Brooklyn Bridge：An American Landmark

Brooklyn Bridge: An American Landmark

布鲁克林大桥：美国地标

" It’s a perfect day to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, ” Paul said. He looked up at the enormous bridge that connected two very busy parts of New York City—Brooklyn and Manhattan. The bridge was pretty old now. But with its tall stone towers and strong-looking cables, it was still an amazing sight above the East River. “ Dad, who built this bridge?” Paul asked. “ A man named John Roebling, ” his father answered.

今天是穿过布鲁克林大桥的美好日子，”保罗说。 他抬头看了看连接纽约市的布鲁克林和曼哈顿这两个非常繁忙地区的巨大桥梁。 这座桥现在很旧了。 但凭借其高大的石塔和外观结实的电缆，它仍然是东河上方令人惊叹的景象。 “爸爸，这座桥是谁建的？”保罗问。 “一个叫约翰·罗布林的人，”他的父亲回答。

Now Brooklyn and Manhattan are part of the same city—New York. But they used to be two different cities. In the 1800s, boats would bring people back and forth across the East River to work, shop, or visit friends. The river was sometimes rough, and the boats were often late. One day John was on one of those boats with his son, and he got the idea to build a suspension bridge across the river. Many people said it couldn’t be done.

现在布鲁克林和曼哈顿是同一个城市——纽约的一部分。但它们曾经是两个不同的城市。 在19世纪，船只带人们来回到东河对岸去工作、购物或拜访朋友。 河水有时波涛汹涌，船只常常迟到。 有一天，约翰和他的儿子在其中一条船上，他萌生了在河上建造一座吊桥的想法。 许多人说这是不可能的。

“ But one winter the East River froze, and the boats couldn’t get through. People from Brooklyn couldn’t get to work in Manhattan. Finally it was decided that a bridge should be built, connecting the two places. ” “ Was John Roebling an engineer like you?” asked Paul. “ Yes, he was. His son, Washington, was an engineer too. In 1869 they started to work on the bridge together. But sadly, a freak accident happened.

“但有一年冬天，东河结冰，船只无法通过。 布鲁克林的人无法到曼哈顿工作。. 最后决定应该修建一座连接两地的桥梁。” “约翰·罗布林和你一样是工程师吗？”保罗问。 “是的，他是。他的儿子华盛顿也是一名工程师。1869年，他们开始一起在这座桥上工作。 但不幸的是，一场奇怪的事故发生了。”

While John Roebling was on the Brooklyn side of the river, his foot got caught in the dock. An incoming boat crashed into the dock, injuring him badly. He died a month later. So Washington took over. ” “ Washington must have been sad when his father died, ” murmured Paul. “ Yes, he and his father were very close. But Washington was ready for the job. He started working right away, digging deep under the river mud to create supports for the two bridge towers.

当约翰·罗布林在布鲁克林河边时，他的脚被卡在码头上。 一艘驶来的船撞上了码头，他受了重伤。 一个月后他去世了。所以华盛顿接手了。” “当他父亲去世时，华盛顿一定很伤心，”保罗喃喃地说。 “是的，他和他的父亲关系很好。但华盛顿已经做好了准备。 他立即开始工作，在河泥下深挖，为两座桥塔提供支撑。

This almost cost him his life. ” Paul gasped. “ You mean, Washington almost died too?” “ Yes, he designed something called a caisson to use for the underwater project. These caissons, which prevented the water from flooding the work area, were filled with compressed air. And at the time, people didn’t realize that working in compressed air can cause caisson disease, or decompression sickness.

这几乎使他丧命。" 保罗倒吸了一口气。“你是说，华盛顿也差点死？” “是的，他设计了一种叫做沉箱的东西，用于水下工程。 这些沉箱中充满了压缩空气，以防止水淹没工作区域。 当时，人们没有意识到在压缩空气中工作会导致沉箱病或减压病。