The Golden Gate Bridge金门大桥

王雪杨

The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most famous bridgesin the world. It is a symbol of San Francisco， standing as one ofthe worlds most beloved landmarks. Its tall frame， two largetowers， and orange color make the bridge easy to recognize. Yetas the Golden Gate Bridge was being built， people disagreedabout what the bridge should look like.

金門大桥是世界上最著名的桥梁之一。它是旧金山的象征，作为世界上最受喜爱的地标之一矗立着。它那高高的框架、两座巨大的塔楼和橙色外观使这座桥十分醒目。然而，在金门大桥建造过程中，人们对其外观颇有争议。

People were worried that San Franciscos thick fog wouldmake the bridge hard to see. The U.S. Navy wanted the bridge tostand out， so ships and airplanes wouldnt collide with it. Theywanted the bridge to have wideblack and yellow stripes， like abumblebee！ Irving Morrow wasone of the bridge designers. Hedid not like the idea of a striped bridge. Morrow did not want a plain black or gray bridge either，though. He thought a dark bridge would make the Golden Gateseem smaller than it was.

人们担心，旧金山的大雾会使大桥难以看清。美国海军希望大桥的外观能醒目一些，这样船只和飞机就不会与之相撞。他们希望大桥有宽宽的黑、黄相间的条纹，就像一只大黄蜂！欧文· 莫罗是其中一位桥梁设计师。他不喜欢把桥刷上条纹的想法。不过，莫罗也不想要一座平常的黑色或灰色的桥。他认为，一座深色的桥会让金门看起来比原来更小。

When the bridges parts were delivered to San Francisco，they had an orange color. The bridge workers were supposed topaint a new color over the orange. But Morrow was still unsureof what color that would be. He looked at the orange bridge partsand decided that the color would be perfect！ Morrow thought theorange would stand out well against the ocean and the sky.

当大桥的部件被运送到旧金山时，它们呈橙色。本来设想桥梁工人在橙色上涂上一种新颜色。但莫罗仍然不确定那会是什么颜色。他看了看桥上的橙色部分，断定这个颜色一定会很完美！莫罗认为，橙色在大海和天空的衬托下会很显眼。

Finally， the difficult decision had been made. A red-orangeGolden Gate Bridge was bright enough for ships and planes to see.The color made the bridge appear grand and tall.

最后，这个艰难的决定做出来了。一座橙红色的金门大桥亮得足以让船只和飞机看到。这种颜色使这座桥显得雄伟而高大。

Golden Gate Bridge opened to traffic on May 28， 1937. Overthe years， fresh paint has been needed. But the color remains thesame orange that was supposed to be painted over many yearsago.

金门大桥于1937 年5 月28 日通车。多年来，金门大桥一直需要刷新的油漆。但它的颜色仍然是多年前刷的那种橙色。

The Golden Gate Bridge is not only a vital transportationlink but a work of art， admired by millions of visitors every year.

金门大桥不仅是一条重要的交通纽带，也是一件艺术品，每年都有数百万游客去观赏。

Notes：

golden adj. 金色的

gate n. 大门；门

symbol n. 象征

San Francisco （地名）旧金山

beloved adj. 受到爱戴的

landmark n. 地标

frame n. 框架

tower n. 塔；塔楼

disagree v. 不同意

fog n. 霧

stand out 显眼；醒目；突出

collide v. 碰撞

stripe n. 条；带；条（带）状

bumblebee n. 大黄蜂

plain adj. 平淡的；很一般的

deliver v. 分发；发送

perfect adj. 完美的

ocean n. 海洋

decision n. 决定

appear v. 出现

grand adj. 雄伟的；雄壮的

remain v. 保留

vital adj. 关键的；至关重要的

admire v. 欣赏；观赏

I. Rewrite the following sentences by filling in the blanks.

II. Fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the words given.

1. The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most famous bridges in the world. It is a symbol of San Francisco.

The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most famous bridges in the world， ________ is a symbol of San Francisco.

2. People disagreed about what the bridge should look like.

People ________ ________ about what the bridge should look like.

3. Morrow did not want a plain bridge.

Morrow wanted a ________ bridge.

4. Morrow was still unsure of what color that would be.

Morrow was still ________ ________ of what color that would be.

5. He decided that the color would be perfect！

He made the __________ that the color would be perfect！

1. Yuan Longping is one of the ________ （many） famous scientists in the world.

2. I was ________ （worry） you wouldnt come.

3. This tree looks much ________ （tall） than it was last year.

4. And ________ （final）， I would like to thank you all for coming here today.

5. Reading is of vital _________ （important） in language learning.

Keys to The Golden Gate Bridge

I. 1. which 2. didnt agree 3. unique 4. not sure 5. decision

II. 1. most 2. worried 3. taller 4. finally 5. importance