An Italian Mistake|意大利美丽的错误

An Italian Mistake

by Brian Foden

By the time construction workers made it to the third floor, they knew something was amiss.

　　When it comes to the construction of buildings, it's hard to imagine a more interesting history than that of Italy's famous leaning tower of Pisa. Although workers didn't plan on creating a vertically challenged landmark when construction began in 1173, it didn't take _(1)_ for the tower to begin moving sideways. _(2)_ the time builders started working on the third floor, a slant had become evident. Thanks to an inadequate foundation and soft soil _(3)_ of clay, sand, and mud, the bell tower tilted slightly to the north. Construction stopped for nearly a century because of war. When work recommenced in 1272, the tower was leaning in the opposite direction, southward, due to the continued subsiding of the soil. Conflict again halted construction in 1278. _(4)_ between 1370 and 1380, the tower was completed.

　　The bell tower continued to increase its incline, but no one really knew how fast until monitoring began in 1911, _(5)_ they found it was moving 1.2 millimeters every year. Then, in 1935, concerns about water under the foundation prompted officials to undertake trying to slow down the leaning rate. This only made the situation worse. In 1990, over fears the tower might collapse, it was closed to the public until 2001. During that period, an _(6)_ international project to remove soil from under the north side of the structure helped to stabilize the tower. Now, experts are confident the leaning tower of Pisa is safe for at least _(7)_ 200 years.

1. (A) far   (B) long     (C) further (D) farther

2. (A) For  (B) At   (C) By (D) In

3. (A) comprised   (B) cultivated  (C) condensed (D) depicted

4. (A) Some times (B) Some time (C) Sometimes     (D) Sometime

5. (A) when     (B) where  (C) that     (D) which

6. (A) indifferent    (B) innovative  (C) extinct (D) airtight

7. (A) another  (B) the other    (C) other   (D) some other

意大利美丽的错误

当建筑工人把这栋建筑物盖到 3 楼时，他们就知道出差错了。

　　提到盖建筑物，你很难想象有哪一栋建筑物的历史比意大利有名的比塞塔还有趣。虽然工人们在 1173 年开始盖这栋建筑物时并没有打算把它盖成不垂直的地标，但它没多久之后就开始向一旁倾斜。等到建造者开始盖 3 楼的时候，倾斜的情形就已经变得很明显。由于地基建造不当，再加上由黏土、沙和泥所组成的土质太松软，因此这座钟塔就些微地偏向北方。由于战争的缘故，建造工程中断了将近一世纪的时间。而当工程在 1272 年重新展开，由于土壤持续流失，这座塔开始向反方向，也就是南方倾斜。1278 年，冲突再次使得建造工程为之中断。在 1370 到 1380 年间，这座塔终告完工。

　　这座钟塔倾斜的程度持续在增加，但没有人确切知道倾斜的速度有多快，直到 1911 年人们开始对它展开监控，才发现它每年会偏移 1 点 2 公厘。接着，在 1935 年由于担心地基下的水源，促使官员试图着手来减缓它倾斜的速度。而这只是让情况更糟。1990 年，由于过度担心这座塔可能会倒塌，它便停止对大众开放直到 2001 年。在这段期间实行了一项创新的国际计划，这项计划从这座塔北边结构的地底下将土壤移除，这有助于稳定塔身。目前，专家有信心比塞塔至少在未来 2 百年内都很安全。

答案： 1.   B   2.   C   3.   A   4.   D   5.   A

      6.   B   7.   A

 

　　比塞塔是意大利比萨城大教堂的独立式钟楼，位于比萨大教堂的后方，是奇迹广场的三大建筑之一。

　　比塞塔可称得上是比萨城的标志，因此它在1987 年和相邻的大教堂、洗礼堂、墓园一起因其对 11 世纪至 14 世纪意大利建筑艺术的巨大影响，而被联合国教育科学文化组织评选为世界遗产。

（数据源：维基百科）