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精读原文
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 longest suspension 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 4,260 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'.
精读注解
The longest suspension bridge in the world
suspension /sə'spenʃ(ə)n/：the act of suspending something (hanging it from above so it moves freely)，悬，掉
参考译文：世界上最长的吊桥
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 longest suspension bridge in the world was named after him.
about whom little is known：鲜为人知的，其中know about/of…指间接知道或听说，know+人表示了解某人，如I have known about her, but I don’t know her.我听说过她，但我对她不了解。
named it Angouleme：Angouleme为动词name的宾语补足语
describe… as…：把……描绘成……，认为……，比如：The little girl describes the moon as a jade plate.这个小女孩把月亮比作玉盘。
agreeable /ə'griːəb(ə)l/：If something is agreeable, it is pleasant and you enjoy it. 怡人的，愉快的，比如：We spent a most agreeable couple of hours. 我们非常愉快地度过了几个小时。
situation /sɪtjʊ'eɪʃ(ə)n/：the type of area where a building is situated，地点，地方如：The house is in a charming situation, on a wooded hillside. 房子位于林木茂密的小山坡上，环境十分优美。
locate/lə(ʊ)'keɪt/：If you locate something in a particular place, you put it there or build it there. 把…建在，位于，如：The business is located right in the center of town. 这家商店就在市中心。
【复杂句辨析】He described it as 'a very agreeable situation located within two small hills in the midst of which flowed a great river.'：其中in the midst of which flowed a great river使用了倒装结构，which指two small hills，自然语序是：a great river flowed in the midst of…。关于倒装结构，可参考：精读：An unknown goddess
by no means: adv.definitely not决不，在任何情况下都不，如：The problem is by no means as simple as we first thought. 问题决不像我们当初想象的那么单纯。
immortal /ɪ'mɔːt(ə)l/：an immortal line, play, song etc is so famous that it will never be forgotten〔诗句、戏剧、歌曲等〕不朽的，流传百世的，如：Plato believed that the soul is immortal. 柏拉图认为灵魂不灭。
be named after以……的名字命名，如：The primary school is named after the donator.这间小学是以捐赠人的名字命名。
参考译文：1524年，一位鲜为人知的意大利人维拉萨诺驾船驶进纽约港，并将该港名为安古拉姆。他对该港作了这样的描述：“地理位置十分适宜，位于两座小山的中间，一条大河从中间流过”。虽然维拉萨诺绝对算不上一个伟大的探险家，但他的名字将流芳百世，因为1964年11月21日建成的一座世界上最长的吊桥是以他的名字命名。
The Verrazano Bridge, which was designed by Othmar Ammann, joins Brooklyn toStaten Island. It has a span of 4,260 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 ofsteel 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 lengthsof 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'.
join … to…：把……与……连接起来，如：The house is joined to the one next door by a wall.这所房子间隔那一所以一道墙相连。
【熟词僻义】join /dʒɒɪn/ : ①to connect or fasten things together连接，接合；联结，如：Join the two pieces of wood with strong glue. 用强力胶水把两块木头黏合起来。②to begin to take part in an activity that other people are involved in参与，加入〔某项活动〕，如：the benefits of joining our pension scheme 参加我们的退休金计划的好处。③to do something together with someone else, or as a group参与，加入，如：I invited them to join us for a glass of wine. 我邀请他们和我们一起喝杯酒。
Brooklyn /'bruklin/ : 布鲁克林（美国纽约西南部的一区）
Staten: 斯塔恩（岛）
span /spæn/：A bridge or other structure that spans something such as a river or a valley stretches right across it. 横跨，如：Travellers get from one side to the other by walking across a footbridge that spans a little stream. 旅游者通过一座横跨小溪的人行桥从一边走到另一边。
so…that…：太……以至于……，引导结果状语从句，如：He reacts so quickly (that) no one can match him.他的反应如此敏捷（以至于）无人比得上他。
be taken into account by…：被……考虑到，主动语态：take…into account考虑……，如：Risk factors must be taken into account by the investors.
cable /'keɪb(ə)l/: A cable is a kind of very strong, thick rope, made of wires twisted together. 缆绳，如：The miners rode a conveyance attached to a cable made of braided steel wire. 矿工们乘坐连着钢索的缆车。
【词语辨析】be made of&be made from&be made with&be made up of：①be made of表示“由……材料制成”，制成品仍能看出原材料，如：It appears to be made of cotton. ②be made from表示“由……原材料制成”，制成品看不出原材料，如：Perfumes may be made from the oils of certain flowers. 香水由某些花卉的精油制成。③be made with表示“使用了……而制成”，如：The cake is made with fresh cream.这个蛋糕用新鲜奶油制成。④be made up of表示“由……成分构成／组成”，如：This collection is made up of three parts: poems, essays and short stories. 这本集子是由诗、散文和短篇小说三部分组合而成的。
concrete /'kɒŋkriːt/ : Concrete is a substance used for building which is made by mixing together cement, sand, small stones, and water. 混凝土，如：The posts have to be set in concrete. 这些柱子必须固定在混凝土中。
These alone…仅仅这些……，其中alone作形容词，仅有的
suspend /sə'spend/ : to attach something to a high place so that it hangs down悬，挂，吊，如：A large light was suspended from the ceiling. 天花板上悬挂着一盏大灯。
【熟词僻义】length /leŋθ/：①a piece of something long and thin细长的一段[一根，一条]（本文用法），如：a length of rope/pipe/wire etc 一段绳子/管子/电线等。②the measurement of how long something is from one end to the other长，长度，如：We measured the length and width of the living room. 我们量了客厅的长和宽。
It has been estimated that...：据估计……，it为形式主语，全句的逻辑主语为that引导的名词性从句
be packed with...：挤满……、装满……，如：The bottle is packed with sands.瓶子里转满了沙子。
capacity /kə'pæsɪtɪ/：the amount of space a container, room etc has to hold things or people容量，容积；承载量，如：The room had seating capacity for about 80. 这房间能坐80个人左右。
immensity /ɪ'mensətɪ/：used to emphasize the great size and seriousness of something such as a problem you have to deal with or a job you have to do巨大〔用于强调规模或严重程度〕，如：the immensity of the problem 问题之严重
elegant /'elɪg(ə)nt/：beautiful, attractive, or graceful高雅的，优美的，如：You can dine in elegant surroundings. 你可以在雅致的环境中进餐。
faintly /'feɪntlɪ/：to a faint degree or weakly perceived微弱地；模糊地；虚弱地，如：His voice came faintly to us.他的声音微弱地传到我们这儿。fulfilling its designer's dream to…：为现在分词短语作结果状语，如果加上thus（这样）或thereby（因此）后，分词短语的功能更加明显，如：He is tired, thus falling asleep in a second.
参考译文：维拉萨诺大桥由奥斯马·阿曼设计，连结着布鲁克林与斯塔顿岛，桥长4,260英尺。由于桥身太长，设计者不得不考虑了地表的形状。两座巨塔支撑着4根粗大的钢缆。塔身建在巨大的水下钢筋混凝土平台上。平台深入海底100英尺。仅这两座塔就花了16个月才建成。塔身高出水面将近700英尺。高塔支撑着钢缆，而钢缆又悬吊着大桥，4根钢缆中的每根由26，108股钢绳组成。据估计，若桥上摆满了汽车，也只不过是桥的总承载力的1/3。然而，这座桥重要特点不仅是它的规模与强度。尽管此桥很大，但它的结构简单，造型优美，实现了设计者企图创造一个“尽量用细线条勾画出一个庞然大物”的梦想。
Summary writing：(last paragraph)
用不多于80个单词描述维拉萨诺大桥。（摘自新概念英语教师用书新版3）
The Verrazano Bridge, which joins Brooklyn to Staten Island, has a span of 4,260 feet. Its two great towers support four huge cables. The tower are built on platforms made of steel and concrete, extending over 100 feet under the sea and rising nearly 700 feet above the surface of the water. The bridge is suspended from four huge cables, each of which contains 26,108 lengths of wire. It is not only very strong, but simple and elegant as well.
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