Building Tunnels

Building Tunnels written by Jill Sherman focus question How and why are tunnels created?

《建造隧道》 吉尔·谢尔曼著 探究问题：隧道是如何以及为什么被修建的？

Going Places For much of history, when travelers came across obstacles like mountains, they had a decision to make. Should they go around or over? Both options were difficult, until someone decided to go through. Today, tunnels allow safe and speedy passage through hills and mountains. They also allow people and goods to pass under cities, rivers, and seas. The largest tunnels are amazing examples of the work modern engineers can do.

出行 在漫长的历史中，当旅人遇到高山这类障碍时，都需要做一个选择。 他们该绕路而行，还是翻山过去？ 这两种选择都十分困难，直到有人想到：直接从中间穿过去。 如今，隧道能让我们安全快速地穿过山丘与高山。 它们还能让人和货物从城市、河流和海洋的下方穿过。 巨型隧道就是现代工程师出色能力的绝佳范例。

The History of Tunnels People have been building tunnels for thousands of years. However, for much of that time, tunneling was dangerous and could take many years of hard work. In the 1860s, tunnel building became much easier when Alfred Nobel created dynamite. Easy to use and safer than other explosives at the time, dynamite allowed people to blast through rock in moments. Since then, technology has continued to advance and tunnels have grown larger and more amazing.

隧道的历史 人类修建隧道已经有几千年的历史了。 不过，在过去很长一段时间里，挖隧道非常危险，还得花费好几年的辛苦劳作。 19世纪60年代，阿尔弗雷德·诺贝尔发明了炸药，修建隧道一下子变得容易多了。 炸药好用，而且比当时其他炸药更安全，能让人们一瞬间炸穿岩石。 从那以后，技术不断进步，隧道也修得越来越大、越来越令人惊叹。

Building Tunnels Today, workers have carved tunnels through rock mountains, under large bodies of water, and below busy cities. Before building a tunnel, engineers look at soil and rock samples. They drill test holes to discover the type of rock they will need to dig through. Once they have this information, they can design a tunnel that will not collapse.

如今的隧道修建 工人们已经能在岩山之中、大片水域之下、繁华城市地下挖出隧道。 修建隧道之前，工程师会研究土壤和岩石样本。 他们会钻出探测孔，确定需要挖穿的岩石类型。 拿到这些信息后，他们就能设计出不会坍塌的隧道了。

Tunneling usually follows three basic steps. Dig, support, and line. First, workers dig part of the tunnel. They may use tools, machines, or explosives. Once part of the tunnel has been cleared, it is time to start step two, support. Any unstable ground must be made stronger to prevent a collapse. How they do this depends on the material the tunnel has to go through. Once the tunnel has been made stable, workers build the lining or inside of the tunnel. Using these three basic steps, people have built amazing tunnels all over the world.

挖隧道通常遵循三个基本步骤。 开挖、支撑和做内壁。 首先，工人们先挖出隧道的一段。 他们可以使用工具、机器或是炸药。 一段隧道挖通后，就可以开始第二步：支撑。 所有不稳固的地层都必须加固，防止坍塌。 加固的方法取决于隧道要穿过的地层材质。 隧道稳固后，工人们就会修建衬砌，也就是隧道的内壁。 靠着这三个基本步骤，人们在世界各地修出了许多令人惊叹的隧道。

Tunnels Through Rock The Seikon Tunnel connects Honshu, the main island of Japan, with Hokkaido. It's 54 kilometers, 34 miles long, making it the second longest tunnel in the world. To build the tunnel, workers had to blast through tons of hard rock.

岩石隧道 青函隧道连接着日本的本州主岛和北海道。 它全长54公里，也就是34英里，是世界第二长隧道。 为了修建这条隧道，工人们不得不炸穿数吨坚硬的岩石。