新东方背诵文选 L13 Skyscrapers and Environment
时间：2018-12-01 作者：英语课 分类：新东方背诵文选
英语课
In the late 1960's, many people in North America turned their attention to environmental problems, and new steel-and-glass skyscrapers 2 were widely criticized. Ecologists pointed 3 out that a cluster of tall buildings in a city often overburdens public transportation and parking lot capacities.
Skyscrapers are also lavish 4 consumers, and wasters, of electric power. In one recent year, the addition of 17 million square feet of skyscraper 1 office space in New York City raised the peak daily demand for electricity by 120, 000 kilowatts-enough to supply the entire city of Albany, New York, for a day.
Glass-walled skyscrapers can be especially wasteful 5. The heat loss (or gain)through a wall of half-inch plate glass is more than ten times that through a typical masonry 6 wall filled with insulation 7 board. To lessen 8 the strain on heating and air-conditioning equipment, builders of skyscrapers have begun to use double-glazed panels of glass, and reflective glasses coated with silver or gold mirror films that reduce glare as well as heat gain. However, mirror-walled skyscrapers raise the temperature of the surrounding air and affect neighboring buildings.
Skyscrapers put a severe strain on a city's sanitation 9 facilities, too. If fully 10 occupied, the two World Trade Center towers in New York City would alone generate 2.25 million gallons of raw sewage each year-as much as a city the size of Stanford, Connecticut , which has a population of more than 109, 000.
1 skyscraper
n.摩天大楼
- The skyscraper towers into the clouds.那幢摩天大楼高耸入云。
- The skyscraper was wrapped in fog.摩天楼为雾所笼罩。
2 skyscrapers
n.摩天大楼
- A lot of skyscrapers in Manhattan are rising up to the skies. 曼哈顿有许多摩天大楼耸入云霄。
- On all sides, skyscrapers rose like jagged teeth. 四周耸起的摩天大楼参差不齐。
3 pointed
adj.尖的，直截了当的
- He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
- She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
4 lavish
adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍
- He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
- The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。
5 wasteful
adj.（造成）浪费的，挥霍的
- It is a shame to be so wasteful.这样浪费太可惜了。
- Duties have been reassigned to avoid wasteful duplication of work.为避免重复劳动浪费资源，任务已经重新分派。
6 masonry
n.砖土建筑；砖石
- Masonry is a careful skill.砖石工艺是一种精心的技艺。
- The masonry of the old building began to crumble.旧楼房的砖石结构开始崩落。
7 insulation
n.隔离；绝缘；隔热
- Please examine the insulation of the electric wires in my house.请检查一下我屋子里电线的绝缘情况。
- It is always difficult to assure good insulation between the electric leads.要保证两个电触头之间有良好的绝缘总是很困难的。
8 lessen
vt.减少，减轻；缩小
- Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
- They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。
9 sanitation
n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备
- The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
- Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。