2010/03/31

This Day in History March 31… 歷史上的今天 3月31日

When you think of Paris, France, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Is it wine? Is it bread? For many people, it is the Eiffel Tower. On this date in 1889, the Eiffel Tower was inaugurated. It was built as the entrance to the 1889 World's Fair. It took 300 workers, 18,038 pieces of iron, and two years to build the Eiffel Tower. Originally, the Tower was only supposed to stand for 20 years. However, its usefulness as a radio tower saved it from being torn down. These days, it is one of the most visited spots in all of Europe.
當您想到法國巴黎的 時候,腦中浮現的第一件事物是什麼?是美酒,還是麵包呢?對許多人來說,答案是艾菲爾鐵塔。在1889年的今天,艾菲爾鐵塔正式落成啟用。它當初興建的目 的是用來作為1889世界博覽會的入口。300名工人花了兩年時間,用了18,038塊鐵才蓋好艾菲爾鐵塔。艾菲爾鐵塔原本矗立的年限應該是20年。但它 作為電波發射塔的效用極大,因此使它躲過被拆除的命運。如今,艾菲爾鐵塔是整個歐洲最多人造訪的景點之ㄧ。

單字片語

◎come to mind 浮現在腦海中,湧上心頭
例:What's the first thing that came to mind when you saw that abstract painting?(看到那幅抽象畫時,你第一個想到的是什麼?)
◎inaugurate
vt. 為……舉行落成典禮;為……舉行就職典禮(通常用於被動語態)
make an inaugural speech 發表就職演說
例:US presidents are always inaugurated on January 20.(美國總統都是在1月20日宣誓就職的。)
◎entrance n. 入口(其後常與介詞to並用)
例:The entrance to the back alley was blocked by a pile of trash.(通往後巷的入口被一堆垃圾給堵住了。)
◎Fair n.博覽會
◎originally adv.原本,起初
◎usefulness n.有用;實用性

知識大補帖

雖然現在艾菲爾鐵塔(圖,資料照片)是巴黎最著名的地標 (landmark)之一,不過當初在剛落成時,巴黎居民對這個鐵造的龐然大物可是嫌惡至極,認為它與古色古香的巴黎市根本格格不入。據說著名的法國小說 家(novelist)莫泊桑(Guy de Maupassant )甚至選擇天天在鐵塔裡的餐廳吃午餐,因為他說這裡是整個巴黎唯一看不到這座怪物的地方。

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