 Vicki: And today we’re talking about one of London’s most popular tourist attractions. Jean: 在伦敦最吸引游客的一个景点，是哪里呢？ Vicki: See if you can guess….. It’s a big wheel. It’s a modern structure. Really big. It’s made of steel… glass or maybe plastic. It’s huge. It’s a big wheel and it looks like an eye 'cos it’s got a black thing in the middle. Jean: 嗯，原来是个又大又圆，看上去像个轮子似的东西，不过是用 钢筋和塑胶铸造的。 Vicki: But where is it and what does it do? It goes round… slowly. It’s on the river bank, opposite the Houses of Parliament. It gives visitors to London a good view of the city. As you go round it’s really fun because you can see everything. It’s on the embankment of the Thames. It moves in a circular motion, very slowly
Jean: 而这个建筑就坐落在伦敦泰晤士河畔。“河畔”这个词在英语里 有两个不同的说法。 Vicki: River bank….and embankment. Jean: 这个大轮子每天都在缓慢的转动，坐在上面你会看到伦敦很多 的景色… Vicki: You get a good view Jean: Well Vicki, I think it must be the London Eye! Vicki: Well done Jean! That’s right, it’s the London Eye. Jean: 那Vicki，你给我们介绍一下这个London Eye 伦敦巨眼摩天轮 好吗? Vicki: Well, it’s the 6th tallest structure in London. Jean: Structure – 建筑物。不光包括房屋大楼，也指像伦敦巨眼摩天 轮这样独特的建筑设计。 Vicki: The top of the London Eye is 135 metres above the river Thames. So you get a great view from the top. Jean: 天气好的时候，站在摩天轮上可以看到伦敦的市区全景，包括 这里很多著名的景点景区。 Vicki: Yes, you can see many famous London landmarks, like Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, St Paul’s Cathedral and so on. Jean: 其实这个巨眼摩天轮看上去很像游乐场里的大转盘，只不过要 巨型很多倍了。 Vicki: Yes, it’s like a Ferris wheel at a fairground, but there are some differences. Jean: 那都有什么不同呢？ Vicki: Well for a start it moves much more slowly than a Ferris wheel. Another difference is that the pods, or capsules are on the outside of the wheel, not hanging underneath. Jean: OK原来摩天轮上的缆车包厢，英语叫做 pods，或者 capsules ，是安装在轮盘外部的。 Vicki: Well there are 32 capsules, and each one can have up to 25 people in it. In one day up to 15,000 people can go on the big wheel. Jean: 每天有一万五千人，这么多！ Vicki: So why is it so popular? I went to talk to some people who had just been on the London Eye to ask them what they thought about it.
It’s a wonderful experience. I think it’s a great attraction. The view was absolutely spectacular. I liked when we went up high. We thought it was fantastic. It was OK, a bit slow – you get a bit bored when you get to the top. You want to come down again then. It was really good. Jean: 看来大部分人还是比较喜欢这个 London Eye。他们用到了好 几个不同的形容词。 Vicki: Wonderful…. Great…. Spectacular…..Fantastic. Jean: 不过转得那么高，不害怕吗？ I got a bit scared so I sat in the middle Was it scary? No! No! No! The little one found it scary. Vicki: The London Eye is very modern compared to many of the ancient London buildings nearby, like the Houses of Parliament. Jean: 那大家对这样的一个建筑又有什么看法呢？ Vicki: We asked some people if they think the London Eye enhances the London skyline, or detracts from the historical buildings. Jean: to enhance – 增色。To detract from – 减损。The skyline – 天际线。请大家留心听下面的几个评论，看看能不能捕捉到他们 形容“难看”的时候，用到了那两个词？ I wouldn’t say it’s an eyesore… maybe it does look a bit out of place but I think that’s perfectly alright for London. I’m not sure that it enhances it … no not really. It looks like a big white monstrosity on the side of the river – you’ve got all the nice old buildings like the Houses of Parliament, you’ve got the nice old bridges and things like that. I don’t think it looks too good. I think it fits in really well. Vicki: So some mixed opinions there… the two words which are used to describe something ugly were…. A monstrosity Jean: 一个畸形的、怪兽般的东西。 Vicki: and an eyesore Jean: An eyesore. 难看的东西，眼中钉。Well that’s all we have time for today. Vicki: Bye! |
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