[ti:The Golden Gate Bridge: San Francisco’s Historic Suspension Bridge]
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:00.04]Every day, more than 110,000 automobiles
[00:05.84]cross a historic and beautiful bridge
[00:09.64]in northern California.
[00:12.64]The span is called the Golden Gate Bridge.
[00:16.92]It is named after the body of water below it.
[00:22.48]The Golden Gate Strait
[00:24.60]connects the Pacific Ocean
[00:27.12]with San Francisco Bay.
[00:30.36]The bridge links the city of San Francisco
[00:34.64]with Marin County to the north.
[00:39.04]Joseph Strauss was the chief engineer
[00:42.92]of the Golden Gate Bridge.
[00:45.48]Building began in 1933.
[00:50.24]The bridge was opened for use in 1937.
[00:56.08]The distance between the main towers
[00:59.56]is almost 1,300 meters long.
[01:05.48]That was the longest suspension bridge span
[01:09.88]in the world for almost thirty years.
[01:14.40]Then, in 1964,
[01:17.72]the larger Verrazano Narrows bridge
[01:21.48]opened in New York City.
[01:25.04]Today, the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge
[01:29.04]in Japan has the longest span.
[01:33.80]Strauss used newly developed protective equipment
[01:38.20]for the men who worked on the bridge.
[01:41.84]These included a special safety net under the bridge.
[01:47.36]But still, 11 workers
[01:50.76]fell to their deaths during the building project.
[01:56.16]The color of the bridge, international orange,
[02:00.44]is very important.
[02:03.52]It was chosen partly
[02:05.96]because it is easier to see
[02:09.12]through the heavy fog that often covers San Francisco.
[02:15.64]Many people consider the Golden Gate Bridge
[02:19.68]the most beautiful bridge of its kind in the world.
[02:25.08]More than 2 billion vehicles
[02:27.88]have crossed the bridge since its opening.
[02:32.68]But wheels are not the only way to cross the bridge.
[02:37.96]The Golden Gate is also open to walkers.
[02:42.88]Many people walk across each year
[02:46.92]and there is no cost to do so.
[02:51.00]On clear days, the bridge
[02:53.72]provides excellent views of San Francisco,
[02:57.68]ships down below and birds all around.
[03:03.92]Strauss wrote a poem about his bridge
[03:07.28]when the work was completed.
[03:10.84]Here is part of "The Mighty Task is Done."
[03:17.04]"At last the mighty task is done;
[03:20.68]Resplendent in the western sun
[03:24.64]The Bridge looms mountain high;
[03:28.00]Its titan piers grip ocean floor,
[03:32.24]Its great steel arms link shore with shore,
[03:37.72]Its towers pierce the sky."
[03:42.12]I'm Caty Weaver. 更多听力请访问21VOA.COM