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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.
在缅因州东部地区，大片的森林和海洋在美国东海岸最后几个未开发的地方之一交汇。
The area is also the setting for the Worcester family's big vision.
这一地区也是伍斯特家族宏伟愿景的背景。
It involves building the largest flagpole in the world.
其中包括建造世界上最大的旗杆。
It would reach higher than the Empire State Building.
它将会比帝国大厦还高。
And at the top of the flagpole?
旗杆的顶端呢？
An American flag bigger than a football field.
是一面比足球场还大的美国国旗。
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.
对支持者来说，这个耗资10亿美元、部分资金来自捐款的项目将会把美国人团结在一起，并提醒他们在政治分裂的时候拥有共同的价值观。
But so far, the project — called the Flagpole of Freedom Park — has been a big subject of debate.
但到目前为止，这个名为“自由公园旗杆”的项目一直是争论的焦点。
Columbia Falls, with a population of 485 people, is the place closest to where the pole would rise.
拥有485人口的哥伦比亚福尔斯小镇是距离旗杆最近的地方。
People there have different ideas about whether the project is a good idea.
那里的人对这个项目是否是个好主意有不同的看法。
Morrill Worcester is the founder of Worcester Wreath and the main force behind the project.
莫里尔·伍斯特是Worcester Wreath的创始人，也是该项目背后的主要力量。
He described the goal this way: "We want to bring Americans together...and unite a divided America."
他这样描述这个目标：“我们希望把美国人团结在一起……团结分裂的美国。”
But some local people have raised questions about the project.
但一些当地人对该项目提出了质疑。
Does the quiet area want the visitors it would bring?
这个安静的地区想要它吸引的游客吗？
Would the project hurt the land?
该项目会损害土地吗？
How should one balance development and environmentalism?
如何平衡发展和环保？
The flagpole alone is a big proposal.
旗杆本身就是一项重大提议。
It would be around 445 meters tall.
它大约有445米高。
Elevators would bring people to viewing areas where they could see Canada.
电梯将会把人们带到可以看到加拿大的观景区。
One worried resident said: "It's like putting the Eiffel Tower in the Maine wilderness."
一位忧心忡忡的居民说：“这就像把埃菲尔铁塔建在缅因州的荒野里。”
Morrill Worcester also imagines a village with living history museums telling the country's story through veterans' eyes.
莫里尔·伍斯特还设想了一个拥有活生生的历史博物馆的村庄，该博物馆通过退伍军人讲述这个国家的故事。
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.
餐厅、活动建筑物和纪念碑墙上面都将刻上自美国独立战争以来阵亡的每一位老兵的名字——大约有2400万个名字。
In Columbia Falls, many were surprised by the size of the project.
在哥伦比亚福尔斯小镇，许多人对这个项目的规模感到惊讶。
It would require cutting down trees for parking spaces and building housing for hundreds, maybe thousands of workers.
这将需要砍伐树木作为停车位，并为数百甚至数千名工人建造住房。
"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.
“这是东海岸最后一片荒野，”玛丽·爱默生说，她的丈夫戴尔是一名长期种植蓝莓的农民，也是大学研究农场经理。
She said the natural environment makes the area special.
她说，自然环境使这个地区与众不同。
A large development could destroy forests and wild blueberry areas that have been here for thousands of years.
大规模的开发可能会破坏这里数千年来一直存在的森林和野生蓝莓区。
But behind the beauty lies an economy where many are struggling.
但在美丽的背后是许多人勉强维持生计的经济。
The area has some of the state's highest unemployment and poverty rates.
该地区是该州失业率和贫困率最高的地区之一。
The area's residents are among the state's oldest.
该地区的居民位列该州年龄最大的居民范畴。
The area is dealing with an opioid abuse problem.
该地区正在处理阿片类药物滥用问题。
There is a joke people tell in the area.
这一地区的人都在讲一个笑话。
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.
笑话的内容大概是这样的：我们可能会向世界输出龙虾、蓝莓和花环，但我们最大的出口是找工作的年轻人。
After the project became public knowledge, town residents began taking sides.
在该项目公之于众后，镇上的居民开始选择站队。
Some saw Worcester as a quiet man trying to do something good.
一些人认为伍斯特是一个安静的人，他试图做一些好事。
Others saw a businessman used to getting his way, trying to force his version of America onto others.
其他人认为他是一个习惯于为所欲为的商人，试图将自己对美国的看法强加给其他人。
Patriotism, critics say, is not measured by the height of a flagpole.
批评人士表示，爱国主义不是用旗杆的高度来衡量的。
But divisive political debates are not good, either, said Jeff Greene, a contractor and one of three members of the town's Select Board.
但该镇遴选委员会的三名成员之一、承包商杰夫·格林表示，引发分歧的政治辩论也不是好事。
"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."
他说：“在这个地区，在这个国家，乃至整个世界，我们迫切需要的是能够倾听你不同意的人的声音，以试图找到有价值的东西，即使你不同意他们。”
The Worcester family has support and donations.
伍斯特一家得到了支持和捐赠。
It has not announced how much money it has raised.
它还没有宣布已经筹集了多少资金。
Mike Worcester is one of Morrill Worcester's sons.
迈克·伍斯特是莫里尔·伍斯特的儿子之一。
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.
他在给美联社的一份声明中说，他们一家尊重镇上居民的意愿，他们希望有更多的时间来研究这项提议。
And so, that is how the project stands for now.
因此，这就是该项目目前的状况。
It represents a moment in the life of a town.
它代表了一个小镇生活中的一个时刻。
It also shows how the love of home and of country can be powerful and can sometimes be at odds.
它还表明，对家和国家的爱再强大，有时也可能会有分歧。
Peter Doak, an army veteran, knows Morrill Worcester as a humble but determined man.
彼得·多克是一名退伍军人，他知道莫里尔·伍斯特是一个谦逊但坚定的人。
Doak describes his friend as a visionary.
多克形容他的朋友是一个有远见的人。
He describes it like this: People thought Walt Disney World, built in a Florida swampland, was a crazy idea.
他是这样描述的：人们认为建在佛罗里达沼泽地上的迪士尼乐园是一个疯狂的想法。
They thought Mount Rushmore was very strange and unusual.
他们认为拉什莫尔山非常奇怪和不同寻常。
Both are now treasured in the United States.
这两件作品现在都在美国受到珍视。
"He's going to build that flagpole," Doak says. "So why shouldn't it be Columbia Falls?"
多克说：“他要建那根旗杆，那为什么不是哥伦比亚福尔斯小镇呢？”
I'm John Russell. And I'm Ashley Thompson.
约翰·拉塞尔、阿什利·汤普森为您共同播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
