World’s steepest railway line 世界上最陡峭的纜索鐵路
本集內(nèi)容
World’s steepest railway line?世界上最陡峭的纜索鐵路
學(xué)習(xí)要點(diǎn)
有關(guān)“heights 高度”的詞匯
邊看邊答
What dangers did the workers have to deal with on this project?
文字稿
Up here, 13 hundred metres above sea level, is not a view for the faint-hearted, and transporting people up this steep Swiss mountainside is not without its challenges.
Two years behind schedule, it's taken 14 years of building with a price tag of 53 million dollars.
But the Swiss are convinced the new funicular on the world's steepest line is worth it.
Reinhold Boiger, Engineer
“To construct a tunnel with a 110% gradient has rarely been done before. All the workers have to secure themselves. Sometimes they have to work hanging in the ropes. We have to be very careful with the material. If you drop something it falls all the way down, and what’s even more dangerous - if you drop something, it can fall on the head of a worker further below.”
If the breathtaking climb itself doesn't leave you weak at the knees, then standing upright in the carriages shouldn't be a problem either.
They’ve been uniquely designed to allow the floors to adjust with the gradient as it travels.
Each of the carriages can carry 34 people, at a speed of ten metres per second, meaning the climb or descent lasts no longer than four minutes.
The line replaces an old funicular that had been operating between the valley town of Schwyz to the mountain village of Stoos since 1933.
The new space-age looking carriages have been hailed an engineering success. It remains to be seen whether it will help take the area's tourism to new heights.
這里的海拔高度是1300米，眼前的這片風(fēng)景讓膽小的人望而卻步，而且要把人運(yùn)送到這么陡峭的瑞士山峰上來的確充滿了挑戰(zhàn) 。
比預(yù)期完工的時(shí)間晚了兩年，修筑這條鐵路耗時(shí)14年，花費(fèi)5300萬美元。
但瑞士人相信這條新建的世界上最陡峭的纜索鐵路是值得的。
萊因霍爾德·波杰爾，工程師
“建造一條坡度為110度的地道是我們在過去難得一見的。建筑工人都必須保護(hù)好自己，有時(shí)他們得懸掛在繩索上作業(yè)。我們必須特別小心地處理這些建材，一旦掉了什么東西，它就會(huì)一直墜落至山底，而且更危險(xiǎn)的是，墜落物很可能會(huì)砸到正在下方作業(yè)的工人的頭?！?/p>
如果列車沿纜索驚人的攀升都不會(huì)讓你害怕得腿發(fā)軟，那么直立地站在車廂里也應(yīng)該不會(huì)是個(gè)問題。
車廂經(jīng)過巧妙獨(dú)特的設(shè)計(jì)，在運(yùn)行時(shí)車廂底部會(huì)隨著坡度的變化進(jìn)行調(diào)整。
每個(gè)車廂可以承載34人，列車的運(yùn)行速度為每秒10米，這意味著不論是上山還是下山，單程運(yùn)行時(shí)間都不會(huì)超過四分鐘。
這條線路取代了一條舊的纜索鐵路，就是那條從1933年開始運(yùn)行在河谷小鎮(zhèn)施維茨到施圖斯山村之間的鐵路。
這些看上去充滿太空時(shí)代感的車廂，被人們稱贊為是一次工程設(shè)計(jì)上的勝利。該工程是否有助于將這個(gè)地區(qū)的旅游業(yè)推向新的高度，我們拭目以待。
詞匯
faint-hearted
膽怯的
steep
陡的，陡峭的
gradient
坡度
weak at the knees
（因害怕而）腿發(fā)軟的
descent
下降，下落
你知道嗎？
The name ‘funicular’ is derived from the Latin word funis, which translates as ‘rope’. Funiculars use ropes or chains and operate on a counterbalancing system. The weight of the one at the top pulls against the one at the bottom, making it move.
英語單詞“纜索鐵道”源自拉丁語中的“funis”，也就是“纜繩、繩索”的意思。纜索鐵道依靠纜繩或鎖鏈來達(dá)到一種平衡系統(tǒng)，處于高處的纜繩利用重量拉拽處于低處的纜繩，由此纜索機(jī)制得以運(yùn)行。
問題答案
They had to secure themselves and sometimes work hanging in the ropes. They also had to be careful with material. If it dropped, it could have injured a worker below.
