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Obama Calls Chicago's Pullman District a 'Milestone' in US Journey

President Barack Obama's designation of Chicago's Pullman Historic District as a national monument on Thursday brings legal protections for the area, once regarded as one of the nation's most endangered historic sites.

The district's grand Victorian red-brick buildings once housed the machinery and people that were the beating heart of the Pullman Palace Car Co. in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

In its heyday, Pullman was the premier manufacturer of luxury rail cars. Pullman Historic Foundation President Michael Shymanski said Chicago was an ideal location for the operation, thanks to the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad.

“In the 1860s, Chicago was emerging as the rail hub of the nation,” Shymanski said.

Industrialist George Pullman designed the whole town. “The idea behind it was to make a place that was orderly, efficient, and beautiful for the people who wanted to work for the Pullman company and other people who wanted to live here,” Shymanski said.

By the 1900s, the district's streets were full of Pullman employees. The Pullman company became one of the largest employers of African-Americans, who worked as porters and staff on Pullman’s sleeper cars.

Among those porters was an ancestor to someone close to Obama.

A great-granddaughter of one porter “had the chance to go on to a great college and a great law school and had a chance to work for the mayor, and had the chance to climb the ladder of success, and serve as a leader in some of our city’s most important institutions," he said.

"And I know this because she is the first lady of the United States of America, Michelle Obama.”

The president said his wife’s ancestors also helped organize the first African-American labor union. Union leaders helped launch the civil rights movement of the 20th century, paving his way to the presidency.

“It’s a story of labor, civil rights, a story about African-Americans," said U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, an Illinois Democrat. "I think the confirmation of what this site means made it compelling.”

Kelly, who encouraged the president to make Pullman a national monument, said that "he worked in this area when he was a community organizer, and I think this will be a part of his legacy.”

But it almost wasn't. The ravages of time and fire prompted the National Trust for Historic Preservation to name Pullman one of the most endangered historic places in the United States.

“About 90 percent of the original housing exists, but only less than 10 percent of the original manufacturing buildings exist," Shymanski said. "And that goes to reflect that the housing worked.”

Shymanski, who lives in the Pullman Historic District, said making the neighborhood a national monument would help preservation efforts and encourage people to visit the site to understand its role in shaping America.

“This place has been a milestone in our journey towards a more perfect union,” Obama said.

Though there are many historic locations throughout Chicago, Obama’s designation makes the Pullman Historic District the city's first national monument.

詞匯解析

automobile

難度：3星常用詞匯，屬常用6000詞

英漢解釋

n.汽車

adj.汽車的

參考例句

用作名詞 (n.)

There will be an exhibition of the development of automobile industry in our country next week.

下星期將舉辦一個關(guān)于我國汽車工業(yè)發(fā)展的展覽。

用作形容詞 (adj.)

The cylinder is an important part for automobile engine.

氣缸套是影響汽車發(fā)動機性能的重要零件。

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mild

難度：4星核心詞匯，屬常用3000詞

英漢解釋

adj.溫和的；柔和的；寬大的；清淡的

參考例句

用作形容詞 (adj.)

The coastal area has very mild winter, but by contrast the central plains become extremely cold.

靠近海岸的地區(qū)有很溫和的冬天,相比而方,靠近中央的平原就變得非常寒冷。

The punishment inflicted on them was too mild.

他們受的懲罰太輕。

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impact

難度：4星核心詞匯，屬常用3000詞

英漢解釋

n.影響；沖擊力；撞擊

vt.擠入；壓緊；撞擊；對 ... 發(fā)生影響

vi.沖擊；撞擊；產(chǎn)生影響

參考例句

用作名詞 (n.)

But what these people fail to see is that international tourism may bring about a disastrous impact on our environment and local history.

但是這些人忽視了國際旅游可能會給當(dāng)?shù)丨h(huán)境和歷史造成的災(zāi)難性的影響。

用作及物動詞 (vt.)

There is a special tool to impact the road when it is under construction so the base is solid.

有種特殊的工具可以在道路修筑過程中將路面壓緊，因此，路基是結(jié)實的。

用作不及物動詞 (vi.)

The company's performance was impacted by the high value of the pound.

公司的業(yè)績受到了英鎊高值的沖擊。

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shelter

難度：3星常用詞匯，屬常用6000詞

英漢解釋

n.避難所；庇護；庇護所

v.保護；隱匿；庇護

參考例句

用作名詞 (n.)

The spectators scuttled for shelter when it began to rain.

一下起雨來，觀眾就紛紛找地方躲避。

用作動詞 (v.)

This cave served as a hideout for a bearded seal seeking shelter from the harsh Arctic climate.

這個洞窟被髯海豹用來作為躲避嚴酷的北極氣候的隱匿之所。

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procession

難度：2星擴展詞匯，屬常用10000詞

英漢解釋

n.隊伍；行列

v.列隊行進

參考例句

用作名詞 (n.)

The funeral procession choked up Lorna.

那送葬行列使洛娜流下了眼淚。

用作動詞 (v.)

There was a bomb scare during the procession.

在列隊行進時因懷疑有炸彈而引起恐慌。

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crack

難度：3星常用詞匯，屬常用6000詞

英漢解釋

v.破裂；砸開；發(fā)出爆裂聲；撞擊；破解；變嘶?。槐罎?；制裁；<非正式>開玩笑

n.裂縫；裂痕；爆裂聲；猛擊；嘗試；俏皮話

adj.訓(xùn)練有素的

參考例句

用作動詞 (v.)

The boy's voice is beginning to crack at the age of puberty.

這男孩子的嗓音在發(fā)育期開始變得粗聲粗氣。

用作名詞 (n.)

Red always goofs off, or thinks of a smart crack instead of working.

雷德不好好干，總是吊兒郎當(dāng)，要不就想出些俏皮話來挖苦人。

用作形容詞 (adj.)

She is a crack shot with a rifle.

她是步槍神槍手。

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confusion

難度：3星常用詞匯，屬常用6000詞

英漢解釋

n.惶惑；混淆；混亂；不確定狀態(tài)

參考例句

用作名詞 (n.)

Words like"believe" and "receive" are a source of confusion in spelling.

諸如 believe和 receive 這樣的詞在拼寫上容易混淆。

There is some confusion about what the right procedure should be.

對應(yīng)該采取怎樣的步驟這一點還不太明確。

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