Foundations Reading 9B

Chap 18

第18章

Reading 9B THE GREAT DOME OF FLORENCE In 1419, a clockmaker named Filippo Brunelleschi started work on a very difficult project. He was building the dome of Florence's main cathedral, the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. For 1,500 years, the world's largest dome belonged to the Pantheon in Rome. Brunelleschi's job was to build one even larger. The building of the cathedral began in 1296. By 1359, much of it was complete, but no one knew how to build its dome. Many builders could build concrete domes. However, the dome in Florence needed to be wider than any dome ever built. A concrete dome would be too heavy and would easily fall. The cathedral, therefore, remained unfinished for many years. Filippo Brunelleschi promised to find a solution. He said he would build two domes, an inner dome made of stone and an outer one made of light bricks. He would use lighter materials as he worked upwards. Strong rings made of stone, wood, and iron would hold everything together. Brunelleschi also had to find a way to lift the materials high into the air. What did he do? He invented a new machine to do the job. Building the dome took 16 years. Brunelleschi had done something no one else could. However, he left no pictures of his design. So—even today—experts don't fully understand how this incredible structure was built.

阅读9B 佛罗伦萨大圆顶 1419年，一位名叫菲利波·布鲁内莱斯基的钟表匠开始了一项非常困难的项目。 他正在建造佛罗伦萨主要大教堂圣母百花大教堂的圆顶。 1500年来，世界上最大的圆顶一直属于罗马的万神殿。 布鲁内莱斯基的工作是建造一个更大的。 大教堂始建于1296年。 到1359年，它的大部分已经完工，但没有人知道如何建造它的圆顶。 许多建筑商可以建造混凝土圆顶。 然而，佛罗伦萨的圆顶需要比以往建造的任何圆顶都宽。 混凝土圆顶太重，很容易倒塌。 因此，这座大教堂多年来一直未完工。 菲利波·布鲁内莱斯基承诺会找到解决方案。 他说他将建造两个圆顶，一个由石头制成的内圆顶和一个由轻质砖制成的外圆顶。 他向上工作时会使用较轻的材料。 由石头、木头和铁制成的坚固戒指可以把一切都绑在一起。 布鲁内莱斯基还必须找到一种方法将材料高高地举到空中。 他做了什么？ 他发明了一台新机器来做这项工作。 建造圆顶花了16年时间。 布鲁内莱斯基做了别人做不到的事。 然而，他没有留下他的设计照片。 所以，即使在今天，专家们也不完全了解这个令人难以置信的结构是如何建造的。

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