【趣谈英语】风筝对筑桥的贡献-Boy’s Kite Helps Build Niagara Bridge
英语课
Pre-Listening Vocabulary
narrow: close together
roar 1: to make a loud sound or wild movement
advantage: a better chance at succeeding
ferry 2: a boat that transports people between certain points
rapids: water that moves very quickly
retrieve 3: to get back again
suspension 4 bridge: a roadway that hangs over something such as a river; each end is connected to a tower with cables 5.
Boy’s Kite Helps Build Niagara Bridge
In 1848, a boy from New York state entered a kite-flying contest. The challenge 6 was to fly a kite straight across the Niagara River at the narrowest point between the US and Canada. Engineers needed a rope, wire, or string to run from one side to the other before constructing a bridge above the roaring 7 rapids. A large group of kids on both sides of the Falls accepted the challenge. Homan Walsh was American, but he knew that the kids on the Canadian side had an advantage because of the wind direction. Walsh took a ferry to the Canadian side, just below the Falls, and walked until he got to the cliff 8 right above the Whirlpool Rapids. He waited until the winds were just right and then flew his kite across the water. Though his first attempt ended in failure, he retrieved 9 and repaired his kite, and returned to Canada several days later to try again. On his second attempt, Walsh’s kite string made it safely across to the US side. The fifteen-year-old boy received a cash prize for giving engineers exactly what they needed to begin construction on the first suspension bridge across the Falls.
1 roar
n.吼，咆哮，轰鸣，喧闹；vi.吼叫，大声说出，喧闹；vt.呼喊，使轰鸣
- He began to roar when I took the chocolate away. 当我把巧克力拿走时，他大哭起来。
- The machines roar incessantly during the hours of daylight.机器在白天隆隆地响个不停。
2 ferry
n.渡船，渡口；v.渡运；(越海)空运
- You can cross the river by ferry.你可以搭渡船过河。
- We waited at the ferry for two hours.我们在渡口等了两个小时。
3 retrieve
vt.重新得到，收回；挽回，补救；检索
- He was determined to retrieve his honor.他决心恢复名誉。
- The men were trying to retrieve weapons left when the army abandoned the island.士兵们正试图找回军队从该岛撤退时留下的武器。
4 suspension
n.悬挂，悬浮液，暂缓，未决，中止
- The local authorities decided to build a suspension bridge over the river.地方当局决定在这条河上建一座吊桥。
- A four-day suspension was imposed on her.她被勒令停职4天。
5 cables
n.电报( cable的名词复数 )；电缆；（系船用的）缆绳；（船只、桥梁等上的）巨缆
- Use the crocodile clips to attach the cables to the battery. 用鳄鱼嘴夹把电缆接到蓄电池上。
- Please don't touch these metal cables inside a plastic sleeve. 请不要碰那些套着塑料管的金属电缆。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 challenge
n.挑战；v.向...挑战
- The job doesn't really challenge him.这项工作不能真正地考验他。
- She looked at me with challenge.她带着挑战的目光看着我。
7 roaring
n.吼声；咆哮；怒号；轰鸣adj.兴旺的；喧哗的；风哮雨嚎的adv.非常地v.怒吼，咆哮，大声喊出( roar的现在分词)
- juggernauts roaring through country villages 隆隆驶过村庄的重型卡车
- All we could hear was the sound of roaring water. 我们只能听到汹涌澎湃的涛声。