常春藤解析英語 72 The Beijing Water Cube 北京水立

The Beijing Water Cube 北京水立方

by Lars Berry

The Water Cube is set to make a splash for the 2008 Olympics.

北京水立方勢必在 2008 年奧運會引起轟動。

China is no doubt one the most remarkable places in the world today, particularly in terms of its architectural marvels. Its buildings, many of them epic in size and design, range from the ancient to the high-tech and modern. National Geographic Channel''s China Special Month is about the stories of the modern-day architectural projects in China that are producing amazing new buildings for the world to enjoy.

Beijing Water Cube is one of the programs in this series, and it is very much about the modern as opposed to the ancient. The Beijing Water Cube is a building for the Beijing 2008 Olympics. The building, which will be the National Aquatics Center, is indeed in the shape of a cube, but its appearance is far from run-of-the-mill. It is made of a steel honeycomb-like frame covered in a unique skin that is modeled after soap bubbles. Simply put, the effect is that the Water Cube looks like an enormous cube-shaped bundle of bubbles.

The bubbles are made of a plastic called ETFE, which is also used to protect spaceships from cosmic radiation. One of the advantages of ETFE is that it traps solar energy in the winter and reflects it in the summer, helping to control the building''s temperature. 3,500 bubbles had to be cut individually and sized in order to create the honeycomb-like structure. The bubbles are not identical or symmetrical, but seem to be organized randomly, with different shapes and sizes nestled together. Despite its random appearance, however, the soap-bubble structure used in the design has a geometry that''s perfect for a high-tech building. Soap bubbles actually always cling together in regular patterns, and the fragile-looking skin of the building''s bubbles—the plastic covering is only 1/5 of a millimeter thick!—is entirely safe.

Tune in to Beijing Water Cube to get the full story on this incredible new structure.

1. Which of the following is true about the Beijing Water Cube?

(A) It is made with a huge number of steel cubes.

(B) It is meant to show Chinese architecture, old and new.

(C) The plastic is put in place around a steel frame.

(D) It was finished during the last Olympics and will be used in the 2008 Olympics.

2. Regarding ETFE, which of the following can NOT be inferred from the article?

(A) The plastic is extremely thin.

(B) The plastic feels like soap when you touch it.

(C) An astronaut might find ETFE useful.

(D) The plastic helps the building stay cool on hot summer days.

3. According to the article, soap bubbles are a good model for a building because _____.

(A) they are cheap and easy to get

(B) they are transparent

(C) their structure is not as delicate as it seems

(D) they blend in with the environment

4. Which of the following could be another title for the article?

(A) An Amazing New Building for the Olympics

(B) The Discovery of ETFE

(C) Soap Bubbles Can Be Used for Many Things

(D) The Water Cube Replaces All Older Chinese Buildings

1. in terms of...　　就……而言

例: The film is a huge success in terms of the box office.

(就票房而言，這部電影極為成功。)

2. marvel

n. 令人驚奇的人∕事∕物 & vi. 感到驚奇

marvel at...　　對……感到驚奇

例: The tourists marveled at the fantastic view from Taipei 101.

(游客對臺北 101 大樓鳥瞰下來的美景大呼驚奇。)

3. as opposed to...　　而非……;與……相反

opposed a. 對立的;相反的

例: You should do what you know is right as opposed to what other people tell you is right.

(你應該做自己知道是對的事，而非別人告訴你什么是對的。)

4. in the shape of...　　以……的形狀∕型式

= in the form of...

例: I saw many statues in the shape of angels when I was traveling.

(我旅行時看過很多天使的雕像。)

5. be far from + N/adj.　　一點也不……

= be not + N/adj.+ at all

例: What he said was far from true.

= What he said was not true at all.

(他的話一點兒也不對。)

6. be modeled after...

以……為模板而設計∕制作

model oneself on sb　　以某人為榜樣

例: This hotel is modeled after a French castle.

(這間旅館是模仿法國古堡設計的。)

例: Janet modeled herself on her father and became a doctor.

(珍妮特效法父親，成為一名醫(yī)生。)

7. Simply put, S + V　　簡言之，……

= To put it simply, S + V

例: There are going to be many changes soon. Simply put, everything will be different.

(近期內(nèi)將會有許多改變。簡言之，每件事將會不同。)

8. reflect vt. 反射 & vi. 反省;仔細考慮

reflect on/upon...　　反省……;仔細考慮……

例: I will reflect on your suggestion and give you an answer tomorrow.

(我會仔細考慮你的建議，明天給你答復。)

9. size vt. 按某種尺寸制造

size up...　　評估……

= evaluate vt.

例: After sizing up the situation, I changed my mind.

(評估情況后，我改變了心意。)

10. identical a. 完全相同的

be identical to...　　與……完全相同

例: The new flavor of soda seems to be identical to the old one.

(這種汽水的新口味似乎和舊的一模一樣。)

11. randomly adv. 隨意地，任意地

= at random

例: After playing the video game for a while, I started hitting the buttons at random.

(玩了一會兒電動游戲后，我開始隨意地按按鈕。)

12. random a. 隨意的，任意的

例: The survey was based on a random sample.

(這份調(diào)查是根據(jù)隨機抽樣。)

13. cling vi. 依附;緊握不放;堅持

三態(tài)為：cling, clung, clung。

cling to...　　緊緊抓住……;堅持……

例: The child clung to his mother in the crowded department store.

(這個小孩在擁擠的百貨公司中緊抓著媽媽不放。)

例: Whatever you do, you must cling to your principles.

= Whatever you do, you must stick to your principles.

(你不論做什么，都必須堅守原則。)

14. be put in place　　放在適當?shù)奈恢?/p>

例: Don''t worry. The books and magazines are all put in place.

(別擔心。書本和雜志都放置妥當了。)

15. blend in with...　　與……融合在一起

例: I don''t like to stand out; I dress in a boring way so that I blend in with the crowd.

(我不喜歡引人注目;我穿著普通以融入人群。)

中國無疑是現(xiàn)今世界上最值得注意的國家之一，尤其以建筑成就而言。中國的建物從古代建筑到高科技及現(xiàn)代化都有，其中更不乏規(guī)模及設計都相當壯觀的建筑物。國家地理頻道的《新中國特輯》節(jié)目將介紹中國現(xiàn)代建筑工程，看它們?nèi)绾未蛟斐鲎屓澜珞@嘆的建筑物。

《北京水立方》是這系列節(jié)目的單元之一，本單元的內(nèi)容無關古代，而是相當現(xiàn)代化。北京水立方是為 2008 奧運會所打造。這座建筑物將會成為國家游泳中心，它的外型正如其名成立方體狀，但外觀卻非常與眾不同。水立方是由蜂巢狀的鋼鐵框架所構成，而框架被模仿肥皂泡泡結構的特殊薄膜所覆蓋。簡單來說，水立方看起來就像無數(shù)個泡泡所組成的巨大立方體。

這些泡泡是由一種稱為 ETFE(乙烯–四氟乙烯共聚物)的塑料所制成，它也用來保護宇宙飛船免于宇宙輻射的傷害。ETFE 的好處之一就是它能夠在冬天時儲存太陽能，而夏天時將太陽能反射出去，幫助控制建筑物的溫度。3,500 個泡泡必須按一定大小分別切割，以建構出蜂巢狀的建筑物。這些泡泡并非完全相同或?qū)ΨQ，反而像是沒有規(guī)則的組織，但不同形狀及大小的泡泡卻又緊緊相連。盡管外表看起來很不規(guī)則，這些肥皂般的泡泡卻擁有足以建造高科技建筑的完美幾何結構。事實上，肥皂泡泡總是以規(guī)則的模式緊靠在一起，而包覆建筑物的塑料泡泡薄膜雖僅 0.2 公厘厚，看起來很脆弱，但實際上卻是安全無虞。

請鎖定《北京水立方》，以全面了解這座令人嘆為觀止的建筑物。

1. 下列關于北京水立方的敘述何者為真?

(A) 它是由一大堆鋼制立方體所組成。

(B) 它想要呈現(xiàn)中國建筑的新舊面貌。

(C) 塑料被適當放置在鋼鐵框架的周圍。

(D) 它完成于上一屆的奧運期間，將在 2008 年的奧運會啟用。

題解: 根據(jù)本文第二段，北京水立方由蜂巢狀的鋼鐵框架所構成，而框架被類似肥皂泡泡結構的特殊薄膜所覆蓋。第三段開頭則指出，這些泡泡是由一種稱為 ETFE 的塑料所制成，故選 (C)。

2. 關于 ETFE，下列何者無法從本文推斷出來?

(A) 這種塑料極度地薄。

(B) 這種塑料摸起來像肥皂。

(C) 航天員或許會發(fā)現(xiàn) ETFE 很有用。

(D) 這種塑料有助建筑物在炎熱的夏天保持涼爽。

題解: 根據(jù)本文第三段，ETFE 可用來保護宇宙飛船免于宇宙輻射的傷害，它能夠在冬天時儲存太陽能，而夏天時將太陽能反射出去，幫助控制建筑物的溫度，而且它只有 0.2 公厘的厚度。文章中未提及 (B) 選項的敘述，故選之。

3. 根據(jù)本文，肥皂泡泡對于建筑物是種好模型，因為 _____。

(A) 它們便宜又容易取得

(B) 它們是透明的

(C) 它們的結構并非看起來那么脆弱

(D) 它們能和環(huán)境融為一體

題解: 根據(jù)本文第三段，肥皂般的泡泡擁有足以建造高科技建筑的完美幾何結構。事實上，肥皂泡泡總是以規(guī)則的模式緊靠在一起，而這些看起來很脆弱的塑料泡泡雖僅 0.2 公厘厚，但實際上卻安全無虞，故選 (C)。

4. 下列何者也可作為本文的標題?

(A) 《一座令人嘆為觀止的奧運新建筑》

(B) 《ETFE 的發(fā)現(xiàn)》

(C) 《肥皂泡泡功能多多》

(D) 《水立方取代所有中國舊建筑》

題解: 綜觀本文，文章內(nèi)容主要關于為 2008 奧運所建立的北京水立方游泳中心，選項 (A) 作為標題最為貼切，故選之。

標準答案: 1. (C)　2. (B)　3. (C)　4. (A)

1. cube n. 立方體

2. remarkable a. 值得注意的;非凡的

3. architectural a. 建筑(學)的

architecture n. 建筑;建筑(學)

4. epic a. 巨大的，宏偉的 & n. 史詩

5. aquatics n. 水上運動

6. run-of-the-mill a. 普通的，一般的

7. honeycomb-like a. 如蜂巢般的

8. enormous a. 巨大的

9. bundle n. 大量，大批

10. cosmic a. 宇宙的

11. radiation n. 輻射(能)

12. solar energy n. 太陽能

13. individually adv. 分別地，個別地

14. symmetrical a. 對稱的

15. nestle vi. 依靠，依偎

16. geometry n. 幾何(學)

17. fragile-looking a. 看起來脆弱的

fragile a. 脆弱的;易碎的

18. millimeter n. 公厘

19. regarding prep. 關于

= concerning prep.

20. astronaut n. 航天員

21. transparent a. 透明的

22. replace vt. 取代，替代

1. no doubt　　無疑地

= without (a) doubt

2. range from A to B　　范圍從 A 到 B(都有)

3. tune in to...　　轉到……頻道;收看∕收聽……

4. a huge/large number of + 復數(shù)名詞　　很多的……