金門大橋

河南鄭州市惠濟區實驗小學 王雪楊 編譯

TheGolden GateBridge is one of the most famous bridges in the world.It is asymbolofSan Francisco,standing as one of the world’s mostbeloved landmarks.Its tallframe,two largetowers,and orange color make the bridge easy to recognize.Yet as the Golden Gate Bridge was being built,peopledisagreedabout what the bridge should look like.

金門大橋是世界上最著名的橋梁之一。它是舊金山的象征，作為世界上最受喜愛的地標之一矗立著。它那高高的框架、兩座巨大的塔樓和橙色外觀使這座橋十分醒目。然而，在金門大橋建造過程中，人們對其外觀頗有爭議。

People were worried that San Francisco’s thickfogwould make the bridge hard to see.The U.S.Navy wanted the bridge tostand out,so ships and airplanes wouldn’tcollidewith it.They wanted the bridge to have wide black and yellowstripes,like abumblebee! Irving Morrow was one of the bridge designers.He did not like the idea of a striped bridge.Morrow did not want aplainblack or gray bridge either,though.He thought a dark bridge would make the Golden Gate seem smaller than it was.

人們擔心，舊金山的大霧會使大橋難以看清。美國海軍希望大橋的外觀能醒目一些，這樣船只和飛機就不會與之相撞。他們希望大橋有寬寬的黑、黃相間的條紋，就像一只大黃蜂！歐文·莫羅是其中一位橋梁設計師。他不喜歡把橋刷上條紋的想法。不過，莫羅也不想要一座平常的黑色或灰色的橋。他認為，一座深色的橋會讓金門看起來比原來更小。

When the bridge’s parts weredeliveredto San Francisco,they had an orange color.The bridge workers were supposed to paint a new color over the orange.But Morrow was still unsure of what color that would be.He looked at the orange bridge parts and decided that the color would beperfect! Morrow thought the orange would stand out well against theoceanand the sky.

當大橋的部件被運送到舊金山時，它們呈橙色。本來設想橋梁工人在橙色上涂上一種新顏色。但莫羅仍然不確定那會是什么顏色。他看了看橋上的橙色部分，斷定這個顏色一定會很完美！莫羅認為，橙色在大海和天空的襯托下會很顯眼。

Finally,the difficultdecisionhad been made.A red-orange Golden Gate Bridge was bright enough for ships and planes to see.The color made the bridgeappear grandand tall.

最后，這個艱難的決定做出來了。一座橙紅色的金門大橋亮得足以讓船只和飛機看到。這種顏色使這座橋顯得雄偉而高大。

Golden Gate Bridge opened to traffic on May 28,1937.Over the years,fresh paint has been needed.But the colorremainsthe same orange that was supposed to be painted over many years ago.

金門大橋于1937 年5 月28 日通車。多年來，金門大橋一直需要刷新的油漆。但它的顏色仍然是多年前刷的那種橙色。

The Golden Gate Bridge is not only avitaltransportation link but a work of art,admiredby millions of visitors every year.

金門大橋不僅是一條重要的交通紐帶，也是一件藝術品，每年都有數百萬游客去觀賞。

Notes:

goldenadj.金色的

gaten.大門；門

symboln.象征

San Francisco（地名）舊金山

belovedadj.受到愛戴的

landmarkn.地標

framen.框架

towern.塔；塔樓

disagreev.不同意

fogn.霧

stand out 顯眼；醒目；突出

collidev.碰撞

stripen.條；帶；條（帶）狀

bumblebeen.大黃蜂

plainadj.平淡的；很一般的

deliverv.分發；發送

perfectadj.完美的

oceann.海洋

decisionn.決定

appearv.出現

grandadj.雄偉的；雄壯的

remainv.保留

vitaladj.關鍵的；至關重要的

admirev.欣賞；觀賞

I.Rewrite the following sentences by filling in the blanks.

1.The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most famous bridges in the world.It is a symbol of San Francisco.

The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most famous bridges in the world,________ is a symbol of San Francisco.

2.People disagreed about what the bridge should look like.

People ________ ________ about what the bridge should look like.

3.Morrow did not want a plain bridge.Morrow wanted a ________ bridge.

4.Morrow was still unsure of what color that would be.

Morrow was still ________ ________ of what color that would be.

5.He decided that the color would be perfect!

He made the __________ that the color would be perfect!

II.Fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the words given.

1.Yuan Longping is one of the ________ (many) famous scientists in the world.

2.I was ________ (worry) you wouldn’t come.

3.This tree looks much ________ (tall) than it was last year.

4.And ________ (final),I would like to thank you all for coming here today.

5.Reading is of vital _________ (important) in language learning.

(參考答案見本期第48 頁)