常春藤解析英語 34 Best of Megastructures　偉大工程巡禮之最

Best of Megastructures　偉大工程巡禮之最

by Kevin Lustig

In the last 100 years, 11 different skyscrapers have held the title of world's tallest building. With improvements in technology and materials, humans are pushing the limits of what buildings can do. The National Geographic Channel reports on designers pushing the limits in Best of Megastructures.

Dubai is developing a reputation for being the home of the most extreme buildings on the planet. Measuring more than 320 meters high, Dubai's Burj Al Arab is the tallest hotel in the world. As if being taller than the Eiffel Tower wasn't enough, it also stands on a massive man-made island 270 meters off the coast. Inspired by the shape of a traditional sail, the Burj Al Arab has faced, and withstood, numerous challenges to become Dubai's Dream Palace.

Down the beach from the Burj Al Arab and four kilometers into the Persian Gulf, another mammoth construction project is underway. This one won't break any records for height, but The World will become the largest man-made group of islands ever created. Requiring more than 320 million cubic meters of sand, The World will recreate a map of the globe in the form of 300 islands. After it's completed, 250,000 people are expected to become residents of the World Island Wonder.

Of course, the best plans require the best materials. A variety of buildings, from the Roman Pantheon to the Panama Canal, have stood the test of time because of concrete. Over 9,000 years after inventing bricks, we're still using them by the billions. And speaking of the world's most amazing buildings, it's impossible to ignore steel. The past and future of these amazing building materials are revealed in Megastructures: Concrete, Megastructures: Brick, and Megastructures: Steel.

With the breathtaking structures that are being planned, the sky is literally the limit. Take a look at what architects are achieving and how they're doing it in Best of Megastructures.

1. Dubai's Burj Al Arab is notable for being the world's _____.

(A) biggest motel

(B) longest island

(C) tallest hotel

(D) largest building

2. What will most likely be true about The World after it is completed?

(A) It will be made up of 320 million islands.

(B) It will be the world's largest artificial island.

(C) It will require exactly 320 million cubic meters of sand.

(D) It will be home to 250,000 residents.

3. What is similar about the Roman Pantheon and the Panama Canal?

(A) They were constructed with concrete.

(B) They are both ancient buildings.

(C) They include a mix of steel, bricks, and concrete.

(D) They used to be the world's tallest buildings.

4. In the fourth paragraph, the author is trying to _____.

(A) explain which building material is the best

(B) list all of the building materials that have ever been used

(C) give examples of some interesting building materials

(D) show the history of materials that have replaced each other

精解字詞詞組

1. report on...　　報導……的情況

例: Jim's first job on the news show was to report on the war.

(吉姆在新聞節(jié)目的第一份工作就是報導戰(zhàn)爭實況。)

2. reputation n. 名聲

have a reputation for...　　有……的名聲

例: New York City used to have a reputation for having lots of crime.

(紐約市過去因犯罪頻傳而聲名大噪。)

3. off the coast (of...)　　在(……的)外海

例: This type of fish has only been seen off the coast of Africa.

(這種魚只有在非洲外海才看得到。)

4. inspire vt. 啟發(fā);激勵

be inspired by...　　受到……啟發(fā)

inspire sb to V　　啟發(fā)∕激勵某人做……

例: My teacher's dedication to her students inspired me to work harder.

(老師為學生犧牲奉獻的精神激勵我更用功讀書。)

5. withstand vt. 承受;抵擋

例: The house couldn't withstand the strong winds of the storm and collapsed.

(那棟房子無法抵擋暴風雨的強風而倒塌。)

6. underway a. 進行中的

例: You can't go into the theater. The play is already underway.

(戲劇已經(jīng)開始了，因此你不能進入戲院。)

7. in the form of...　　以……的形式

例: The little boy really wanted a bed in the form of a racecar.

(那小男孩非常想要一張賽車形狀的床。)

8. be expected to V　　被預期做……

例: Five hundred people are expected to come to the opening of the art gallery.

(預計有五百人會來參加藝廊的開幕。)

9. a variety of...　　各式各樣的……

例: Our salon offers a variety of services including haircuts and perms.

(我們美容院提供各項服務，包含理發(fā)和燙發(fā)。)

10. stand the test of time　　經(jīng)得起時間的考驗

例: Most old buildings have fallen down, but a few have stood the test of time.

(老舊建筑大部分都傾圮了，只有一些還經(jīng)得起時間考驗。)

11. speaking of...　　說到∕談到……

例: Speaking of universities, did you know that I was accepted into NYU?

(說到大學，你知道我被紐約大學錄取了嗎?)

12. breathtaking a. 驚人的;令人嘆為觀止的

例: The view of the sea from the top of the hill is breathtaking.

(自山頂鳥瞰大海的景觀真令人贊嘆。)

13. the sky's the limit

天空是界線;喻：毫無限制

例: Jessica is so smart that she can go to any school she wants. The sky's the limit.

(潔西卡很聰明，可以就讀任何她想去的學校，前途無量。)

14. be made up of...　　 由……組成

= be composed of...

= consist of...

例: The United States of America is made up of 50 individual states.

(美國是由五十個獨立的州所組成。)

單字小鋪

1. megastructure n. 巨型結構，建筑

2. skyscraper n. 高樓大廈，摩天大樓

3. improvement n. 改善，進步

4. extreme a. 極端的

5. massive a. 巨大的

6. man-made a. 人造的

7. sail n. 帆;帆船

8. mammoth a. 巨大的

9. cubic meter n. 立方公尺

10. resident n. 居民

11. pantheon n. 萬神殿

12. canal n. 運河

13. concrete n. 混凝土

14. brick n. 磚塊

15. steel n. 鋼

16. reveal vt. 揭露

17. literally adv. 確實，的確

18. architect n. 建筑師

19. motel n. 汽車旅館

20. artificial a. 人造的

21. construct vt. 建造

22. replace vt. 取代

詞組小鋪

1. break records　　打破紀錄

2. take a look at...　　看一看……

3. be notable for...　　以……聞名

4. be home to...　　是……的居住地

5. used to V　　以前曾經(jīng)∕常常……

中文翻譯&標準答案

過去一百年來，有 11棟高樓大廈曾奪得世界第一高樓的頭銜。隨著科技與建材的進步，人類正將高樓的功能推向極限。國家地理頻道在《偉大工程巡禮之最》節(jié)目中，介紹這些將高樓推向極限的設計師。

杜拜正以聚集全球極限建筑而逐漸聲名遠播。高達 320 多公尺的帆船酒店是世界上最高的飯店。而彷佛比艾菲爾鐵塔高還不夠，它佇立在離海岸 270 公尺遠的巨大人造島上。帆船酒店的形狀受到傳統(tǒng)帆船的啟發(fā)，面對著、也承受著無數(shù)的挑戰(zhàn)，成為《杜拜的夢幻皇宮》。

從帆船酒店的海灘南下到波斯灣四公里遠處，另一個巨大的建造計劃正在進行中。這項計劃不會打破任何高度紀錄，但世界島會成為有史以來最大的人造群島。世界島需要 3 億 2 千多萬立方公尺的砂石建造，屆時將以 300 座島嶼重現(xiàn)世界地圖。一旦完成，預期將有 25 萬人成為《世界島》的居民。

當然，最好的計劃需要最好的材料。各式各樣的建筑，從羅馬的萬神殿到巴拿馬運河，都因混凝土而能通過時間的考驗。磚頭發(fā)明后九千年，我們依舊大量使用它們。而說到世界上最驚人的建筑，不可能忽略了鋼鐵。這些神奇建材的過去與現(xiàn)在都在《偉大工程巡禮: Concrete》、《偉大工程巡禮: Brick》和《偉大工程巡禮: Steel》節(jié)目中一一呈現(xiàn)。

隨著令人嘆為觀止的建筑正在規(guī)劃中，發(fā)展確實永無止盡。在《偉大工程巡禮之最》節(jié)目中，看看建筑師達成了哪些壯舉，他們又是如何辦到的。

1. 帆船酒店以世界上 _____ 而聞名。

(A) 最大的汽車旅館

(B) 最長的島嶼

(C) 最高的飯店

(D) 最大的建筑

題解: 根據(jù)第二段，高達 320 多公尺的帆船酒店是世上最高的飯店，故選 (C)。

2. 當世界島完工后，下列何者最可能成真?

(A) 將由 3 億 2 千萬個島組成。

(B) 將成為世上最大的一座人工島。

(C) 將需要整整 3 億 2 千萬立方公尺的砂土。

(D) 將會是 25 萬居民的家。

題解: 根據(jù)第三段，世界島會成為有史以來最大的人造群島。需要 3 億 2 千多萬立方公尺的砂石來建造，屆時將包含 300 座島嶼。完成后，預期將有 25 萬人成為世界島的居民，故僅 (D) 的敘述正確。

3. 羅馬的萬神殿和巴拿馬運河有何相似之處?

(A) 都是用混凝土建造。

(B) 都是古代建筑。

(C) 都包含鋼鐵、磚塊和混凝土的混合體。

(D) 都曾經(jīng)是世界上最高的建筑。

題解: 根據(jù)第四段，從羅馬的萬神殿到巴拿馬運河，都因混凝土而能通過時間的考驗，因此應選 (A)。

4. 在第四段中，作者試著要 _____。

(A) 解釋哪一種建材最好

(B) 列出所有使用過的建材

(C) 舉出一些有趣的建材

(D) 顯示出材料相互取代的歷史

題解: 根據(jù)第四段，作者提到一些建筑的材料，包括混凝土、鋼鐵和磚塊，最接近答案 (C)，故選之。

標準答案: 1. (C)　2. (D)　3. (A)　4. (C)