New Concept English three（17）

27W/m

65

Verrazano, an Italian about whom little is known, sailed into New York Harbour in 1524 and named it Angouleme. He described it as 'a very agreeable situation located within two small hills in the midst of which flowed a great river.' Though Verrazano is by no means considered to be a great explorer, his name will probably remain immortal, for on November 21st, 1964, the greatest bridge in the world was named after him.  The Verrazano Bridge, which was designed by Othmar Ammann, joins Brooklyn to Staten Island. It has a span of 4260 feet. The bridge is so long that the shape of the earth had to be taken into account by its designer. Two great towers support four huge cables. The towers are built on immense underwater platforms made of steel and concrete. The platforms extend to a depth of over 100 feet under the sea. These alone took sixteen months to build. Above the surface of the water, the towers rise to a height of nearly 700 feet. They support the cables from which the bridge has been suspended. Each of the four cables contains 26,108 lengths of wire. It has been estimated that if the bridge were packed with cars, it would still only be carrying a third of its total capacity. However, size and strength are not the only important things about this bridge. Despite its immensity, it is both simple and elegant, fulfilling its designer's dream to create 'an enormous object drawn as faintly as possible'.

notes:

1524年，鲜为人知的意大利人Verrazano驶入纽约港，并将其命名为Angouleme。他说这是一个非常令人愉快的位置，位于两座小山之间，在其中流淌着一条大河。虽然Verrazano并不是一个伟大的探险家，但他的名字可能会永远不朽，因为1964年11月21日，世界上最伟大的桥是以他的名字命名的。维拉萨诺大桥由奥斯马·阿曼设计，连接布鲁克林和斯塔顿岛。跨度为4260英尺。这座桥太长了，设计者必须考虑到地球的形状。两座巨塔支撑着四个巨大的电缆。塔建在巨大的水下钢筋混凝土平台上。这些平台延伸到海底100多英尺的深度。仅这些就花了16个月的时间才建成。在水面以上，塔上升到近700英尺的高度。他们支持大桥悬吊的电缆。四根电缆每根都有26,108根电线。据估计，如果桥上挤满了汽车，它仍然只能承载三分之一的重量。然而，大小和力量并不是这座桥唯一重要的东西。尽管它很大，但它简单又优雅，实现了设计者的梦想，创造出一个“尽可能虚幻的巨大物体”。