埃菲尔铁塔或变世界最大“绿树”

 　　大名鼎鼎的埃菲尔铁塔明年可能变身为世界上最大的“绿树”。媒体日前披露了一项被评价为“疯狂”的计划：用60万株植物装饰这座巴黎乃至法国最富盛名的地标性建筑。此项大胆的计划由法国京吉尔集团(Ginger¹)提出，估计将耗资7200万欧元。这家专门从事环保工程的企业将与合作伙伴联合实施这项浩大的工程。巴黎市政府和法国环境部也将参与其中。根据该集团的设计，从2012年6月开始，埃菲尔铁塔将在4年时间里身披绿装，成为向世人展示法国环保理念的标志。预计，这60万株植物将为铁塔增重378吨。

　　A French company wants to turn the Eiffel Tower into a heaving, breathing, botanical giant by draping its mass of metal struts² and rivets³ under a mantle⁴ made of 600,000 plants.

　　The plan to transform one of the biggest tourist attractions in the world into a vast environmental curiosity as well is, for now, little more than the dream of an urban planning consultancy that would gain in fame if the dream became reality.

　　埃菲尔铁塔或变世界最大“绿树”

　　The idea, which has not so far been officially endorsed⁵ by Paris City Hall or the company that operates the Eiffel Tower, would transform the three-floor edifice⁶ of more than 300 metres (yards) into something akin⁷ to a very tall, and growing, Christmas tree.

　　Ginger, the consultancy promoting it, issued a statement on Wednesday to defend a project that it said would symbolise the reconciliation⁸ of nature and mankind as the world's population heads for nine billion, seven billion of whom would live in urban areas.

　　Either way the project would amount to the most ambitious remake in the life of the tower built by Gustave Eiffel for a world fair in 1889.

　　The tower, which underwent a lesser⁹ revamp with the addition of 10,000 flickering¹⁰ light bulbs a decade ago, draws about seven million visitors a year.

　　Clad in a new coat of living greenery it could be expected to also provide a perch¹¹ for many insects and birds, among them perhaps the not-so-welcome pigeons that irritate many city-dwellers.

　　"Should it not be the duty of engineers to imagine a new future where nature is brought back into the heart of the city," said a statement from Ginger.

　　For now at least, it still has to convince.

　　Following the leak in Le Figaro newspaper, the company that operates the tower, SETE, issued a statement saying neither it nor Paris City Hall were associated with the proposal as laid out in the newspaper.

　　According to Le Figaro newspaper, which leaked many of the technical aspects of the proposal, the idea would be to start work next year, connecting 12 tonnes of tubing to the tower's struts.

　　Thousands of hemp¹² or sack-cloth bags that would carry soil and a large variety of plants would be added gradually, working from the bottom upwards¹³ in the same way as a plant grows, over the second half of 2012.

1 ginger   

n.姜，精力，淡赤黄色；adj.淡赤黄色的；vt.使活泼，使有生气

参考例句：

• There is no ginger in the young man.这个年轻人没有精神。
• Ginger shall be hot in the mouth.生姜吃到嘴里总是辣的。

2 struts   

（框架的）支杆( strut的名词复数 )； 支柱； 趾高气扬的步态； （尤指跳舞或表演时）卖弄

参考例句：

• The struts are firmly braced. 那些支柱上得很牢靠。
• The Struts + EJB framework is described in part four. 三、介绍Struts+EJB框架的技术组成：Struts框架和EJB组件技术。

3 rivets   

铆钉( rivet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Straighten the rivets, please. 请把那铆钉铆直。
• Instead of rivets there came an invasion, an infliction, and a visitation. 但是铆钉并没有运来，来的却是骚扰、混乱和视察。

4 mantle   

n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红

参考例句：

• The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green.大地披上了苍翠欲滴的绿色斗篷。
• The mountain was covered with a mantle of snow.山上覆盖着一层雪。

5 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 edifice   

n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室)

参考例句：

• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。
• There is a huge Victorian edifice in the area.该地区有一幢维多利亚式的庞大建筑物。

7 akin   

adj.同族的，类似的

参考例句：

• She painted flowers and birds pictures akin to those of earlier feminine painters.她画一些同早期女画家类似的花鸟画。
• Listening to his life story is akin to reading a good adventure novel.听他的人生故事犹如阅读一本精彩的冒险小说。

8 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

9 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

10 flickering   

adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的

参考例句：

• The crisp autumn wind is flickering away. 清爽的秋风正在吹拂。
• The lights keep flickering. 灯光忽明忽暗。

11 perch   

n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于

参考例句：

• The bird took its perch.鸟停歇在栖木上。
• Little birds perch themselves on the branches.小鸟儿栖歇在树枝上。

12 hemp   

n.大麻；纤维

参考例句：

• The early Chinese built suspension bridges of hemp rope.古代的中国人建造过麻绳悬索桥。
• The blanket was woven from hemp and embroidered with wool.毯子是由亚麻编织，羊毛镶边的。

13 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。