the bridge the roeblings built
1. the city of new york has five different sections, or boroughs: manhattan, brooklyn, the bronx, queens, and staten island. manhattan is the most famous borough. in fact, many people who visit it think that manhattan is all of new york city. the world trade center, the empirestate building, rockefeller center, wall street, broadway, central park--these famous places and many others are all located on the island of manhattan. the borough is twelve miles long and about two miles wide, and it is surrounded by water. it is possible to go completely around the island by boat. the hudson river is to the west, the east river is to the east, and the atlantic ocean is to the south.
2. the water surrounding manhattan has been very important to new york city. ships sail in from the ocean and go up both of the rivers every day. one of the reasons for the worldwide importance of new york is that it is a large commercial seaport.
3. the rivers have also been a problem. they are wide and deep--deep enough for large ships. this width and depth has made it difficult to travel across the rivers. many of the people who work in manhattan live in one of the other boroughs or in new jersey or connecticut. they have to cross these rivers every day in order to get to work.
4. today the problem is not so serious, but in past years travel across the rivers was difficult. today there are several dozen bridges and tunnels connecting manhattan with queens, brooklyn, and staten island, and new jersey. some of these bridges and tunnels are very large. the tunnels lie deep under the rivers. they carry thousands of trains, subways, cars, and trucks across them and through them every day. it has cost a lot of money to build all these bridges and tunnels, and it took years to complete them. many lives were lost during the building.
5. some of the bridges, like the george washington bridge, and some of the tunnels, such as the lincoln and holland tunnels, are famous. but the most famous of all is the brooklyn bridge, which was built over 100 years ago.
6. the plan for the brooklyn bridge was made by a german man named john a. roebling in 1867. roebling had come to the united states to live when he was twenty-five years old. he first worked at building house, but later he became interested in building bridges. he studied all about bridges and traveled everywhere to see them. in the 1860s, brooklyn was a young city, but it was growing fast. it had more than 250,000 inhabitants. it was becoming an important business center, but communication was poor. to reach manhattan, one had to cross the east river by boat. this trip was very slow, and in bad weather it sometimes took a long time. it was almost a mile across the riven people began to say that a bridge was necessary. the river was very deep and its bottom was soft, so the bridge would have to be very high. ships had to be able to pass under it. most people said that it was impossible to build such a bridge.
7. roebling wrote a letter to one of the newspapers. he said'that he was sure he could build a bridge from brooklyn to manhattan. roebling was already quite famous. years before, he had invented the steel cable. using this cable, he had built several bridges, including one at niagara falls and another across the monongahela river at pittsburgh.
8. the city decided to give roebling a chance. a company was organized and he was made head engineer. while roebling was making plans for the bridge, his son went to europe to study some new bridges there. the young washington roebling returned with news of experiments of men working in a large box underwater. john roebling wanted to try this idea in new york, but before he could, he had an accident. one day, while he was' working on his plans near the river, a boat struck the dock on which he was standing. his foot was badly injured. it soon became diseased, and he dies within two weeks. roebling was sad not only because he was dying, but also because he would not be able to finish the bridge. he asked that his son washington be allowed to continue his work.
9. washington roebling began to work with the same interest and energy as his father. there were many problems in building the bridge. according to the plans, there were to be two large towers. one of these towers was to be on the brooklyn side of the river and the other was to be on the manhattan side. it was difficult to put these towers in place. they were made of granite because they had to be very strong. from the towers hung a system of steel cables to hold the bridge. the workers had to go far below the soft bottom of the riven they had to reach rock and remove some of it in order to make a good base for the towers.
10. today, engineers have the experience and the special machines to do such things, but at that time, no one knew how to do them. the brooklyn bridge was the first bridge of its kind in the world. the box which washington had studied in europe was used. it was the size of a house and it was made of wood. it had three sides and a top, but no bottom. air was forced into the box and water was forced out so the workers could work underwater. no one understood the problems of this kind of work. it was very dangerous and many men were sick. needless to say, they were also frightened. accidents were frequent. roebling spent a great deal of time with the workers in the box to encourage them.
1l. the box began to affect the men. some of them felt strange pains in different parts of their bodies. one day, a worker began to have strong pains in his stomach. he had been well and had begun work only half an hour before, but within minutes he was dead. this sudden incident was repeated several more times with other men. roebling himself had a similar attack. he couldn't talk or hear. within days he became paralyzed, and people feared that he, too, might die. but he recovered after a week or two and went back to work. a little while later, roebling had a second attack, more serious than the first. this time he was crippled. he was unable to work again for the rest of his life.
12. still, roebling continued to direct the construction from his home near the bridge. he sat in one of the windows of his bedroom watching the work every day with his telescope. his wife helped him a great deal. she studied all about bridges and about mathematics, and she went to the bridge daily. she carried her husband's orders to the men and worked with them. at night she returned to her husband and told him of the day's work. in this way, year after year, the work continued.
13. in 1876, the first cable was placed from one tower to the other. in 1883, about fifteen years after it was begun, the bridge was officially opened. it was a great occasion. many important people, including the president of the united states, took part in the ceremony. washington roebling watched the ceremony through his telescope.
14. the bridge was a great success. people came from everywhere to see this strong and beautiful structure. it was one of the wonders of the nineteenth century, and it is still a wonder today. there is more traffic on it than ever before, yet the bridge remains sturdy. it also remains a monument to the two men who built it, john roebling and his son washington. john roebling gave his life to the bridge. washington roebling was a cripple as long as he lived. but he carried out the dream of his father. he did something which everybody in his day had said was impossible. he built a bridge a mile long over a deep river-the brooklyn bridge.
参考译文：纽约布鲁克林桥及其建造者罗柏林
1．纽约市分为五个不同的部分，或称区：曼哈顿、布鲁克林、布隆克斯、 皇后区，以及斯德顿岛。曼哈顿是最有名的一个区，以致许多参观过曼哈顿 的人认为它就是整个纽约市。世界贸易中心、帝国大厦、洛克菲勒中心、华 尔街、百老汇、中心公园，这些著名的地方以及其他(许多著名的地方)．都 位于曼哈顿岛上。这个区有12英里长、两英里宽，四面环水。乘船可以环绕 全岛。哈德逊河在岛的西部，东河在岛的东部，大西洋就在岛的南边。
2．环绕曼哈顿的水对纽约而言非常重要。每天都有船只从大洋驶入，沿 着两条河溯流而上。纽约是全世界重要城市的原因之一，就在于它是—个大 型商业海港城。
3．河流曾经是(纽约市)的麻烦。它们又宽又深，深到足以容纳大型船 舶。这样的宽度和深度使得横渡它们很困难。许多在曼哈顿工作的人居住在 其它的区，甚至住在新泽西州或康涅狄格州。他们必须每天过河去工作。
4．如今，这个问题已经没有那么严重了。但是在过去的年代里，穿越这 些河流却是难事。现在有几十座桥和隧道把曼哈顿区同皇后区、布鲁克林区、 斯德顿岛以及新泽西州连在一起。某些桥和隧道非常之大。隧道建在河下很 深的地方。每天，成千上万的火车、地铁、汽车，以及卡车从桥上驶过、从 隧道穿过。建造这些桥梁和隧道花费了大量的金钱和数年时间。很多人在建 筑的过程中失去了生命。
5．有些桥和隧道很出名，比如乔治·华盛顿大桥、以及林肯隧道和荷兰 隧道。但是，所有这些纽约的桥和隧道中，最出名的是建于100年前的布鲁 克林桥。
6．1867年，一个名叫约翰·a·罗柏林的德国移民提出建造布鲁克林桥 的计划。罗柏林25岁来到美国生活。最先他建筑房屋，后来他开始对造桥产 生兴趣。他研究了所有关于桥的知识，并到世界各地旅行去观看桥。在19世 纪60年代，布鲁克林还是一个年轻的城市，但是它发展很快。它已有25万 居民，正在成为重要的商业中心，但是，它的交通非常差。要到达曼哈顿， 人们必须乘船渡过东河。这个旅程非常缓慢，天气不好时，要花更长时间。 跨河的距离差不多一英里。人们开始谈论需要一座桥。河很深，河床很软， 桥必须建得很高，船只必须能从桥下穿过。大部分人说建造这样一座桥根本， 不可能。
7．罗柏林给一家报社写了文章。他说他确信自己能够建造一座连接布鲁 克林和曼哈顿的桥。这时的罗柏林已经相当有名气。几年前，他发明了桥用 钢缆。他用这种钢缆已经造了几座桥，包括位于尼加拉瓜大瀑布的一座桥， 以及另一座在匹兹堡的横跨monongahela河的桥。
8．纽约决定给罗柏林一次机会。专门成立了一家公司，罗柏林出任首席 工程师。当罗柏林制定建桥计划时，他的儿子(小罗柏林)专程到欧洲去研 究新型桥梁。年轻的华盛顿·罗柏林(从欧洲)回来时带来了“试验人们在 水下一个大箱子里工作”的新消息。约翰·罗柏林决定在纽约试试这个技术。 但是在实施前，他发生了意外。一天，当他在河边进行桥的设计时，一条船 撞上了他站的码头。他的脚严重受伤。不久开始坏死，两周内他离开了人世。 约翰·罗柏林满怀悲伤，不仅因为他自己在渐渐死去，更因为他不能建完这 座桥。他要求允许他儿子华盛顿·罗柏林继续他的工作。
9．华盛顿·罗柏林带着与他父亲一样的兴趣和精力开始投入工作。这座 桥的建造过程中存在很多问题。根据计划，应该有两座巨型的塔，其中一座 位于靠近布鲁克林的河岸，另一座位于曼哈顿一侧。很难为这两座塔找到合 适的位置：它们都由花岗岩构筑，因为它们必须非常坚固。从两座塔上垂挂 一套钢缆系统去固定桥梁。工人们必须深入软河床下面，必须接触到地底的 岩石并挖开它们，以便为塔构筑坚实的基底。
10．今天，工程师们有完成这样工作的经验和特殊的装备。但是在当时， 没人知道该如何做这些事。布鲁克林桥是世界上第一座该类型的桥。造桥中 使用了华盛顿在欧洲研究过的箱子。箱子的尺寸和房子一般大小，由木头制 成。它有三个侧面以及顶部，但是没有底。空气被压入箱内，水则被挤出箱 外，因此工人可以在水下工作。没人了解这类工作存在的问题。工作相当危 险，许多人因此生病。不用说，人们心存恐惧。事故频繁发生。小罗柏林花 了很多时间和工人一起呆在箱子里，以鼓励他们工作。
11．箱子开始对人产生影响。一些人感到身体的不同地方出现异常的疼 痛。一天，有个工人肚子非常疼。仅仅半小时之前，他身体还好好的，刚开 始工作。但是，几分钟之内他死了。这突如其来的事件在其他人身上重复发 生了好几次。罗柏林自己也受到了类似的袭击。他突然不能说话，也听不见 声音。在几天内，他瘫痪了。人们担心他也会死去。但是，一两周之后他痊 愈了，并且重新投入工作。过了一阵，罗柏林受到了第二次打击，这次比上 次更严重。这一回他瘸了。他的余生再也无法正常工作。
12．但是，小罗柏林在桥附近的家中继续指导建桥。每天他坐在卧室的一 扇窗前，用望远镜观察(工地的)作业。他的妻子帮他做了很多事。她研究 了所有关于桥梁的技术和数学，并且每天都到桥那里去。她把丈夫的指示带 给人们，并且和他们一起工作。到了晚上，她回到她丈夫身边告诉他这一天 的工作。靠这种方式，工作年复一年的继续着。
13．1876年，两座塔之间铺设了第一条钢缆。1883年，在开工后15年， 大桥正式开通。场面异常盛大。包括美国总统在内的许多重要人物出席了开 通庆典。华盛顿·罗柏林通过望远镜观看了庆典。
14．这座桥获得了巨大的成功。各地的人们都来观赏这个坚固而漂亮的建 筑。它是19世纪的奇迹之一，今天，它仍然是个奇迹。尽管它现在的交通流 量比以往任何时候更繁忙，但这座桥仍坚固如初。桥上保留了一座纪念碑， 献给建造这座桥的两个人——约翰·罗柏林和他的儿子华盛顿。约翰·罗柏 林把他的生命献给了这座桥。小罗柏林终生残疾。但是小罗柏林实现了他父 亲的梦。他完成了当时每个人都说不可能做到的事情，他在很深的大河上建 造了一座一英里长的桥，纽约布鲁克林桥。 _