17 · 世界上最长的吊桥
The Longest Suspension Bridge in the World
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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".
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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".
1524年，一位名叫韦拉扎诺的意大利人驶入纽约港，并将它命名为昂古莱姆。关于这个人，人们知之甚少。他形容这里是“一处十分宜人的地方，坐落在两座小山之间，一条大河从中流过”。虽然韦拉扎诺并不被认为是什么伟大的探险家，但他的名字很可能会长久流传，因为1964年11月21日，当时世界上最长的一座悬索桥以他的名字命名了。
韦拉扎诺大桥由奥特马尔·阿曼设计，连接布鲁克林和斯塔滕岛，跨度达4,260英尺。桥身如此之长，设计师连地球的曲率都必须考虑在内。两座巨塔支撑着四根巨大的缆索，塔身建在由钢材和混凝土构成的庞大水下平台上。平台深入海面以下一百多英尺，光建造它们就用了十六个月。塔身露出水面的部分高近七百英尺，托起悬吊桥身的缆索。四根缆索中的每一根，都由26,108根钢丝组成。据估计，即使桥面上挤满汽车，承受的重量也只达到设计载荷的三分之一。不过，这座桥的价值并不只在于规模和强度。尽管体量庞大，它却简洁优美，实现了设计师的梦想：让“一件庞然大物，呈现出尽可能轻盈的轮廓”。
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译文依据整理稿，由本站按中文表达重新校订；解析据吴应时、何景霖整理资料及首轮审校稿；词伙与练习提示为本站学习设计。原PDF第59—61页，2022年2月第3版。