Unit 7

Task 1:

【答案】

A.

6，1420，273

B.

b

C.

1) F

2) F

3) T

【原文】

The Temple of Heaven is situated in the southern part of Beijing, about 6 kilometres away from the centre of the city. Traditionally, this temple was for imperial use only. It was built in 1420, covering an area of 273 hectares. It is one of the largest parks in Beijing.
    The Temple of Heaven was the place where the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties worshipped heaven and prayed for good harvests. The emperors visited the temple three times a year: on the 8th day of the first lunar month to pray for a good harvest; during the Summer Solstice to pray for rain; and during Winter Solstice to give thanks for a good harvest. During each ceremony, the emperors worshipped heaven and prayed for a good harvest. In addition, the emperors also worshipped their ancestors and other natural phenomena such as the Cloud God, Rain God and Wind God.

In imperial days, the Chinese people believed that the sky was circular and the earth was square. On the basis of this traditional concept, the circle was widely adopted in the design of the temple's main building. It is in accord with people's imagination of heaven.

During past ceremonies each year, the emperor left the Forbidden City through the front gate for the Temple of Heaven. No common people or foreigners were allowed to watch the emperor s procession to the temple. They had to remain hidden behind closed doors and windows. No women, not even the empress, were allowed to take part in the procession.

 

Task 2:

【答案】

A.

1) c

2) a

3) e

4) d

5) b

B.

40，102，1,454，222，410，365,000，40,000,000，32，86th，50，102nd

C.

1) F

2) F

3) T

4) T

【原文】

Until the construction of the Sears tower in Chicago and the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan—which unfortunately collapsed in a terrorist attack on September 11,2001—the Empire State Building was for 40 years the tallest building in the world, standing 102 stories and 1,454 feet tall, including a 222 feet television antenna.

    The unusual structure of the Empire State Building, built in just 410 days during the depths of the Depression, was planned during the boom years of the 1920s and completed in May 1931. The building cost 40,000,000 dollars and was the product of a competition between Walter Chrysler Corporation and John Jakob Raskob, founder of General Motors, to see who could build the tallest building.

    The structure itself weighs 365, 000 tons，less than the weight of the earth that was dug out to build it. Time has shown it to be durable but when it was first opened to the world, the public was worried about the stability of what was then the tallest building ever seen.

    A number of curious events have contributed to this famous building, including that an Army Air Corps B-25 bomber plane crashed into the 79th floor on a foggy day in July 1945 at the end of World War II, killing 14 people.

    The television antenna was added in 1951. The top 32 floors of the building are lit at night. There is an observatory on 86th floor which gives a 50-mile view of the city and surrounding countryside. There is also a glass-enclosed observatory on the 102nd floor.

 

Task 3:

【答案】

A.

1) d

2) c

B.

1) T

2) T

3) T

4) F

【原文】

Janet Owens' house turned out to be a horrible dream. When she and her engineer husband married a few years ago, they built a $100,000, three-bedroom home in California. Tightly sealed to prevent air leaks, the house was equipped with double-glazed windows and several other energy-saving qualities. Problems began as soon as the couple moved in, however. Janet's eyes burned. Her throat was often dry. She suffered from headaches and could hardly sleep. It was as though she had suddenly developed a strange illness.

Experts finally found the cause of her illness. The level of formaldehyde gas in her kitchen was twice the largest amount allowed by federal standards for chemical workers. The source of the gas? Her new kitchen cabinet and wall-to-wall carpeting.

The Owens suffered the effects of indoor air pollution, which is not given enough attention partly because of the nation's drive to save energy. The problem itself isn't new. It appears to be more troublesome in newly constructed homes rather than old ones. Back in the days when energy was cheap, home builders didn't worry about unsealed cracks. Because of such leaks, the air in an average home was replaced by fresh outdoor air about once an hour. As a result, the pollutants caused, by most households seldom built up to dangerous levels.

 

Task 4:

【答案】

A.

1) several thousand

2) 700 years ago

3) An 36-meter-wide road, An 18-meter-wide one, 9 meters, 10 meters, 40 centimeters

B.

1) T

2) T

3) T

4) F

【原文】

For those who want to experience the local customs as well as the history and culture of Beijing, they must visit the hutong and siheyuan (courtyard house).

A hutong is an alley or lane typical in the old city of Beijing, where hutongs run into the several thousand. Surrounding the Forbidden City, many of the hutongs were built during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. In these dynasties the emperors had the city planned and arranged according t, the etiquette systems, with the royal palace—the Forbidden City—standing in the center.

The word hutong originally came from the Mongolian language about 700 years ago, and meant "water well", that is, a place where there was a spring or well, fit for people to live.

Hutong is in fact the passage formed by lines of siheyuan (courtyard houses) where most Beijing residents used to live. One hutong connects with another, and siheyuans connect with siheyuans, to form a block, and blocks join with blocks to form the whole city.

In old China, there was a clear definition for a hutong. A 36-meter-wide road was called a big street. An 18~meter-wide one was called a small street. Only a lane less than 9 meters wide was called a hutong. The shortest hutong is just 10 meters long, and the narrowest hutong is only about 40 centimeters wide. Most of the hutongs in Beijing run from the east to the west or from the north to the south. That has resulted from the need for houses to take in more sunshine.

There are many stories and fairy tales about the hutongs. Near the Forbidden City, for example, there is a hutong called "Weaving Girl", which is named after the fairy from the famous Chinese myth who stole out of the Heavenly Palace to come to the earth and fell in love with a shepherd boy. Her enraged father, the Celestial Emperor, seized the girl back and separated the couple with the Milky Way, permitting them to meet only once a year, on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, when magpies form a bridge for them to pass over the barrier.

In the life of the people in Beijing, the hutong has a very special and important position. It is more than a style of architecture. It is really the "encyclopedia of the history and culture of Beijing".

 

Task 5:

【答案】

A.

170 meters，white stone，the first president of the United States，50 flags，the Independence Day celebration，new security facilities，an elevator

B.

1833，1848，1854，1876，1884，1888

【原文】

The Washington Monument is the tallest structure in the city. It stands almost one-hundred-seventy meters tall. It is named for the first President of the United States, George Washington. Millions of people from around the world visit the white stone structure every year.

The monument is a structure called an obelisk. Its four sides end in a point at the top. Fifty American flags surround it. They represent the fifty states. Lights shine on the Washington Monument at night. It can be seen from far away. Fireworks are launched from near the monument on American Independence Day—July fourth—and at other special celebrations.

It took many years to build the Washington Monument. One group started raising money for a memorial in 1833. Officials placed the first stone of the monument on July fourth, 1848.

Roman Catholic Church leader Pope Pius the Ninth gave a piece of marble from Rome for the monument. But the stone was stolen in 1854. After that, the public almost stopped giving money for the structure. Many people believed it would never be finished.

A group called the Know Nothings was suspected of trying to stop the monument from being built. Finally, in 1876, Congress voted to pay for building the Washington Monument. It was finished in 1884 and opened to the public in 1888.

The Washington Monument recently re-opened after being closed for more than a year. Officials used that time to make improvements. New security measures also were added. And a new elevator now carries visitors to the observation area on top of the monument. From there, visitors can look out over the capital city.

Task 6:

【答案】

I.

A. city council

C. putting its model in a wind tunnel

II.

A. clear the site，steel balls, mechanical shovels，mechanical grabs

B. build the foundation

1. a big concrete slab，digging a deep hole，pouring tons and tons of concrete into it

2. thick pillars of concrete and steel，boring holes in the ground and filling them with

concrete，driving ready-made piles into the ground with powerful pile-drivers

C. the frame

1. Reinforced concrete

2. Huge cranes

D.

1. vibrators

2. Ready-made panels

III.  

A. telephone company

B. wire up the rooms for electricity

C. Plumbers

 D. Heating engineers

E. the elevators

F. scaffold

G. curtains，carpets，furniture

 

【原文】

To build a skyscraper, first a piece of land must be bought. Then the architect designs the skyscraper. The city council must give its permission before it can be built. The architect makes model of his design. This shows what the building will look like when it is finished. If the buyer likes it, the architect draws up plans. These show every detail of the new building. Very tall buildings have to be tested before they are built. The model is pat in a wind tunnel. This shows whether the sky scraper will stand up to high winds.

When the tests are finished, work begins on the building site. First, the site is cleared. Big machines called excavators are often used to do this. They have "caterpillar" tracks to stop them from sinking into soft mud. Many different tools can be attached to excavators. A heavy steel ball is swung on the end of a cable to knock down old buildings. Mechanical shovels and "grabs" scoop up loose earth and rubble and drop it into trucks.

Skyscrapers are very heavy. They need strong ground to support their weight. They can be built on solid rock, but ordinary soil is much too weak. Strong supports, called foundations, have to be built in the soil.

First, the builders bore into the ground. They take soil from different depths. They test the soil to see if it is strong or weak. If the soil is strong, the builders may use a big concrete slab for the foundations. They dig a deep hole with powerful excavators. The excavators have scoops or shovels that remove the soil in great bites. When the hole has been dug, tons and tons of concrete are poured into it for the foundations. If the soil is weak, "piles" are used for the foundations. Piles are thick pillars of concrete and steel. They reach from the surface down to rock or firm soil. Sometimes holes are bored in the ground and then filled with concrete. Sometimes the piles are made on the surface. Then they are driven deep into the ground with powerful hammers, called pile-drivers.

When the concrete foundations have set, the frame is made of strong steel girders. Sometimes it is made of reinforced concrete. Steel bars are put in place first and are boxed in. Then concrete is poured around them. The concrete sets and makes a very strong frame.

Huge cranes lift the girders or the steel bars into place as the building grows. They carry up wet concrete in big buckets, called skips. The cranes are called tower cranes because they stand on tall steel towers. At the top they have a long arm that swings around in a wide circle to deliver the building materials.

When the frame of each level, or storey, is finished, the builders can put in the floors. First they put up a frame of boards around the floor area. Then they pour concrete into it. The vibrator makes the concrete firm and helps to settle it. The walls can be made in the same way. But often they are made of glass or metal. They can be thin because they do not have to bear any weight. The weight of the building is carried by the framework of concrete or steel girders. Walls which do not bear the weight of a building are called "curtain" walls.

Ordinary building methods are quite slow. The builders have to wait for the concrete to set in one part before they can move on. It is quicker to use ready-made panels for the walls and floors. The panels are brought to site, lifted into place and then joined together.

The skyscraper must also have "services" put in. The telephone company puts in telephones. Electricians wire up the rooms for electricity. Plumbers fit th6 water pipes. Heating engineers put in the heating system. Other engineers put in the elevators. Elevators are important in skyscrapers. In ordinary houses there are not many stairs, but in skyscrapers there are hundreds and hundreds. An-other problem is cleaning the windows. The window cleaners cannot work from ladders on the ground. They have to work from a scaffold that dangles from the roof.

The day arrives when the skyscraper is completely finished from top to bottom. The scaffolding is taken away. The builders remove their cranes and concrete mixers and trucks. The movers arrive to move in the furniture. Curtains are hung and carpets are laid. The electricity and heating are turned on. Then, at last, all is ready for the people to move in.

 

 

Task 7:

【答案】

A.

1) c

2) c

3) a

4) a

5) b

6) b

B.

1) F

2) T

3) T

4) F

5) T

6) F

7) T

【原文】

Interviewer: What is a home in your understanding?

Rybczynski: A home represents a refuge from the public world. It is a safe place in which people feel that they can let their minds drift off and dream. Imagining a house, building it and then living inside it is something quite wonderful. Every time you enter that house, you're really entering your own mind. This is equally true whether you are an architect or somebody living in a Mexican slum. An awful lot of what people do with their homes can't be explained by simple function; it has as much to do with communicating an idea of themselves to others. In some countries, even the smallest shacks are constructed by their owners. By contrast, in our society, building a home has become something of a luxury. But some analysts have suggested that as our working lives become less creative we look for the creative act elsewhere, which may explain why people sometimes build several homes in a lifetime.

Interviewer: It's also, you say, a source of almost childlike fun.

Rybczynski: Architecture is not a particularly well-paying profession, yet there is an enormous interest among young people in the field, in large part because the work is a lot of fun. There is a very lighthearted atmosphere in most architectural offices. A good part of what architects do is thinking in miniature, and working with architectural models is a kind of play. People are always fascinated with these models because they are like toys. The tiny buildings peopled with pocket-size figures recall the dolls' houses and lead soldiers of our childhood. We have all spent hours sprawled on the floor playing with toy blocks and built little houses with construction toys. We have all been little architects.

Interviewer: How does culture shape what is built?

Rybczynski: The search for newness pervades our culture and applies equally to movies, books and buildings. But books are put on shelves and movies in cans. Buildings, however, surround us. It is kind of mad to have every building trying to outdo every other one. But that's very much the situation we have created. Nobody wants to do the 90 percent of the background buildings that are needed to have one wonderful monument. In part, this reflects the modem movement, dating from the 1920s, which placed importance on originality. The architect was judged by his ability to create new forms or building that solved problems in new ways. An architect who simply repeated somebody else’s solution was passed over as unimaginative. The current phenomenon also reflects the desire of corporations in a city to have a strong identity. And, finally, there are the media. The architect who wants to succeed has to demonstrate originality; otherwise people won't write about him. But for every architect who skillfully carries out unusual buildings, there are dozens who copy them with less skill. While I don't necessarily admire an architect like Frank Gehry, who has come up with such designs as a building shaped like a fish, I certainly acknowledge his craftsmanship. But when people copy his buildings without his craftsmanship and skill, the end product is too many eccentric buildings not done very well; you end up with a lot of ugliness. When everyone wants to be a star architecturally, the city that is produced can be a very unsatisfying place.