Above the dirt roads and cattle guards(牲畜护栏，防止牲畜越过道路的装置) of Arizona’s San Rafael Valley, welders are at work(在工作，在起作用). Sparks fly as a man stitches(缝合，这里指焊接) flat pieces of steel to concrete-filled beams. Eventually, two walls, each 30-feet (9m) in height and running in parallel, will stretch across the valley’s remote grasslands, dividing Arizona from Sonora, Mexico.(最终，两堵各高30英尺、平行延伸的墙将横跨草原，分隔亚利桑那和索诺拉。)
在亚利桑那州圣拉斐尔谷的土路和牲畜护栏上方，焊工们正在忙碌。火花四溅，一名工人将扁平的钢板焊接到充满混凝土的横梁上。最终，两堵各高30英尺（9米）、平行延伸的墙将横跨这片偏远的草原，将亚利桑那州与墨西哥索诺拉州分隔开来。
“I will build a great, great wall,” Donald Trump promised in 2015, in the speech announcing his run for(竞选（公职）) the White House. More than a decade later, the barrier in the San Rafael Valley is just one section of a “smart wall” that the White House is planning across America’s border with Mexico. Not since the interstate highway system has the federal government embarked on a construction project of similar scale.(自州际公路系统以来，联邦政府还没有开展过如此规模的建设项目。)
“我将建造一堵伟大的、伟大的墙，”唐纳德·特朗普在2015年宣布竞选白宫的演讲中承诺。十多年后，圣拉斐尔谷的这道屏障只是白宫计划沿美墨边境修建的“智能墙”的一部分。自州际公路系统以来，联邦政府还没有开展过如此规模的建设项目。
The wall serves more than one(不止一个) purpose, and will have broad effects. To Mr Trump’s base, it helps to fulfil a campaign promise. To government contractors, it presents an opportunity. To would-be migrants, it provides an enduring(持久的，耐久的) symbol of Mr Trump’s command to keep out. The wall will transform the nature of the border between America and Mexico, and the communities that reside near it. However the wall’s purported goal is to end illegal immigration, and on that it will have limited impact.(然而，这堵墙的既定目标是结束非法移民，而在这一点上，它的影响将是有限的。)
这堵墙不止一个目的，而且将产生广泛影响。对特朗普的基本盘来说，它有助于兑现竞选承诺。对政府承包商来说，它提供了一个机会。对潜在移民来说，它是特朗普驱逐令的持久象征。这堵墙将改变美墨边境的性质以及居住在附近的社区。然而，这堵墙的既定目标是结束非法移民，而在这一点上，它的影响将是有限的。
No man’s land
无人地带
