Building Big Dreams

Building Big Dreams, written by Jane Selman.

《构筑伟大梦想》，简·塞尔曼 著

Choosing the Biggest Long ago writers in ancient Greece chose seven great works built by creative human beings. We call these unique structures the seven wonders of the ancient world. These amazing buildings and statues seemed impossible to build for their time and with the simple tools then available. Today there seem to be few limits to what humans can create.

选出伟大工程 很久以前，古希腊的作家选出了人类凭借创造力建造的七大宏伟工程 我们把这些独一无二的建筑称为古代世界七大奇迹 在那个只有简易工具的年代，这些惊人的建筑和雕像看起来根本不可能建成 如今，人类的创作能力几乎已经没有极限了

Recently, a group of engineers asked modern building experts to select seven new projects that seemed almost too big to imagine. These massive projects are engineering feats. Each is known for overcoming former limits of size, length, height, or natural conditions.

最近，一群工程师邀请现代建筑专家，选出了七个宏伟到几乎超乎想象的新工程 这些巨型工程都是工程学上的伟大壮举 每一个都因突破了过去在尺寸、长度、高度或自然条件上的限制而闻名

Channel Tunnel The United Kingdom, or the UK, sits about 31 miles across the English Channel from the coast of France. The channel seas can be stormy and dangerous. They have often helped to keep foreign armies away. In 1802, French General Napoleon dreamed of digging a tunnel

英吉利海峡隧道 英国和法国海岸之间，隔着约31英里宽的英吉利海峡 英吉利海峡的海面常常波涛汹涌，十分危险 它过去常常帮助英国阻挡外国军队入侵 1802年，法国将军拿破仑就梦想着挖一条隧道

Some trains carry only cars, buses, and trucks. Drivers sit inside their vehicles during the trip. Other trains carry only passengers, who sit in comfortable train cars. This massive project took about 13 ,000 people, seven years to complete. Workers dug three huge, 32 -mile -long tunnels through the chalk and clay at the bottom of the English channel. The three train tunnels run alongside each other. Trains travel from England to France in one tunnel and return in another. The middle tunnel is a service tunnel used for repairs.

有些列车只装载轿车、巴士和卡车 行程中司机可以留在自己的车里 还有些列车只搭载乘客，乘客可以坐在舒适的车厢里 这项巨型工程动用了大约1.3万名工人，花了七年才完工 工人们在英吉利海峡底部的白垩和黏土地层中，挖出了三条长32英里的巨型隧道 三条隧道并排延伸 从英国前往法国的列车走一条隧道，返程走另一条隧道 中间的隧道是供维修使用的服务隧道

Netherlands North Sea Protection Works. The small country of the Netherlands faces the cold North Sea. Much of the land there lies below sea level. During storms, waves and floods used to destroy homes and farmland. The ruined farmland resulted in food shortages. The Dutch people dreamed of ways to protect their land, crops, and people from the sea. In 1927, the Dutch began the North Sea Protection Works. They dammed some areas along the coast, but they left other areas open to the sea for shipping and wildlife habitat.

荷兰北海防护工程 小小的荷兰面朝寒冷的北海 这里大部分陆地都低于海平面 过去风暴来袭时，海浪和洪水会冲毁房屋和农田 被毁的农田引发了粮食短缺 荷兰人一直梦想找到办法，保护自己的土地、作物和人民免受海水侵袭 1927年，荷兰人开启了北海防护工程 他们在部分沿海区域修建水坝，同时保留其他区域对海开放，供航运通行，也给野生动物留出生存栖息地