Eiffel 埃菲尔

Eiffel was born in 1832 in Dijon city in the east of France. His father was a civil officer in the army. His mother was an imaginative woman. In the mid-19th century， after collapsing of Napoleons Empire， French economy was in a total recession. To move out of poverty， Eiffels mother resolutely took the burden of life， deciding to run a coal bunker by herself. So Eiffel was brought up by his grandmother.

Eiffels grandmother was cautious and kind. Its with his mother and grandmothers influence and education that Eiffel was able to think independently， and imagine freely at an early age， which laid foundation for him to be an extraordinary engineer. At age 12， Eiffel entered the local royal middle school. At the beginning， his studies were not good， and he couldnt be admitted to the famous Ecole Polytechnique.

But he was not discouraged. At age 20， with outstanding achievements by hard working he finally was admitted to the tech school to train himself an engineer. He rented a single dorm， and studied between a table and a stove day and night. It wasnt long before that he received the diploma of engineer.

After graduating from tech school， one of Eiffels friends recommended him to work as an engineer in Western Railway Bureau. From then on， Eiffel took his career as a structure engineer and made great contribution to human progress with his talent.

In 1860， Eiffel designed and completed famous French Bordeaux Bridge project. The 500-meter-long steel structure was built on 6 piers which went across the river Geelong. The completion of the enormous project made Eiffel well known throughout the engineering field.

With Eiffels devotion to studying and his courage to innovation， by using steel and concrete he freed engineering from the “soil” and “wood”. He made great efforts to design the tower， drawing more than 5，000 pieces of paper. These valuable materials as the fruit of the Eiffels labor are properly preserved in Paris.

Eiffel， who made miracles in the architectural history， will always be remembered.

埃菲爾1832年出生于法国东部的第戎城。他的父亲是军队的文职人员，母亲是一位富有想象力的妇女。19世纪中叶，拿破仑第一帝国灭亡后，法国经济一片萧条。为摆脱家境的贫困，埃菲尔的母亲毅然挑起了生活的重担，决定独自经营一家煤栈，于是就将埃菲尔交给埃菲尔的外婆抚养。

埃菲尔的外婆心思缜密、心地善良。正是由于受到母亲和外婆耳濡目染的影响和教育，埃菲尔从小就有独立思考和自由想象的能力。这为他日后成为一个出类拔萃的工程师奠定了基础。埃菲尔12岁进入本地的一所皇家中学学习。开始时他的学业不算好，中学毕业时没能考上著名的巴黎理工大学。

但他并不灰心，刻苦地补习功课，到了20岁那年，终于以优异的成绩考上了培养工程师的技术学校。在那里，他租用单身宿舍，经常挤在桌子和火炉中间夜以继日地埋头读书。不久，他就取得了毕业文凭。

技术学校毕业后，埃菲尔经朋友介绍进入西部铁路局担任工程师。从此，埃菲尔踏上了建筑结构工程师的道路，为人类进步做出了伟大的贡献。

1860年，埃菲尔设计完成了法国著名的波尔多大桥工程，将长达500米的钢铁构件架设在跨越吉隆河中的6个桥墩上。这项巨大工程的完成，使埃菲尔在整个工程界名声大振。

埃菲尔肯钻研、敢革新。他使用钢材和混凝土，使土木建筑从“土”和“木”中解脱出来。他为设计铁塔付出了巨大的劳动，仅设计图纸就有5000多张。这些宝贵的资料作为埃菲尔劳动的结晶，至今仍被人们妥善地保存在巴黎。

埃菲尔这位在人类建筑史上创造奇迹的工程师，将永远被人们铭记。