High 3 · Reading series
Lesson 45 · The Public Map with a Blank Space
Audio track 45
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Our town's public map marked the shortest path from the station to the health center. During a workshop, a visitor using a wheelchair pointed to a blank area beside the route. There was a covered passage there, she said, but the map did not show it. For her, it was the easiest way in heavy rain.
We walked the passage with town staff and found that it crossed private property. The owner permitted public use during certain hours, but the agreement had never been written on the map. Simply drawing a permanent open path would have been inaccurate.
The revised map showed the passage with its hours and an alternative route when it was closed. Staff agreed to review the information regularly with the owner and users. We added a date to the map so readers could tell when the details had last been checked.
The blank space had not meant that nothing existed there. It meant that the map lacked a condition. Making that condition visible helped more people choose a route they could actually use.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
镇上的公共地图标出车站到健康中心的最短路。在一次工作坊里，一位使用轮椅的访客指着路线旁的空白说：那里有条有顶通道，下大雨时对她最方便，可地图没画。
我们和镇政府工作人员实地走了通道，发现它穿过私人地产。业主允许公众在特定时间使用，但这项约定从未标到地图上。若直接画成永久开放的通路，就会失准。
修订后的地图注明通道开放时间，也列出关闭时的替代路线。工作人员同意定期与业主、使用者核对信息。我们还给地图标上日期，让读者知道详情上次何时得到确认。
空白并不表示那里什么也没有，只表示地图漏了一个使用条件。把条件画出来，更多人才能选到实际上走得通的路线。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- public map
- 公共地图；原图漏了一条通道。
- visitor
- 访客；指出路线空白。
- wheelchair
- 轮椅；通行便利关乎实际需求。
- covered passage
- 有顶通道；雨天较方便。
- private property
- 私人地产；决定使用条件。
- permitted
- 允许；仅在特定时段。
- permanent
- 永久的；不能误画成全天通路。
- alternative route
- 替代路线；关门时可走。
- regularly
- 定期地；信息需复核。
- condition
- 条件；地图应写明限制。
Background notes (Chinese)
有顶通道可用但穿过私人土地且限时开放；地图加入时段、替代路线和核查日期。