常春藤解析英語 65 60 Tons of Paint　浪漫花都的地標——艾菲爾鐵塔

60 Tons of Paint　浪漫花都的地標——艾菲爾鐵塔

by Lars Berry

If you'd lived in Paris between 1889 and 1930, you would have enjoyed the sight of the world's tallest building. La Tour Eiffel was named after its head contractor, Gustave Eiffel, and was built to commemorate the centennial of the French Revolution. It remained the world's tallest structure until it was surpassed by New York City's 319-meter-high Chrysler Building in 1931.

Today's towers built close to the Eiffel's height are most often used for communication. Television, radio, and cell phone companies depend on such towers to transmit their signals. But the Eiffel Tower was built before radio communication was necessary, and even before the radio was invented.

As one of the world's most famous monuments, the tower has attracted a lot of attention, but not all Parisians welcomed its construction. The French writer Guy De Maupassant supposedly hated the structure, but ate at its restaurant every day. When asked why, he remarked that it was the only place in the city from which he couldn't see the tower. During the years between 1925 and 1930, the tower acted as the world's largest sign, advertising cars for the French company, Citroen. When the German army invaded Paris in 1940, the lift cables were cut as Hitler's men stormed the city. However, German soldiers still climbed all the way to the tower's flagpole in order to fly the swastika.

Modern structures make the Eiffel Tower look small in comparison. Today's architects design populated buildings that surpass 500 meters—nearly double the height of the Eiffel Tower. Even so, the romance continues, and the tower welcomes over 6 million visitors per year. To keep the 118-year-old structure looking fresh, 60 tons of paint are reapplied every 8 years! Through it all, the grand old tower lives on.

1. The Eiffel Tower was constructed to _____.

(A) honor its head contractor, Gustave Eiffel

(B) celebrate the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution

(C) be the tallest structure in the world

(D) compete with New York City's Chrysler Building

2. The tower was not built to be a radio tower because _____.

(A) it wasn't high enough

(B) radios were illegal in France

(C) it was built before the time of radios

(D) radio waves cannot be broadcast from over 300 meters

3. Why were German soldiers forced to climb to the tower's top?

(A) A sudden storm damaged the electrical systems.

(B) They wanted to send radio signals from that height.

(C) Parisians cut the elevator cables.

(D) Parisians were attacking them.

精解字詞詞組

1. be named after...　　以……命名

例: The new baby is named after his father, Frank.

(新生寶寶是以他父親法蘭克的名字來命名。)

2. commemorate vt. 慶祝，紀念

commemoration n. 紀念

in commemoration of...　　紀念……

= in memory of...

= in remembrance of...

例: They erected a statue to commemorate the martyr.

(他們豎立了一座雕像來紀念這位烈士。)

* martyr n. 烈士

例: They built the bridge in commemoration of the hero.

(他們建了這座橋來紀念那位英雄。)

3. surpass vt. 勝過，凌駕

例: The band's new album has surpassed their previous album in sales.

(該樂團的新專輯銷售量超過他們上一張專輯。)

4. depend on... 　　倚靠……，依賴……

= rely on...

例: Residents of this coastal village depend on fishing for their livelihood.

(這座沿海村莊的居民靠捕魚維生。)

5. transmit vt. 傳送，發(fā)送

例: This radio is powerful enough to transmit signals into outer space.

(這臺無線電裝置的訊號很強，足以傳送信號到外層空間。)

6. supposedly adv. 據(jù)稱，據(jù)說

例: Supposedly, Tina is the best basketball player, but I've never seen her play.

(據(jù)說蒂娜是最佳籃球員，但我從沒看過她打球。)

7. act as... 　　充當……

例: I think I should act as your representative because I understand the business.

(我想我應該充當你的代表，因為我了解這個行業(yè)。)

8. storm vt. 猛攻，突襲 & vi. 氣沖沖地走

storm into/out of...　　氣沖沖地走進∕走出……

例: Andrew stormed into the room and yelled at Julian.

(安德魯氣沖沖地走進房間，對著朱利安大吼。)

9. in comparison　　相較之下

in comparison with...　　與……相比

例: This pie is small in comparison with the one I saw on TV.

(這個派跟我在電視上看到的比起來算小的。)

10. reapply vt. 再涂上

apply vt. 涂，敷

apply A to B　　將 A 涂∕敷到 B 上

例: Lucy applied some ointment to her sore wrist.

(露西在她酸痛的手腕上涂了一些藥膏。)

* ointment n. 藥膏

11. compete with... 　　和……競爭

例: I can't compete with the new runner; he's much too fast for me.

(我無法和新來的賽跑選手競爭，他跑得比我快太多了。)

文法一點靈

*When asked why, he remarked that it was the only place in the city...

本句原為：When he was asked why, he remarked that...

注意:

Though, if, when, while, once 和 unless 等副詞連接詞所引導的副詞子句，若其主詞與主要子句中的主詞相同時，可化簡為分詞句構(gòu)，其化簡的原則如下：

a. 刪除副詞子句之主詞;

b. 其后動詞化為現(xiàn)在分詞;

c. 若該動詞為 be 動詞時，變成現(xiàn)在分詞 being 之后通常予以省略。

例: When you drive at night, you should remember to use headlights.

= When driving at night, you should remember to use headlights.

(晚上開車時，應該要記得開車頭燈。)

單字小鋪

1. contractor n. 承包者，承包商

2. centennial n. 一百年(紀念)

3. communication n. 通訊;聯(lián)絡(luò)

4. monument n. 紀念碑∕塔∕館

5. construction n. 建造

6. remark vt. 評論，談到

7. advertise vt. 為……打廣告

8. cable n. 纜繩;電纜

9. flagpole n. 旗竿

10. swastika n. 納粹黨徽(反卍字形)

11. architect n. 建筑師

12. populate vt. 居住于

13. double vt. 使加倍

14. construct vt. 建造

15. anniversary n. 周年紀念(日)

16. illegal a. 非法的;legal a. 合法的

17. broadcast vt. 廣播

18. elevator n. 電梯

詞組小鋪

1. all the way　　一路

2. through it all　　經(jīng)歷風風雨雨

3. live on　　繼續(xù)存在

中文翻譯&標準答案

如果你在 1889 年到 1930 年間居住于巴黎，便能一睹世界最高建筑物帶來的景色。艾菲爾鐵塔是以其主要承包商 Gustave Eiffel 來命名，用以慶祝法國大革命的一百周年紀念。直到 1931 年被 319 公尺高的紐約克賴斯勒大樓超越以前，艾菲爾鐵塔一直維持其世界最高建筑物的地位。

現(xiàn)今與艾菲爾鐵塔高度相近的高塔大多為通訊用途。電視臺、無線電臺和手機公司倚靠這類鐵塔傳送訊號。但是艾菲爾鐵塔建造于無線通訊為大眾所需之前，甚至早于無線電的問世。

身為世界著名的紀念建筑物之一，艾菲爾鐵塔吸引了眾多目光，但當初可不是所有巴黎民眾都喜歡這座鐵塔。據(jù)說法國作家莫泊桑很討厭艾菲爾鐵塔，但天天到里頭的餐廳用餐。當被問起原因時，他說那里是城里唯一看不到鐵塔的地方。1925 年到 1930 年間，艾菲爾鐵塔可說是全世界最大的招牌，為法國汽車公司雪鐵龍打廣告。1940 年德國軍隊入侵巴黎，當希特勒的士兵勢如破竹地攻進巴黎時，電梯纜線被切斷。然而，德國士兵仍一路爬到鐵塔的旗竿處，就為了掛上有納粹黨徽的旗幟。

和現(xiàn)代建筑物相比，艾菲爾鐵塔顯得小多了。現(xiàn)今建筑師設(shè)計超過 500 公尺可供人居住的大樓，幾乎是艾菲爾鐵塔的兩倍高。盡管如此，鐵塔浪漫依舊，每年迎接超過六百萬名游客。為了讓這座擁有 118 年歷史的建筑物保有嶄新的外貌，它每八年就必須重新漆上 60 公噸的油漆。一路走來，經(jīng)過風風雨雨，這座古老的高塔仍屹立不搖。

1. 艾菲爾鐵塔是為了 _____ 而建造。

(A) 表彰其主要承包商 Gustave Eiffel

(B) 慶祝法國大革命一百周年紀念

(C) 成為世界第一高建筑

(D) 和紐約的克賴斯勒大樓一較高下

題解: 根據(jù)本文第一段，艾菲爾鐵塔是以其主要承包商 Gustave Eiffel 的名字來命名，用以慶祝法國大革命的一百周年紀念(centennial)，故選 (B)。

2. 艾菲爾鐵塔并非用來作為無線電塔是因為 _____。

(A) 它高度不夠

(B) 無線電當時在法國是違法的

(C) 它建造于無線電問世之前

(D) 無線電波超過 300 公尺便無法播送

題解: 根據(jù)本文第二段，艾菲爾鐵塔建造于無線通訊為大眾所需之前，甚至早于無線電的問世，故選 (C)。

3. 為何德國士兵被迫爬到鐵塔頂端?

(A) 一場突來的暴風雨毀損了電力系統(tǒng)。

(B) 他們想在那個高處發(fā)送無線電訊號。

(C) 巴黎民眾切斷了電梯纜線。

(D) 巴黎民眾攻擊他們。

題解: 根據(jù)本文第三段，1940 年德國軍隊入侵巴黎，當希特勒的士兵勢如破竹地攻進巴黎時，電梯纜線被切斷。德國士兵為了掛上有納粹黨徽的旗幟，仍一路爬到鐵塔的旗竿處，故選 (C)。

標準答案: 1. (B)　2. (C)　3. (C)