A restored historic street often looks better than it did. The stone is clean, the lanterns are new, and the wooden shop fronts line up neatly. Walk a hundred metres and you may find the same sweet shop, the same ancient-costume photo studio and the same brand of milk tea in another town, in a street that is also clean, also new and also lined up neatly.
Repairing an old building is expensive, and the money must come from somewhere. Rent is the easiest answer: bring in businesses that can pay, and the cost is covered. The trouble is that the businesses able to pay the most are often the least connected to the place. A chain can afford the shop; the man who repaired shoes there for thirty years cannot.
When residents leave, something quieter is lost. A street is kept alive by people who need bread, a haircut, a place to sit and a neighbour to argue with. Without them the street becomes a set, and after the last visitor goes home at night there is nothing left but locked doors.
Some cities have tried a different balance. They rent part of the space to local trades at a lower rate, keep a share of housing for the families who already lived there, and limit how many shops of the same kind may open. Rules like these lower the income from the street, and they require the city to accept a slower return.
What makes a street worth visiting is not that it is old but that it is still being used. An old wall is only a wall. An old wall with washing hung outside a window above it, and a woman buying vegetables at its foot, is a place where people live. That difference cannot be built.
Words to know:
- historic (adj. 历史悠久的，有历史意义的)
- restore (v. 修复，恢复)
- resident (n. 居民，住户)
- rent (n. 租金；v. 租用)
- chain (n. 连锁店；链条)
- afford (v. 负担得起，买得起)
- trade (n. 行业，手艺；v. 交易)
- balance (n. 平衡，均衡)
长难句拆解 · 并列复合句 + 介词短语作定语 + 地点状语从句
原文：An old wall with washing hung outside a window above it, and a woman buying vegetables at its foot, is a place where people live.
拆解：主干是 An old wall … , and a woman …, is a place where people live（一道老墙……以及一位妇女……，才是有人生活的地方）。这是个长主语句。主语由两个并列名词短语构成：An old wall 与 a woman，中间用 and 连接。两个 with 引导的介词短语分别作伴随状语：with washing hung 是 with + 名词 + 过去分词结构，表示被动完成；a woman buying vegetables 是独立结构。谓语是单数 is，因为两个并列成分被视为一个整体意象。where people live 是定语从句修饰 a place。
直译：一道老墙，窗外晾着衣服，墙脚下有位妇女在买菜，这才是有人生活的地方。
同义替换 · 雅思阅读利器
雅思阅读最爱把原文的词换成另一个说法来出题，认出这些替换，定位就能快一半。
- looks better than it did → appears more attractive than before（look ＝ appear）
- line up neatly → are arranged in an orderly row（line up ＝ 排列）
- the money must come from somewhere → the funds have to be raised from some source（come from ＝ 来源于）
- the businesses able to pay the most → the firms that can afford the highest rent（able to pay ＝ can afford）
- something quieter is lost → a subtler thing disappears（quieter ＝ subtler）
- is kept alive by people → is sustained by those（keep alive ＝ sustain）
- cannot be built → is impossible to construct（build ＝ construct）
阅读自测 · 3 题
- T / F / NG：作者认为连锁品牌往往与所在地的历史文化联系较浅。（判断正误并说明依据）
- 简答：一些城市为维持街区的生活气息，采取了哪些平衡措施？
- 选词填空：A chain can ____ the shop; the man who repaired shoes there cannot.（供选：afford / affect / effort）
参考答案与解析
- TRUE。原文说 The trouble is that the businesses able to pay the most are often the least connected to the place. A chain can afford the shop; the man who repaired shoes there for thirty years cannot，明确把连锁品牌列为与本地联系最浅的一类。
- 以较低租金把部分空间租给本地手艺人、为原有居民保留部分住房、限制同类店铺的开店数量。原文对应 They rent part of the space to local trades at a lower rate, keep a share of housing for the families who already lived there, and limit how many shops of the same kind may open。三点答全为佳。
- afford。afford 意为「负担得起（费用）」，与原文 A chain can afford the shop 一致。affect 意为「影响」，是动词；effort 意为「努力」，是名词，且与 affect 形近易混，均不合题意。
中文译文
一条修缮过的历史街区，往往比原来更好看。石材干净，灯笼是新的，木制店面排列整齐。往前走一百米，你可能在另一个城镇的街上又看到同一家甜品店、同一家古装照相馆和同一个品牌的奶茶——那条街也是干净的、新的、排列整齐的。
修缮老建筑很贵，钱总得从某处来。租金是最简单的答案：引进付得起钱的企业，成本就补上了。问题在于，出得起最高价的商家，往往与这个地方关系最浅。连锁品牌付得起这个店面；而在那里修了三十年鞋的人付不起。
居民离开之后，有一样更安静的东西也随之失去。一条街的活气来自那些需要买面包、剪头发、找地方坐一坐、跟邻居拌两句嘴的人。没有了他们，街道就变成一个布景；当最后一位游客晚上回家，剩下的只有一把把锁着的门。
一些城市尝试过另一种平衡。它们以较低的租金把部分空间租给本地手艺人，为原本就住在那里的家庭保留一部分住房，并限制同类店铺能开多少家。这样的规则会降低街区的收入，也要求城市接受更慢的回报。
一条街值得去的理由，不是它老，而是它还在被使用。一道老墙只是一道墙。而在一道老墙之上，窗户外晾着衣服，墙脚下有位妇女在买菜——那才是有人生活的地方。这种差别是造不出来的。