An Engineering 1)Miracle over Akashi Bay

⊙ By TVB

翻译：丁一

处于地震频发区和强台风带的日本明石海峡大桥可以承受里氏8.5级地震，能抵御150年一遇的暴风。这座于1998年竣工的大桥创造了世界建桥史的纪录，一直被世人视为桥梁建筑史上的奇迹。我们一起来了解一下这座不一般的桥吧。

The Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge is the largest2)suspension [sə΄spenʃ(ə)n] n. 悬挂，悬浮suspension bridge in the world. It is a miracle of Japanese construction and engineering,which links the city of Kobe to Iwaya on Awaji Island and is also part of the Honshu-Shikoku Highway.

The idea to connect Awaji with Kobe had3)emerge [ɪ΄mзːdʒ] v. 出现emerged at the end of the 1950s in response to the tragedy which4)occur [ə΄kзː(r)] v. 发生occurred in the Bay of Akashi in 1955.5)collision [kə΄lɪʒ(ə)n] n. 碰撞，互撞事件Collision of two ferries had claimed 168 victims. However, it took more than three decades before the bridge was built.David Chisholm (Architect): (via translator)The task of engineering for earthquakes is a[sic]6)immense [ɪ΄mens] adj. 极大的immense task, which is, for me, even’til now, unbelievable how the techniques of engineering against earthquakes evolved and…and how they are7)sophisticated [sə΄fɪstɪkeɪtɪd] adj. 先进的，高度发展的sophisticated.

But it wasn’t political or economic reasons which8)prevent [prɪ΄vent] v. 防止，预防prevented construction for so long, but the right technological solution. That only came by the end of the 1980s, boom years for Japan.

Akashi Bay is a place used to extreme natural conditions. The sea bed around here is some 100 metres deep and the shore faces9)massive [΄mæsɪv] adj. 巨大的massive10)tidal [΄taɪd(ə)l] adj. 潮汐的tidal streams at up to 4½ metres per second. It is close to major international shipping lines but also located in a typhoon zone. Worse, the bay is located above the border of two11)tectonic plate 地质板块tectonic plates and sees frequent earthquakes. These were the factors which had to be carefully considered when designing the giant bridge.

The construction of the Pearl Bridge, as the link between Kobe and Awaji Island was12)nickname [΄nɪkneɪm] v. 绰号，昵称nicknamed,13)commence [kə΄mens] v. 开始，着手commenced in 1988. Work began by building massive bases for the14)embedding [em΄bedɪŋ] n. 嵌入embedding of the15)load-bearing [ləʊd΄beərɪŋ] adj. 承重的load-bearing cables.16)simultaneously [ˌsɪməl΄teɪnɪəsly] adv. 同时存在地Simultaneously, construction of the foundations of the future 300-metre-high bridge towers began on sea. The towers are based 60 metres below the sea surface and composed of17)gigantic [dʒaɪ΄gæntɪk] adj. 巨大的，庞大的gigantic steel18)cylinder [΄sɪlɪndə(r)] n. 圆柱体cylinders. It took seven years to complete the two towers and to stretch the load-bearing cables over the bridge19)deck [dek] n. 桥面deck.

When it seemed that the construction was progressing successfully to its20)completion [΄kəm΄pliːʃ(ə)n] n. 完成completion, a21)devastating [΄devəsteɪtɪŋ] adj. 毁灭性的devastating earthquake struck.

Peter Klic (Architect): (via translator) Because of the extreme conditions in the region, this bridge was designed to absorb shocks and22)tremor [΄tremə(r)] n. 震动tremors caused by typhoons and earthquakes. In 1995, an earthquake destroyed many buildings in Kobe, but the nearlycompleted bridge…

The unfinished Pearl Bridge, miraculously23)withstand [wɪð΄stænd] v. 经得住withstood the quake.

The opening ceremony was attended by more than 1,00024)prominent [΄prɒmɪnənt] adj. 重要的prominent guests. Thanks to 1,737 lights25)installed [ɪn΄stɔːld] adj. 安装好的installed on all parts of its structure, the Pearl Bridge lights up in practically any colour.

◆ suspension bridge 悬索桥：又名吊桥，这是以通过索塔悬挂并锚固于两岸（或桥两端）的缆索（或钢链）作为上部结构主要承重构件的桥梁。吊杆从缆索垂下，把桥面吊住，在桥面和吊杆之间常设置加劲梁，同缆索形成组合体系，以减小荷载所引起的挠度变形。现代悬索桥由索桥演变而来，适用范围以大跨度及特大跨度公路桥为主。

参考译文

明石海峡大桥是全球最大的悬索桥，是日本建造工程学上的奇迹。大桥连接神户市和淡路岛的岩屋港，同时也是本州四国高速公路的一部分。

连接神户和淡路岛的构思始于上世纪50年代，起因是1955年一段发生在明石湾的惨剧。当时两艘渡轮相撞，造成168人死亡。不过，这座大桥直到三十多年后才动工兴建。

大卫·奇泽姆（建筑师）：（通过翻译）抗震工程学研究是一项非常复杂、艰巨的工作。抗震工程技术一路发展，即使到了今天，我仍对其成熟与先进程度感到不可思议。

但当年令建桥工作无法进行的并非政治和经济方面的原因，而是合适的科技解决办法，而适用的办法直到上世纪80年代末的日本经济繁荣期才出现。

明石湾所处的自然环境极其恶劣，这一带的海床深约100米，拍打海岸的巨大海浪强达4.5米/秒。它邻近主要国际航道，但也位于台风带。更糟的是，海湾就在两大板块边缘之上，地震频发。这些都是设计大桥时需要慎重考虑的因素。

这座连接神户市和淡路岛的大桥被人们亲切地称为“珍珠桥”。大桥在1988年动工，第一步是建造巨大的基底以嵌入承重缆；同时，300米高塔的基础工程也在海上展开。高塔基础在海面下60米处，由巨大的圆钢柱组成，两座高塔花了七年才完成，高塔将用以牵拉桥面上方的承重缆。

就在工程似乎进展顺利，即将可以完工时， 一场毁灭性的地震发生了。

彼得·柯立克（建筑师）：（通过翻译）考虑到该地区的极端环境，这座桥的设计目标正是承受台风和地震造成的冲击与震动。1995年的地震摧毁了神户的很多建筑物，但这座几近完工的大桥却好好的。

尚未完工的珍珠桥奇迹般地经受住了地震的考验。

超过一千名贵宾出席了大桥的通车典礼。有了装在整座桥体上的1737盏灯，亮灯后的珍珠桥真可谓流光溢彩。