Among the four pillars of English literature, who was NOT born and raised in Ireland?
A.Jonathan Swift.
B.William Butler Yeats.
C.James Joyce.
D.Robert Browning.
Construction of the bridge, including design and cornerstone, began in March 1991 and was completed in July 2000. Today, it is the longest stone-stayed road and rail bridge in the world. At approximately 10 miles (16 kilometers), including the tunnel, it is an engineering and architectural marvel. But as time has proven, the bridge is a cultural and economic boon as well. The sleek span of concrete whose design typifies Scandinavian minimalism has contributed greatly to the development of the Oresund region: the eastern part of Denmark, including Copenhagen, and the southwestern part of Sweden, including Malm?and Lund.
The level of commuting between Malm?and Copenhagen has quadrupled since the opening of the bridge in 2000, and the number of Danes moving to the south of Sweden has increased sixfold. The Oresund region has become a cultural and economic powerhouse, considered a model region by the European Union. Work on the bridge began in 1995, and was undertaken by a team of international consulting and construction companies.
From the beginning, construction of the bridge complied with some of the world? s toughest environmental regulations, as well as many advanced design and construction details. The Mexico-based CEMEX, one of the world? s largest producers of Cement and ready-mix concrete, was awarded a contract to deliver tons of high-quality cement to help build the main part of the bridge, the two approach bridges and the tunnel.
When it opened in July 2000, the Oresund Bridge consisted of a 3.5-kilometer immersed tunnel, the largest of its kind in the world, a 4-kilometer long artificial island (made from mud dug out from the bottom of strait to make space for the tunnel) and a 7.8-kilometer cable-stayed bridge, the world? s longest bridge including both a highway and a railroad.
Though just half of the total construction, the actual bridge span, is visible above water, the overall architecture was designed to please the eye from both the Danish and Swedish sides of the strait.
The four 204-meter (670 feet) tall pillars carrying the bridge have a simple Scandinavian design. To drivers and passengers crossing the bridge, the pillars provide a visual, as well as actual, impression of stability and calm.
The two-level structure is made of steel and concrete. Along tile two approach bridges, tracks are placed in concrete troughs that turn into steel decks on the bridge. The bridge? s upper deck carries cars and trucks, while the lower deck accommodates the railroad. The four pillars are grounded in giant cement boxes placed at the bottom of the strait, about 18 meters below sea level.
Last year, an average of 13,600 vehicles and 17,000 passengers crossed the bridge everyday, and traffic continues to increase by 10-20 percent every year.
Throughout the construction process, the Danish and Swedish environmental agencies have surveyed but found no changes in the wildlife, birds, fish and vegetation surrounding the bridge. In addition, the chemicals used in construction and the percentage of waste materials have been kept to a minimum, as required by both Danish and Swedish laws.
In 2003, the Oresund Bridge won the IABSE (International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering) Outstanding Structural Award for its innovative design, planning and construction management, as well as its strict compliance with the time schedule, budget and environmental requirements.
The pillars ____ the roof of the house.
A.preserve
B.reserve
C.retain
D.sustain
During the Nazi occupation in World War II, the tower' s personnel sabotaged the elevators to deprive the enemy of a view of Paris. (Hitler, who refused to climb the 1710 steps to the top, posed for his picture with the tower in the background. ) The city knew liberation was at hand on August 25, 1944, when two Parisians, braving bullets ricocheting through the girders, tore down the swastika and hoisted the tricolor.
The tower illustrates Eiffel's genius for meticulous, innovative engineering. After he had set massive stone foundations beside the Seine, four giant leaning pillars, encompassing four acres, were joined 200 feet up at the first platform, an iron belt of trusses running from pillar to pillar. This belt had to be perfectly horizontal; if out of line by a hair, the structure would tilt disastrously at 1000 feet. Eiffel' s solution: hydraulic jacks embedded in each 440-ton column, enabling him to fine-tune its angle perfectly.
Next, Eiffel deployed creeper cranes that climbed the tower as it grew, helping to hoist 15000 girders and 2.5 million rivets to the exact spot where needed. Astonishingly, the tower was completed in only two years and two months for three percent less than its $ 1.5-million budget, with no fatalities among the 250 workers.
Thanks to Eiffel's mastery of design, the tower gives the wind little to seize. Seen from certain angles, the oddly beautiful tracery of intersecting iron beams appears almost transparent. The tower is so light that pressure on the foundations is only about 60 pounds per square inch—not much more than a well-fed gentleman exerts on the floor when sitting in a chair.
According to the text, who is "France's magician of iron"?
A.Eiffel
B.Barthold
C.both
D.neither
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