The Fall of the Wall Turns 20

柏林圍牆倒塌二十週年紀念 Berlin celebrates 柏林和世界各地民眾在今天共同紀念柏林圍牆倒塌的歷史性事件 by Ryan Batdorf

At midnight on Nov. 9, 1989, people poured through the gates of the Berlin Wall. Crowds of East and West Germans then climbed to the top of the wall and began to destroy it. Now, two decades after that historic night, how will Germany mark the event?

Twentieth anniversary celebration
From Nov. 7 to 9, people will gather at the Brandenburg Gate to celebrate. The climax will come on the last day when a huge series of domino blocks will fall. This stands for the chain of events that led to the fall of the wall two decades ago.

Changes since the fall
Berlin, home again to the German government since 1999, has renewed itself. Many old historic buildings have been restored. Upscale shops once again line the famous avenue Unter den Linden. The DDR Museum educates visitors about life in former East Berlin. he city continues to move forward, but some tension still remains between the "Westerners" and "Easterners." The past will never be forgotten, but the future looks bright for Berlin.

More Info.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, more than 1,000 dominoes will be set up. The dominoes will cover the two kilometers between the Brandenburg Gate and Potsdamer Platz. The dominoes will then be knocked down to symbolize the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. The wall of dominoes will take about half an hour to fall.

Grammar
This stands for the chain of events that led to the fall of the wall two decades ago.
"to stand" = "to be on one's feet", here "to stand for"= "to represent or mean something".
This represents the chain of events that led to the fall of the wall two decades ago.
The five rings in the Olympic symbol stand for the continents of this world.
ASAP stand for "as soon as possible".

Vocabulary
mark (v)- recognize,showing象征，纪念。Jason marked his 38th birthday with a trip to Europe.
*The monument marks the sacrifice of brave soldiers during the Vietnam War.纪念
*The death of the king marked the end of his empire.象征一个帝国的结束。
climax (n)- the highest, most excitement point. The climax of the story was very exciting.
renewed (v)- rebuild, restore. After they talked about the problem, their relationship was renewed.
*The city government decided to renew the historical building next year.重建，重新修护
*I need to renew my driver's license. It expired recently.更新，更换 re-有再一次的意思
tension (n)- 气氛紧张，情势紧张．
The tension between the husband and wife was gone when the man apologized for hurting her.
upscale- 高档的，针对高消费群的up- 上面，scale－等级
*Many upscale furniture stores closed last year due to the economic recession.
*She lives in an upscale area of the city.　城市中的高档地段

Chat Room
stand for something- stand-不是站立，此指代表,象征.支持,拥护,为某个主义奋战。
USA is stand for United States of America。代表
stand for -in favor of something. My father stands for honesty and kindness.支持，拥护
stand up for someone-拥护某人，或为某人辩护。
stand someone up-放某人鸽子she stood me up last night or I got stood up last night.她放我鸽子.
She didn't mean to stand me up-她不是有意放我鸽子。