進入英語學習論壇下載音頻 去聽寫專區一展身手

One will emerge flush with success and nine will go down the drain: It's America's competition for best public toilet, and decision time is fast approaching.

Fans have until Sept 19 to cast online votes for the perfect privy in America's Best Restroom contest.

Ten finalists from hundreds of nominees are vying nationwide, organized by workplace supplies company Cintas.

Their charms are various.

A Las Vegas casino urinal incorporates a piece of the Berlin Wall. The Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts in Arizona has lighting that fades in and out in different colors to create a soothing atmosphere.

Another contender for throne of thrones is the Don's Johns portable toilet, initially supplied for US President Barack Obama's 2009 inauguration - though whether it had served as Restroom One is unknown.

Not to be confused with the stinking versions found at big outdoor events, the Don's John can pull the chain on most other lavatories, boasting a television, granite counters, wood panel doors and hardwood flooring.

For the winner, there's the "coveted America's Best Restroom plaque", according to Cintas, a news conference to be held in the winning facility, and entry to an online restrooms hall of fame.

Sara Jo Rubin, of Rubin Communications, a publicist for Cintas, said toilets of all sorts stand a chance in this annual battle.

"The style could be elaborate. It could be chandeliers. Some have had pool tables ...Sometimes it's quirkiness," Rubin said.

"The way you run your facilities is a reflection of how you run your business," she added.

Two of the finalists are in New York, and between them represent the extremes of the US restroom landscape.

At the Habana Outpost restaurant in Brooklyn, the mood is jungle, with a glass roof, hanging plants and rainwater flushing. The use of rainwater, which is collected in gutters and cisterns, is estimated to save thousands of gallons of city water a week.

Darcy Le Fleming, the manager, said the inspiration was New York's perpetual problem with storm water overflows, which pour raw sewage into the harbor. Habana Outpost's laid-back, eco-friendly toilet takes a small step toward putting that right.

At the opposite end of the cubicle spectrum is the entry from Ninja, a Japanese restaurant in Manhattan modeled on an underground, feudal castle.

Here, the needy diner will wind past faux cave walls and mini Ninja dwellings before entering a bamboo-lined restroom.

There, he or she will find the mighty Toto, a Japanese toilet so sophisticated that one has to do nothing - or almost nothing - other than take a seat.

Alongside a seemingly regular commode is a panel with rows of buttons and a digital screen that allows the sitter to operate a seat warmer, an up-from-under water jet - oscillating or pulsating - a deodorizer and even a blow drier.

Questions:

1. Who will vote for America's best public toilet?

2. Who is organizing the contest?

3. Who are some of the competitors?

Answers:

1. Fans have until Sept 19 to cast online votes for America's Best Restroom contest.

2. Cintas, a workplace supplies company.

3. A Las Vegas casino urinal with a piece of the Berlin Wall, and Habana Outpost restaurant in Brooklyn, where the mood is jungle, with a glass roof, hanging plants and rainwater flushing.

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is also fluent in Korean.