成功维修比萨斜塔

66 成功维修比萨斜塔

DATE=7-12-01
TITLE=SCIENCE REPORT - Leaning¹ Tower of Pisa Repaired
BYLINE=George Grow

(Start at 1'02") This is Bill White with the VOA Special English SCIENCE REPORT.
Engineers are (1)celebrating the completion of repairs to the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  Italian officials closed the Leaning Tower for safety reasons eleven years ago.  Experts now say the repairs will make the building safe for at least a few more centuries.  
The Leaning Tower is famous around the world.  Many visitors to Italy travel to the city of Pisa to see the unusual-looking (2)structure². The round tower is more than eight-hundred years old. 
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is easy to recognize.  The white stone building is sinking, or leaning, on one side.  The tower is about fifty-five meters high.  Its south side is much lower³ than its north side.
The Leaning Tower is leaning because it was built on soft sandy soil.  The soil cannot support its weight.  The tower weighs about fourteen-thousand-five-hundred (3)metric⁴ (4)tons.  The ground under the tower first started to sink soon after workers began building the structure in the year Eleven-Seventy-Three. 
In recent years, the Leaning Tower has continued to sink. Experts (5)expressed concern that the tower might fall suddenly.  In Nineteen-Eighty-Nine, a (6)similar tower in the Italian city of Pavia fell.  Four people were killed.  The following year, Italian officials closed the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  People were no longer (7)permitted⁵ to walk up to the top.  
An international team of building experts began a (8)project to make sure the Leaning Tower does not fall down.  The project cost about twenty-five-million dollars.
First, engineers placed eight-hundred-seventy metric tons of lead weights on the north side of the tower.  This helped stop additional⁶ movement.  Also, workers tied strong steel cables⁷ around the structure.  These wires were connected to large weights in the area.
Next, engineers slowly (9)removed tons of soil from under the tower.  They used special (10)drills to remove small amounts of soil over several months.  Slowly the tower moved back to where it stood hundreds of years ago.  It still leans⁸, but not as much as before the repairs. 
Last month, the area around the Leaning Tower opened to the public.  However, visitors will have to wait until November before they are permitted to climb to the top.  Italian officials say only about thirty visitors will be permitted to climb the tower at one time.
This VOA Special English SCIENCE REPORT was written by George Grow. This is Bill White.

(1)celebrate [ 5selibreit ]v.庆祝
(2)structure [ 5strQktFE ]n.建筑物
(3)metric [5metrIk]adj.公制的
(4)ton [ tQn ]n.吨
(5)express [ iks5pres ] vt.表示
(6)similar [ 5similE ]adj.相似的
(7)permit [ pE(:)5mit ] v.允许, 准许
(8)project [ 5prCdVekt ]n.工程
(9)remove [ ri5mu:v ]vt.移动
(10)drill [ dril ]n.钻孔机

1 leaning   

n.倾向，爱好，偏爱v.（使）倾斜，屈身( lean的现在分词 )；倚；依赖；使斜靠

参考例句：

• a leaning towards comedy rather than tragedy 偏爱喜剧而不是悲剧
• Jackson is leaning over backwards to persuade his wealthy uncle. 杰克逊想尽种种办法去讨好他那个有钱的叔叔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 structure   

n.结构，构造，建筑物；v.构成；

参考例句：

• Doctors study the structure of the human body.医生研究人体构造。
• A flower has quite a complicated structure.一朵花的结构相当复杂。

3 lower   

adj.较低的；地位较低的，低等的；低年级的；下游的；vt.放下，降下，放低；减低

参考例句：

• Society is divided into upper,middle and lower classes.社会分为上层、中层和下层阶级。
• This price is his minimum;he refuses to lower it any further.这个价格是他开的最低价，他拒绝再作任何降价。

4 metric   

adj.公制的，米制的，十进制的；n.度量标准，公制，米制，十进制

参考例句：

• In the metric system,measurements are made in metres and liters.在公制中，用米和升作计量单位。
• The metric system is fit to all of the world. 公制适用于全世界。

5 permitted   

允许( permit的过去式和过去分词 )； 许可； 许用

参考例句：

• Radios are not permitted in the library. 图书馆内不许使用收音机。
• Entrance is permitted only on production of a ticket. 出示门票才可进入。

6 additional   

adj.添加的，额外的，另外的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to set down these additional rules.有必要制定这些补充规则。
• I think we can fit in an additional room.我想我们可以再加建一间房子。

7 cables   

n.电报( cable的名词复数 )；电缆；（系船用的）缆绳；（船只、桥梁等上的）巨缆

参考例句：

• Use the crocodile clips to attach the cables to the battery. 用鳄鱼嘴夹把电缆接到蓄电池上。
• Please don't touch these metal cables inside a plastic sleeve. 请不要碰那些套着塑料管的金属电缆。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 leans   

v.（使）倾斜，屈身( lean的第三人称单数 )；倚；依赖；使斜靠

参考例句：

• The tower of Pisa leans at an angle . 比萨斜塔塔身倾斜。
• He leans over backwards to make up for what he has lost. 他尽力弥补他的损失。 来自《简明英汉词典》