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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.
词汇解析
automobile
难度：3星常用词汇，属常用6000词
英汉解释
n.汽车
adj.汽车的
参考例句
用作名词 (n.)
There will be an exhibition of the development of automobile industry in our country next week.
下星期将举办一个关于我国汽车工业发展的展览。
用作形容词 (adj.)
The cylinder is an important part for automobile engine.
气缸套是影响汽车发动机性能的重要零件。
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mild
难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词
英汉解释
adj.温和的；柔和的；宽大的；清淡的
参考例句
用作形容词 (adj.)
The coastal area has very mild winter, but by contrast the central plains become extremely cold.
靠近海岸的地区有很温和的冬天,相比而方,靠近中央的平原就变得非常寒冷。
The punishment inflicted on them was too mild.
他们受的惩罚太轻。
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impact
难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词
英汉解释
n.影响；冲击力；撞击
vt.挤入；压紧；撞击；对 ... 发生影响
vi.冲击；撞击；产生影响
参考例句
用作名词 (n.)
But what these people fail to see is that international tourism may bring about a disastrous impact on our environment and local history.
但是这些人忽视了国际旅游可能会给当地环境和历史造成的灾难性的影响。
用作及物动词 (vt.)
There is a special tool to impact the road when it is under construction so the base is solid.
有种特殊的工具可以在道路修筑过程中将路面压紧，因此，路基是结实的。
用作不及物动词 (vi.)
The company's performance was impacted by the high value of the pound.
公司的业绩受到了英镑高值的冲击。
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shelter
难度：3星常用词汇，属常用6000词
英汉解释
n.避难所；庇护；庇护所
v.保护；隐匿；庇护
参考例句
用作名词 (n.)
The spectators scuttled for shelter when it began to rain.
一下起雨来，观众就纷纷找地方躲避。
用作动词 (v.)
This cave served as a hideout for a bearded seal seeking shelter from the harsh Arctic climate.
这个洞窟被髯海豹用来作为躲避严酷的北极气候的隐匿之所。
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procession
难度：2星扩展词汇，属常用10000词
英汉解释
n.队伍；行列
v.列队行进
参考例句
用作名词 (n.)
The funeral procession choked up Lorna.
那送葬行列使洛娜流下了眼泪。
用作动词 (v.)
There was a bomb scare during the procession.
在列队行进时因怀疑有炸弹而引起恐慌。
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crack
难度：3星常用词汇，属常用6000词
英汉解释
v.破裂；砸开；发出爆裂声；撞击；破解；变嘶哑；崩溃；制裁；<非正式>开玩笑
n.裂缝；裂痕；爆裂声；猛击；尝试；俏皮话
adj.训练有素的
参考例句
用作动词 (v.)
The boy's voice is beginning to crack at the age of puberty.
这男孩子的嗓音在发育期开始变得粗声粗气。
用作名词 (n.)
Red always goofs off, or thinks of a smart crack instead of working.
雷德不好好干，总是吊儿郎当，要不就想出些俏皮话来挖苦人。
用作形容词 (adj.)
She is a crack shot with a rifle.
她是步枪神枪手。
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confusion
难度：3星常用词汇，属常用6000词
英汉解释
n.惶惑；混淆；混乱；不确定状态
参考例句
用作名词 (n.)
Words like"believe" and "receive" are a source of confusion in spelling.
诸如 believe和 receive 这样的词在拼写上容易混淆。
There is some confusion about what the right procedure should be.
对应该采取怎样的步骤这一点还不太明确。
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