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In Maine's Down East area, large forests and ocean meet in one of the last undeveloped places on the U.S. East Coast.
在緬因州東部地區，大片的森林和海洋在美國東海岸最后幾個未開發的地方之一交匯。
The area is also the setting for the Worcester family's big vision.
這一地區也是伍斯特家族宏偉愿景的背景。
It involves building the largest flagpole in the world.
其中包括建造世界上最大的旗桿。
It would reach higher than the Empire State Building.
它將會比帝國大廈還高。
And at the top of the flagpole?
旗桿的頂端呢？
An American flag bigger than a football field.
是一面比足球場還大的美國國旗。
To supporters, the $1 billion project, financed in part by donations, would unite Americans and remind them of shared values at a time of political divisions.
對支持者來說，這個耗資10億美元、部分資金來自捐款的項目將會把美國人團結在一起，并提醒他們在政治分裂的時候擁有共同的價值觀。
But so far, the project — called the Flagpole of Freedom Park — has been a big subject of debate.
但到目前為止，這個名為“自由公園旗桿”的項目一直是爭論的焦點。
Columbia Falls, with a population of 485 people, is the place closest to where the pole would rise.
擁有485人口的哥倫比亞福爾斯小鎮是距離旗桿最近的地方。
People there have different ideas about whether the project is a good idea.
那里的人對這個項目是否是個好主意有不同的看法。
Morrill Worcester is the founder of Worcester Wreath and the main force behind the project.
莫里爾·伍斯特是Worcester Wreath的創始人，也是該項目背后的主要力量。
He described the goal this way: "We want to bring Americans together...and unite a divided America."
他這樣描述這個目標：“我們希望把美國人團結在一起……團結分裂的美國。”
But some local people have raised questions about the project.
但一些當地人對該項目提出了質疑。
Does the quiet area want the visitors it would bring?
這個安靜的地區想要它吸引的游客嗎？
Would the project hurt the land?
該項目會損害土地嗎？
How should one balance development and environmentalism?
如何平衡發展和環保？
The flagpole alone is a big proposal.
旗桿本身就是一項重大提議。
It would be around 445 meters tall.
它大約有445米高。
Elevators would bring people to viewing areas where they could see Canada.
電梯將會把人們帶到可以看到加拿大的觀景區。
One worried resident said: "It's like putting the Eiffel Tower in the Maine wilderness."
一位憂心忡忡的居民說：“這就像把埃菲爾鐵塔建在緬因州的荒野里。”
Morrill Worcester also imagines a village with living history museums telling the country's story through veterans' eyes.
莫里爾·伍斯特還設想了一個擁有活生生的歷史博物館的村莊，該博物館通過退伍軍人講述這個國家的故事。
There would be restaurants, event buildings, and monument walls with the name of every veteran who has died since the American Revolution — about 24 million names.
餐廳、活動建筑物和紀念碑墻上面都將刻上自美國獨立戰爭以來陣亡的每一位老兵的名字——大約有2400萬個名字。
In Columbia Falls, many were surprised by the size of the project.
在哥倫比亞福爾斯小鎮，許多人對這個項目的規模感到驚訝。
It would require cutting down trees for parking spaces and building housing for hundreds, maybe thousands of workers.
這將需要砍伐樹木作為停車位，并為數百甚至數千名工人建造住房。
"This is the last wilderness on the East Coast," said Marie Emerson, whose husband, Dell, is a longtime blueberry farmer and university research farm manager.
“這是東海岸最后一片荒野，”瑪麗·愛默生說，她的丈夫戴爾是一名長期種植藍莓的農民，也是大學研究農場經理。
She said the natural environment makes the area special.
她說，自然環境使這個地區與眾不同。
A large development could destroy forests and wild blueberry areas that have been here for thousands of years.
大規模的開發可能會破壞這里數千年來一直存在的森林和野生藍莓區。
But behind the beauty lies an economy where many are struggling.
但在美麗的背后是許多人勉強維持生計的經濟。
The area has some of the state's highest unemployment and poverty rates.
該地區是該州失業率和貧困率最高的地區之一。
The area's residents are among the state's oldest.
該地區的居民位列該州年齡最大的居民范疇。
The area is dealing with an opioid abuse problem.
該地區正在處理阿片類藥物濫用問題。
There is a joke people tell in the area.
這一地區的人都在講一個笑話。
It goes something like this: We may send lobsters, blueberries, and wreaths to the world, but our biggest export is young people looking for work.
笑話的內容大概是這樣的：我們可能會向世界輸出龍蝦、藍莓和花環，但我們最大的出口是找工作的年輕人。
After the project became public knowledge, town residents began taking sides.
在該項目公之于眾后，鎮上的居民開始選擇站隊。
Some saw Worcester as a quiet man trying to do something good.
一些人認為伍斯特是一個安靜的人，他試圖做一些好事。
Others saw a businessman used to getting his way, trying to force his version of America onto others.
其他人認為他是一個習慣于為所欲為的商人，試圖將自己對美國的看法強加給其他人。
Patriotism, critics say, is not measured by the height of a flagpole.
批評人士表示，愛國主義不是用旗桿的高度來衡量的。
But divisive political debates are not good, either, said Jeff Greene, a contractor and one of three members of the town's Select Board.
但該鎮遴選委員會的三名成員之一、承包商杰夫·格林表示，引發分歧的政治辯論也不是好事。
"What we're desperately in need of in this area in the country, or in the world as a whole, is the ability to listen to somebody you disagree with in an attempt to find something of value," he said, adding: "Even if you disagree with them."
他說：“在這個地區，在這個國家，乃至整個世界，我們迫切需要的是能夠傾聽你不同意的人的聲音，以試圖找到有價值的東西，即使你不同意他們。”
The Worcester family has support and donations.
伍斯特一家得到了支持和捐贈。
It has not announced how much money it has raised.
它還沒有宣布已經籌集了多少資金。
Mike Worcester is one of Morrill Worcester's sons.
邁克·伍斯特是莫里爾·伍斯特的兒子之一。
He said in a statement to the Associated Press that the family respects the wishes of town residents who want more time to study the proposal.
他在給美聯社的一份聲明中說，他們一家尊重鎮上居民的意愿，他們希望有更多的時間來研究這項提議。
And so, that is how the project stands for now.
因此，這就是該項目目前的狀況。
It represents a moment in the life of a town.
它代表了一個小鎮生活中的一個時刻。
It also shows how the love of home and of country can be powerful and can sometimes be at odds.
它還表明，對家和國家的愛再強大，有時也可能會有分歧。
Peter Doak, an army veteran, knows Morrill Worcester as a humble but determined man.
彼得·多克是一名退伍軍人，他知道莫里爾·伍斯特是一個謙遜但堅定的人。
Doak describes his friend as a visionary.
多克形容他的朋友是一個有遠見的人。
He describes it like this: People thought Walt Disney World, built in a Florida swampland, was a crazy idea.
他是這樣描述的：人們認為建在佛羅里達沼澤地上的迪士尼樂園是一個瘋狂的想法。
They thought Mount Rushmore was very strange and unusual.
他們認為拉什莫爾山非常奇怪和不同尋常。
Both are now treasured in the United States.
這兩件作品現在都在美國受到珍視。
"He's going to build that flagpole," Doak says. "So why shouldn't it be Columbia Falls?"
多克說：“他要建那根旗桿，那為什么不是哥倫比亞福爾斯小鎮呢？”
I'm John Russell. And I'm Ashley Thompson.
約翰·拉塞爾、阿什利·湯普森為您共同播報。
譯文為可可英語翻譯，未經授權請勿轉載！
