【老朋友】点击手机右上角图标【转发分享】内容
This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.com.
这里是bbclearningenglish.com英语六分钟节目。
Rob:Hello, I'm Rob and this is 6 Minute English and I'm joined this week by Callum. Hello Callum.
大家好，欢迎收听本期BBC六分钟英语。我是罗伯，本周和我一起主持节目的是卡勒姆。你好，卡勒姆。
Callum:Hello Rob.
你好，罗伯。
Rob:Today we're talking about tall buildings – very tall buildings in fact.
今天我们要讨论的话题与高层建筑有关，实际上是很高的大厦。
Callum:I suppose we could call them skyscrapers – because they're so tall they almost touch the sky.
我觉得可以把它们称作摩天大楼，因为它们几乎快高到天边了。
Rob:They do. Many countries compete with each other in trying to earn the title of having the tallest building in the world.And this month, London has opened its newest structure but unfortunately it's not going to win the world record for being the highest.
恩，确实是。许多国家为了成为拥有世界上最高建筑物的国家而互相竞争。伦敦也于本月开放了其最新建筑，可不幸的是它没能创下世界纪录，成为世界上最高的建筑。
Callum:No, but it is now the European Union's tallest building standing at 310 metres tall.
是的，可它是欧洲最高的建筑，海拔高达310米。
Rob:That's high enough for me. I haven't really got a head for heights! Anyway if you don't know what this new building is called we'll tell you in a moment but not before I've set today's question for Callum.
对我来说已经够高了，因为我有恐高症。如果你不知道这座新建筑的名字，那么我们待会就会告诉你。但在这之前，我要问卡勒姆一个问题。
Callum:I suppose this is going to be about height?
我想一定和高度有关的？
Rob:Yes, that's the long and short of it! According to the Guinness World Records, the first ever skyscraper was built in the USA, but in which city? Was it in: a) New York b) Chicago or c) Detroit
没错。据世界吉尼斯纪录记载，第一座摩天大楼建在美国，但是在哪个城市呢？是纽约、芝加哥还是底特律呢？
Callum:I don't know this but I'm going to go for a: New York because I think there are many famous skyscrapers in New York. So I'm going to go a: New York.
我还真不知道答案，但我选a，纽约。因为我觉得那里有很多著名的摩天大楼。所以我选纽约。
Rob:Ok, well, I'll let you know the answer at the end of the programme. But let's talk more about London's newest building, which has just opened to the public, and is called The Shard.
好的，在节目的最后，我会揭晓答案。现在我们来进一步谈谈伦敦的最新建筑，这座刚对外开放的建筑叫碎片大厦。
Callum:The Shard. That's because of its shape. The structure narrows as it gets higher and comes to a point at the top. From a distance, with the sun reflecting on it, it looks like a shard – or a sharp, broken piece of glass, which is what a shard means.
碎片大厦因其外形而得名。大厦的整体形态是下宽上窄，顶部尖。在阳光的反射下，它从远处来看就像是碎片，或者说像锋利的碎玻璃片，shard的意义就在于此。
Rob:Yes, and the steel structure is covered in glass which means that if you are inside you get a fantastic view over London.
没错，钢铁结构被玻璃覆盖，这让你在建筑里就能看到整个伦敦的漂亮景色。
Callum:And if you don't mind forking out lots of money you can go to the viewing platform on the 72nd floor for a birds-eye view of the city. That's what these people did – what did they think of it?
而且如果你不嫌贵的话，那么你可以前往第72层的观景台去俯瞰整座城市。下面这些游客就去了，一起来听听他们的感受吧。
I'm just a bit blown away to be honest; It's what we needed really, isn't it, against other capitals; I've been on the London Eye and look how much higher up we are.
说实话，我真的太惊讶了；我们就需要这样的建筑来与其他城市竞争；我曾去过伦敦眼，现在感觉碎片大厦更高。
Rob:Well, The Shard seems to have the wow factor for those people. In other words, they were very impressed. The first woman said she was ‘blown away' or amazed by the experience.
他们似乎对碎片大厦很满意。换句话说，碎片大厦让他们印象深刻。第一名女子说她感到很惊讶。
Callum:Someone else mentioned it was much higher than the London Eye – that's another famous landmark. And somebody else commented that it was what London needed – but why?
有人提到碎片大厦比伦敦眼高更高——另一座著名的标志性建筑。还有人说这正是伦敦所需要的，为什么呢？
Rob:A good question. A new skyscraper can create good publicity for a city – it's an image that is seen all around the world and it can show a city as being prosperous and modern.
问得好。新式摩天大楼可为城市提供有力的宣传。它是世界公认的城市形象，是城市繁荣、现代化的标志。
Callum:Yes, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates is a good example of this. It boasts the world's tallest building – the Burj Khalifa – standing at 828 metres tall. 'Burj', by the way, is Arabic for tower.Other countries such as China, Malaysia and the USA all boast towers much taller than The Shard.
没错，阿联酋首都迪拜便是个很好的例子。那里矗立着世界上最高的大厦哈利法塔——海拔高达828米。顺便讲一下，Burj在阿拉伯语里是塔的意思。中国、马来西亚、美国等其他国家也拥有比碎片大厦更高的建筑。
Rob:Of course, the engineering involved is impressive. But what do you put inside these towers? Most contain luxury living accommodation, a hotel, offices, and, of course, an observation deck – that's a viewing platform.
建筑工程固然让人印象深刻，大厦里面都放些什么呢？大多大厦里都有豪华生活设施、酒店、办公室，当然还有观景台。
Callum:But there is a problem for The Shard. At the moment only 20% of the office space is leased – which means only 20% is rented out. Jack Sidders from the Estates Gazette newspaper has his reasons for this:
但碎片大厦仍存在一个问题。到目前为止，只有20%的办公空间被租用。对此，“庄园公报”的杰克·西德斯的解释是：
What they are trying to do is create an entire quarter here, to make it into more of an established office location but, you know, maybe if you're a tenant, economy's very dodgy, that added bit of risk, maybe that will put people off.
他们想在这里开发出一片区域，把它建设成办公地点，但如果你是租户，你知道经济很多变，这会带来风险，让人们对这里望而生畏。
Rob:So, the owners of The Shard want to make it an established office location – so, therefore, a good recognised location for business – but the current economic situation could be putting off tenants from moving in.
这么说来，碎片大厦的所有者本想把它建设成办公地点——做生意的好位置。但目前的经济形势让租客们无法租赁。
Callum:Yes, he said described the economy as dodgy – a slang word for uncertain or risky.
没错，他形容经济时用到了dodgy。这个词是俚语，是不确定的、冒险的意思。
Rob:That's not the view of Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London. He's proud of the new building and, together with other new constructions, he's optimistic about the future. See if you can hear the names of some other London landmarks he mentions:
伦敦市市长鲍里斯·约翰逊并不这么认为。这座大厦及其他新式建筑让他感到很骄傲，他对未来持有乐观的态度。接下来我们再听一段话，看你能否听出他所提到的伦敦其他标志性建筑的名字。
You've got the Walkie Talkie going up, The Cheese Grater, the stuff that wasn't happening four years ago, all those cranes stopped moving four years ago; they're back on the scene now.
我们现在有“对讲机”、“奶酪刨”，我们四年前还没有这些建筑。四年前，所有起重机都停下了工作；现在，它们又回到了施工现场。
Callum:Some interesting names for buildings there – The Walkie Talkie and The Cheese Grater! This is, of course, because of the shape of the buildings, which look like the objects they are named after. I suppose these names make it easier to identify the buildings.
他提到了几个有趣的建筑名称，比如对讲机和奶酪刨。它们因其形状而得名，他们看起来与被命名的物体很像。我觉得这些名称让建筑更容易被识别。
Rob:Yes but I think I'd be quite embarrassed to tell people I work in The Cheese Grater! OK, well it's time now to reveal the answer to today's question.
那倒是，如果和别人说我在奶酪刨里工作，这会让我感到很尴尬。好了，是时候揭晓本期问题的答案了。
Callum:Ah yes. You asked me, according to the Guinness World Records, the first ever skyscraper was built in the USA but in which city?
没错，你之前问我，据世界吉尼斯纪录记载，美国第一座摩天大楼建在哪个城市？
Rob:Yes, was it in: a) New York b) Chicago c) Detroit
是的，它在纽约、芝加哥还是在底特律呢？
Callum:And I said New York.
我当时选的a纽约。
Rob:And you are wrong I'm afraid. The world's first skyscraper was the Home Insurance Building in Chicago. Built between 1884 and 1885, the so-called “Father of the Skyscraper” towered all of ten storeys and was just 42 metres tall.
回答错误。世界第一座摩天大楼是芝加哥的国家保险大厦。它建于1884-1885年，虽然仅有10层，42米高，却是所谓的摩天大楼之父。
Callum:Not much of skyscraper by today's standards, is it really?
如果按照现在的标准来说，它就不能算是摩天大楼了吧？
Rob:Indeed. OK, well, it's almost time to go but before we do, Callum could you remind us of some of the words we have heard today.
恩，的确如此。好了，节目也快结束了。卡勒姆，你能帮我们回顾一下今天听到的词汇吗？
Callum:Yes. We heard:
没问题。今天我们听到了以下词汇：
skyscrapers
摩天大楼
a shard
碎片
forking out
支付，花钱
the wow factor
令人印象深刻的，让人叫好的东西
landmark
地标，标志性建筑
prosperous
繁荣的，繁华的
observation deck
观景台
leased
租用的，租赁的
established
既定的，确定的
dodgy
不可靠的，冒险的
Rob:Thanks Callum. Well, that's all we have time for today. Please join us again soon for 6 Minute English from bbclearningenglish.
谢谢你，卡勒姆。以上就是本期BBC英语六分钟的全部内容。欢迎继续收听我们下一期的BBC六分钟。
Both:Bye.
再见。
That was 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.com.
以上是bbclearningenglish.com英语六分钟节目。