第397期:"风之城"Chicago

 　　芝加哥（Chicago），位于美国中西部、密歇根湖的南部，是世界著名的国际金融中心之一。此外，芝加哥还拥有很多世界著名的高楼大厦，被誉为“摩天大楼的故乡”。截至2016年，芝加哥人口约为270多万。

　　芝加哥是美国最重要的文化科教中心之一，拥有世界顶级学府芝加哥大学（The University of Chicago）、西北大学（Northwestern University）和享誉世界的芝加哥学派，截至2017年，逾百位诺贝尔奖得主曾在芝加哥工作、求学过。

　　芝加哥是世界著名的旅游圣地，2016年共接待超过5400万名世界各地的游客。

　　New Words：

　　constantly adv. 不断地；时常地

　　freshwater adj. 淡水的；无经验的

　　skyscraper¹ n. 摩天楼，超高层大楼；

　　demolish² vt. 拆除；破坏；

　　planetarium³ n. 天文馆；行星仪

　　populous⁴ adj. 人口稠密的；人口多的

　　neighborhood n.街坊；街区

　　Chicago is known as the "Windy City". Some people think this is because of the breeze that blows almost constantly. The city is located in the state of Illinois on the shore of one of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan, which is the fifth largest freshwater body in the world. Chicago may also be called the windy city because of the wind tunnel effect created in downtown by many tall buildings.

　　芝加哥被称为“风城”，有些人认为这是因为它不断有风吹来。这座城市位于伊利诺斯州的密歇根湖沿岸，密歇根湖是世界第五大淡水湖。芝加哥被称为风城，可能是因为许多高楼大厦在市中心产生的风洞效应。

　　Skyscrapers⁵ are an important part of Chicago's history. The first skyscraper in the U.S. was built in the city in 1884. At only 10 stories, it was impressive for its time. The skyscraper was eventually demolished⁶. Chicago is the home of other famous firsts. It was the birthplace of the refrigerated rail car, mail-order catalogs, the car radio, the TV remote control, the first Ferris wheel, the first steel rail road, the first planetarium in the Western Hemisphere. Chicago is also the home to the first blood bank and the first drive-in bank. It is also the home to The Lincoln Park Zoo, the oldest public zoo in the U.S. Maybe the windy city should be called the city of firsts.

　　摩天大楼是芝加哥历史的重要组成部分。美国的第一座摩天大楼建于1884年。它只有10层，但是在当时已经很了不起了。这座摩天大楼最终被拆毁了。芝加哥是著名的创举之乡。它是冷藏火车车厢、邮购目录、汽车收音机、电视遥控器、第一个弗累斯大转轮、第一条钢道、西半球第一座天文馆的诞生地。芝加哥也是第一血库和第一家银行的所在地。它也是林肯动物园——美国最古老的公共动物园之家，也许风城应该被称为“第一城”。

　　Chicago is the third most populous city in the U.S., after New York City and Los Angeles. A little more than two and a half million people live in the city that has more than 100 neighborhoods. President Barack Obama used to live in Chicago.

　　芝加哥是美国第三大人口城市，位列纽约和洛杉矶之后。大约有250万城市人口，100多个社区。贝拉克·奥巴马总统以前住在芝加哥。

　　Nearly 40 million people visit Chicago every year. Many of them visit the Willis Tower. Formally known as the Sears Tower, it is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. It takes only a minute to get up to the 103rd floor Sky deck thanks to some of the fastest elevators in the world. From the Sky deck visitors can see four states: Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

　　每年有近4000万人来芝加哥旅游。有许多人会参观希尔斯大厦。它正式的名字叫做西亚士大厦，是西半球最高的建筑物。多亏了世界上最快的电梯，登上一百零三层的天空甲板只需一分钟。从空中甲板可以看到四个州：印第安娜、伊利诺斯、密歇根和威斯康星。

1 skyscraper   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• The skyscraper towers into the clouds.那幢摩天大楼高耸入云。
• The skyscraper was wrapped in fog.摩天楼为雾所笼罩。

2 demolish   

v.拆毁(建筑物等)，推翻(计划、制度等)

参考例句：

• They're going to demolish that old building.他们将拆毁那座旧建筑物。
• He was helping to demolish an underground garage when part of the roof collapsed.他当时正在帮忙拆除一个地下汽车库，屋顶的一部份突然倒塌。

3 planetarium   

n.天文馆；天象仪

参考例句：

• The planetarium staff also prepared talks for radio broadcast.天文馆的工作人员还要准备讲稿给电台广播。
• It landed in a shallow basin fifty yards from the planetarium.它降落在离天文馆五十码处的一个浅盆地中。

4 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

5 skyscrapers   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• A lot of skyscrapers in Manhattan are rising up to the skies. 曼哈顿有许多摩天大楼耸入云霄。
• On all sides, skyscrapers rose like jagged teeth. 四周耸起的摩天大楼参差不齐。

6 demolished   

v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。
• They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来，为了不让拆除他们的房子，他们一直在进行最后的努力。