帝国大厦：曾经的世界最高建筑
📖 逐句对照翻译
The Empire State Building remains a popular place to visit in New York City.
帝国大厦仍然是纽约市的热门旅游景点。
The structure sits in a central part of New York’s Manhattan area.
该建筑位于纽约曼哈顿地区的中心地带。
It was built at a time when many developers were racing to become the first to complete the world’s tallest building.
它建于许多开发商竞相成为第一个建成世界最高建筑的时代。
Construction on the Empire State Building started in January 1930.
帝国大厦于1930年1月动工。
Building operations began two months later.
两个月后，建设工作开始了。
The structure went up very quickly, with workers completing framing for the structure at a rate of about four-and-a-half floors per week.
该结构建造速度非常快，工人们以每周约四层半的速度完成了框架搭建。
When completed in 1931, the Empire State Building was just over 443 meters tall, with 102 floors.
1931年竣工时，帝国大厦的高度刚超过443米，共有102层。
The measurement included a 62-meter-tall lightening pole on top.
测量还包括顶部一根62米高的避雷针。
It was the world’s tallest building at the time and remained so for more than 40 years.
它当时是世界上最高的建筑，并保持了这一纪录长达40多年。
On May 1, 1931, the president of the United States, Herbert Hoover, took part in an opening ceremony.
1931年5月1日，美国总统赫伯特·胡佛参加了一场开幕典礼。
He pressed a button that turned on the lights to officially open the building.
他按下一个按钮，点亮了灯光，正式为这座建筑揭幕。
By 1946, the Empire State Building had become the headquarters for numerous organizations and supported more than 15,000 employees.
到1946年，帝国大厦已成为众多组织的总部所在地，并容纳了超过15000名员工。
But over time, the building never became as popular with large companies as the developers had hoped.
但随着时间的推移，这座大楼从未像开发商所期望的那样受到大公司的青睐。
Today, the structure houses mostly small businesses.
如今，这座建筑主要容纳的是小型企业。
The Empire State Building opened during the Great Depression, a long-lasting economic crisis that affected the U.S. and other economies around the world.
帝国大厦在大萧条期间开业，这是一场影响美国及全球其他经济体的长期经济危机。
This resulted in lower than predicted building costs.
这使得建筑成本低于预期。
The structure alone cost about $25 million, while the cost of the land brought the price up to more than $40 million.
仅结构本身的造价就约为2500万美元，而土地成本又将总价推高至4000多万美元。
Today, New York City officials estimate that more than 2.5 million people visit the Empire State Building each year.
如今，纽约市官员估计每年有超过250万人参观帝国大厦。
At least half the visitors come from other countries.
至少有一半的游客来自其他国家。
The building has observation areas on two floors.
这座建筑在两层设有观景区域。
The first is on the 86th floor and the other on the 102nd.
一个在86层，另一个在102层。
The upper area has top-to-bottom windows on all sides to provide 360-degree views of the city skyline.
上部区域四周均设有从上到下的窗户，可360度俯瞰城市天际线。
Building officials say that on a clear day, visitors can see up to 120 kilometers.
建筑官员表示，在晴朗的日子里，游客的视野可远达120公里。
On the way up, visitors can stop at an exhibit area on the second floor.
在上去的路上，游客可以在二楼的展览区停留。
Among the things to see there is a model of the moving hand used in the popular 1933 movie King Kong.
那里值得一看的东西中，有一个是1933年流行电影《金刚》中所用活动手的模型。
In the film, King Kong climbs the Empire State Building.
在电影中，金刚爬上了帝国大厦。
The huge creature is then attacked by military planes and falls to his death.
这个巨大的生物随后遭到军用飞机的攻击，坠落身亡。
The Empire State Building appears in many pictures and films.
帝国大厦出现在许多图片和电影中。
It also disproves a common saying that “lightning never strikes the same place twice.”
这也推翻了一句俗语：“闪电从不会两次击中同一个地方。”
Lightning actually strikes the Empire State Building an average of 25 times a year.
闪电实际上平均每年击中帝国大厦25次。
I’m Bryan Lynn.
我是布莱恩·林恩。
Steve Ember and Faith Lapidus reported on this story for VOA Learning English.
史蒂夫·恩伯和费思·拉皮德斯为VOA英语学习频道报道了这则新闻。
Bryan Lynn adapted the report.
布莱恩·林恩改编了这份报告。
