似的两幢世界贸易中心高楼。

cascade [kAs5keid] vi. 瀑布般地落下

collaborate with  合作

orchard [5C:tFEd] n. 果园

contemplative [5kCntempleitiv] adj. 沉思的，冥想的

aftermath [5B:ftEmAW] n. 结果，后果

submit [sEb5mit] vt. 提交

preservation [7prezE(:)5veiFEn] n. 保存

slurry wall  连续壁

bedrock [5bed5rCk] n. 根基

ramp [rAmp] n. 斜坡

artifact [5B:tifAkt] n. 人造物品

beam [bi:m] n. 梁，杆

mayor [mZE] n. 市长

shield [Fi:ld] n. 盾，盾状物

underscore [7QndE5skC:] vt. 强调

brutality [bru(:)5tAliti] n. 残忍，野蛮的行为

trust sb. with sth.   委托某人某事