Empire State Building

Empire State Building Written by Willie A. Hughes Focus Question What makes the Empire State Building special?

帝国大厦 作者：威利·A·休斯 重点问题 帝国大厦有什么特别之处？

Two Friends Think Big Two friends, John Raskob and Al Smith, wanted to build the tallest skyscraper in the world. As children, they were poor. Both had to quit school and go to work. Years later, Raskob was rich and Smith was famous. Together, the two friends made a good team and built the Empire State Building. Their building was the tallest in the world for 41 years.

两个朋友的大梦想 约翰·拉斯科布和阿尔·史密斯这两个朋友，想要建造全世界最高的摩天大楼。 小时候他们都很穷， 两个人都不得不辍学去打工。 多年后，拉斯科布成了富翁，史密斯也成了名人。 两个朋友搭档合作，一起建造了帝国大厦。 他们建造的这座大厦保持了41年的“世界最高建筑”纪录。

stars and states. Take an elevator to the top of this building and you can see parts of five states. Look around and you might see stars even in the daytime. Famous movie stars visit to see the view too.

星星与州 坐电梯到大厦顶楼，你能看到五个州的部分区域。 环顾四周，哪怕是白天你说不定也能看到“星星”哦。 著名的电影明星也会来这里欣赏景色。

Making Room for Greatness The place Raskob and Smith chose for their building was a busy one. A grand hotel was already standing there. The hotel had to go. Men worked day and night to tear down the hotel quickly. The two friends needed to construct their building fast.

为伟大的建筑腾地方 拉斯科布和史密斯选的建筑选址是个非常热闹的地段。 当时那儿已经建好了一座豪华酒店。 这座酒店必须被拆除。 工人们日夜赶工，要尽快拆掉酒店。 这两个朋友想要尽快把大厦建起来。

A skyscraper as big and heavy as the one they planned needed to sit on solid rock. Workers dug down 40 feet, 12 .2 meters, to reach solid rock. Huge trucks carried tons of dirt and rock away. It took five months to tear down the hotel and make the hole. Then, on April 7, 1930, construction of the Empire State Building began.

他们计划建造的摩天大楼又大又重，必须建在坚固的岩石层上。 工人们向下挖了40英尺（也就是12.2米），才挖到坚固的岩石层。 巨型卡车把成吨的泥土和石块运走。 拆除酒店加上挖地基坑一共花了五个月的时间。 随后在1930年4月7日，帝国大厦正式动工修建。

Sky Boys. Strong metal beams rose. Beams support the skyscraper much as your bones support your body. As the steel beams went higher and higher, crowds gathered on the streets below. They looked up in wonder as men walked the narrow beams high above. People called the men Sky Boys.

高空男孩。 结实的金属梁立了起来。 这些梁支撑着摩天大楼，就像你的骨头支撑着你的身体一样。 随着钢梁越架越高，楼下的街道上聚满了围观的人群。 人们惊奇地抬头看着那些在高空的窄钢梁上行走的工人。 大家把这些工人叫作“高空男孩”。