VOA标准英语2012--New Tower in Tokyo Outstrips Older Rival-英语课

时间：2019-01-14 作者：英语课 分类：VOA标准英语2012年(二月)

英语课

New Tower in Tokyo Outstrips 1 Older Rival

For decades, visitors to Tokyo have admired this Far East tribute to the Eiffel Tower, 13 meters taller than its Parisian predecessor 2. But the Tokyo Tower is about to be upstaged by a downtown riverside rival, built at a cost of $800 million.

Skycraper, twice as tall as Tokyo Tower
The Sky Tree, which will open to the public in about three months, soars to 634 meters above the ground, nearly twice as high as Tokyo Tower.
In this digital era, the older structure is just not high enough to host television stations' antennae 3 - to effectively reach the millions of households in this sprawling 4 urban area.
Leasing, primary revenue source
Leasing its steel perches 5 to broadcasters will be the Sky Tree's primary revenue source. As is the case with Tokyo Tower, it also plans to collect admission fees from two million to three million visitors a year.
The price of a ride up the Sky Tree will take the breath away from some potential visitors - about $40. In exchange, they will see Tokyo from the upper observation deck at a height of 450 meters.
Public relations chief Saeko Masuda tells pre-opening visitors to a temporary souvenir shop that on a clear day they will be able to see as far as 75 kilometers. “So you can see, of course, Mt. Fuji and very big scenery from the Kanto area. Kanto means surrounding Tokyo. And you can see the Tokyo Bay and Pacific Ocean and many mountains around Kanto. Very beautiful. Please come,” she stated.
As the most prominent addition to the Tokyo skyline in decades, the tower has been attracting a lot of attention. Authorities say, perhaps, a bit too much attention, blaming motorists gazing at the new landmark 6 for an increase in the number of traffic accidents.
Some may prefer to keep their distance for other reasons - concerned about such a prominent structure in one of the world's most seismically 7 active areas.
Massive structure, earthquake proofed
Work on the tower was nearing completion when last year's massive earthquake hit northeastern Japan. The structure did shake but was not damaged.
Tokyo Tower, however, saw its antenna-laden pinnacle 8 bent 9 by the quake's vibrations 11.
The new tower has combined an anti-seismic technique used in traditional multi-story pagodas 12, with state-of-the-art technology. The Sky Tree's central concrete cylindrical 13 shell is isolated 14 from the peripheral 15 steel framing to reduce vibration 10.
“Steel and the concrete shake differently, a different pattern. So when the earthquake happens these two separated objects cancel the shaking,” Masuda said.
The Sky Tree's builders also say traditional Japanese architecture factors in the aesthetic 16 design. It combines concave and convex curves that rise cylindrically 17, giving the tower a silhouette 18 that will vary depending on the location and angle from which it is viewed.

1 outstrips

v.做得比…更好，（在赛跑等中）超过( outstrip的第三人称单数 )

Technology daily outstrips the ability of our institutions to cope with its fruits. 技术发展的速度超过了我们的制度所能应付其成果的程度。来自辞典例句
The significance of the foreign exchange market outstrips its impressive size. 外汇市场的意义超出了它给人的印象尺度。来自互联网

2 predecessor

n.前辈，前任

It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

3 antennae

n.天线；触角

Sometimes a creature uses a pair of antennae to swim.有时某些动物使用其一对触须来游泳。
Cuba's government said that Cubans found watching American television on clandestine antennae would face three years in jail.古巴政府说那些用秘密天线收看美国电视的古巴人将面临三年监禁。

4 sprawling

adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）