Lesson 17

Verrazano, an Italian about whom little is known, sailed into New York Harbour in 1524 and named it Angoulême.
维拉扎诺是一位对其知之甚少的意大利人，他于1524年航行进入纽约港，并将其命名为昂古莱姆。
He described it as 'a very agreeable situation located within two small hills in the midst of which flowed a great river.'
他将其描述为“一个非常宜人的环境，位于两座小山之间，其中流淌着一条大河。”
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.
虽然维拉扎诺绝不被认为是一位伟大的探险家，但他的名字大概将永垂不朽，因为在1964年11月21日，世界上最长的悬索桥以他的名字命名。
The Verrazano Bridge, which was designed by Othmar Ammann, joins Brooklyn to Staten Island.
由奥斯马·阿曼设计的维拉扎诺大桥连接着布鲁克林与斯塔滕岛。
It has a span of 4,260 feet.
它的跨度为4,260英尺。
The bridge is so long that the shape of the earth had to be taken into account by its designer.
这座桥是如此之长，以至于设计者必须考虑到地球的形状。
Two great towers support four huge cables.
两座伟大的塔支撑着四根巨大的电缆。
The towers are built on immense underwater platforms made of steel and concrete.
这些塔建造在由钢和混凝土制成的巨大水下平台之上。
The platforms extend to a depth of over 100 feet under the sea.
这些平台延伸至海面下超过100英尺的深度。
These alone took sixteen months to build.
仅仅这些就花费了十六个月来建造。
Above the surface of the water, the towers rise to a height of nearly 700 feet.
在水面之上，塔楼耸立至近700英尺的高度。
They support the cables from which the bridge has been suspended.
他们支撑着那些悬挂大桥的电缆。
Each of the four cables contains 26,108 lengths of wire.
这四根电缆中的每一根都包含 26,108 根钢丝。
It has been estimated that if the bridge were packed with cars, it would still only be carrying a third of its total capacity.
据估计，即使大桥上挤满了汽车，其承载量也仅为其总容量的三分之一。
However, size and strength are not the only important things about this bridge.
然而，尺寸和力量并不是关于这座桥唯一重要的事情。
Despite its immensity, it is both simple and elegant, fulfilling its designer's dream to create 'an enormous object drawn as faintly as possible'.
尽管体型巨大，它却既简单又优雅，实现了设计者创造一个“尽可能轻盈的巨大物体”的梦想。