填空题
Inspired by the Eiffel Tower, Norman Foster has created one of the world's most breathtaking bridges.
A For decades Millau has been clogged in summer by a weight of traffic that beggars belief. Since 2004, though, this old French glove-making town has been liberated. The traffic that races down the A75, connecting Paris through the Massif Central to Barcelona, has been diverted over the Tam Gorge some way east of the town, across one of the world's most breathtaking bridges.
B A sublime marriage of British and French architecture and engineering, the Grand Viaduc du Millau outdoes even the stirring 10-year-old Pont du Normandie that spans the mouth of the Seine between Honfleur and Le Havre. With a 2.5 km span, the Millau bridge is far from the longest in the world, yet it is surely one of the most beautiful. In terms of artistry, it challenges the Garabit viaduct, which Gustave Eiffel built 120 metres above the River Truyere in central France in 1884.
C Where Eiffel's red-painted railway bridge, poised over the void like a leaping ballet dancer, is a triumph of wrought-iron engineering, the cable-stayed Millau bridge is a high-vaulting celebration of the structural dynamics of concrete and steel. At least 10 years in the making, the Grand Viaduc is the result of a collaboration between Foster and Partners with the French engineer Michel Virlogeux, designer of the Pont de Normandie, and the construction consortium Eiffage, with its roots in the works of Eiffel himself.
D From the outset, the bridge was intended as an epic work of art. (Initial discussions considered a tunnel as well as four alternative types of bridge under and across the Tam Gorge.) The day I came this way, walking through rocky paths high above the gorge, the tips of the new bridge's concrete pylons were only just visible above the clouds. Given that the tallest of the seven trapezoidal piers and their pylons, each a major engineering work in its own right, is at least 40 metres higher than the Eiffel Tower, my early-morning walk demonstrated just how powerful a force nature is here. The bridge ventures across a wild, craggy and weather-beaten landscape, blasted by winds of up to 90 mph and scorched by summer sun. So much so that the bridge's steel roadways will expand and contract by nearly 3 metres between the height of summer and depths of winter.
E When the clouds cleared towards noon, the bridge revealed itself as the great work of art it was meant to be. From some angles, the structure is quite ethereal, almost vanishing in the bright light of this high and immense country. Its design is subtle. The course of the roadway curves gently and drops slightly from one end to the other, making the experience of crossing it—I went on foot—an ever-changing delight. The three-metre-high screen that protects vehicles from side winds is transparent, so the views will be eye-popping if you travel across by lorry or coach.
F The view of the bridge itself, as cars descend towards it, should stir the sensibilities of the most jaded motorway users. Norman Foster says the experience should be like flying by car. He happens to be a pilot; drivers of a more grounded persuasion may find the experience daunting, at least at first, but as the crossing will take on average just over a minute, the bridge will appear and disappear like a trick of the light.
G Aesthetics aside, the project's statistics tell a story of engineering derring-do. The viaduct is cradled by 154 steel stays stretched out from seven cloud-piercing concrete pylons. These stand on piers of up to 245 metres in height, so that the tallest pylon stands at 326 metres above the base of its pier next to the River Tam. The top of one of the pylons is big enough to hold a tennis court. The bridge weighs 242,000 tonnes, comprising 36,000 tonnes of steel and 206,000 tonnes of concrete. There were rarely fewer than 400 workers on site.
H A minority of people might regard it as crazy to spend so much energy, and
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Inspired by the Eiffel Tower, Norman Foster has created one of the world's most breathtaking bridges.
A For decades Millau has been clogged in summer by a weight of traffic that beggars belief. Since 2004, though, this old French glove-making town has been liberated. The traffic that races down the A75, connecting Paris through the Massif Central to Barcelona, has been diverted over the Tam Gorge some way east of the town, across one of the world's most breathtaking bridges.
B A sublime marriage of British and French architecture and engineering, the Grand Viaduc du Millau outdoes even the stirring 10-year-old Pont du Normandie that spans the mouth of the Seine between Honfleur and Le Havre. With a 2.5 km span, the Millau bridge is far from the longest in the world, yet it is surely one of the most beautiful. In terms of artistry, it challenges the Garabit viaduct, which Gustave Eiffel built 120 metres above the River Truyere in central France in 1884.
C Where Eiffel's red-painted railway bridge, poised over the void like a leaping ballet dancer, is a triumph of wrought-iron engineering, the cable-stayed Millau bridge is a high-vaulting celebration of the structural dynamics of concrete and steel. At least 10 years in the making, the Grand Viaduc is the result of a collaboration between Foster and Partners with the French engineer Michel Virlogeux, designer of the Pont de Normandie, and the construction consortium Eiffage, with its roots in the works of Eiffel himself.
D From the outset, the bridge was intended as an epic work of art. (Initial discussions considered a tunnel as well as four alternative types of bridge under and across the Tam Gorge.) The day I came this way, walking through rocky paths high above the gorge, the tips of the new bridge's concrete pylons were only just visible above the clouds. Given that the tallest of the seven trapezoidal piers and their pylons, each a major engineering work in its own right, is at least 40 metres higher than the Eiffel Tower, my early-morning walk demonstrated just how powerful a force nature is here. The bridge ventures across a wild, craggy and weather-beaten landscape, blasted by winds of up to 90 mph and scorched by summer sun. So much so that the bridge's steel roadways will expand and contract by nearly 3 metres between the height of summer and depths of winter.
E When the clouds cleared towards noon, the bridge revealed itself as the great work of art it was meant to be. From some angles, the structure is quite ethereal, almost vanishing in the bright light of this high and immense country. Its design is subtle. The course of the roadway curves gently and drops slightly from one end to the other, making the experience of crossing it—I went on foot—an ever-changing delight. The three-metre-high screen that protects vehicles from side winds is transparent, so the views will be eye-popping if you travel across by lorry or coach.
F The view of the bridge itself, as cars descend towards it, should stir the sensibilities of the most jaded motorway users. Norman Foster says the experience should be like flying by car. He happens to be a pilot; drivers of a more grounded persuasion may find the experience daunting, at least at first, but as the crossing will take on average just over a minute, the bridge will appear and disappear like a trick of the light.
G Aesthetics aside, the project's statistics tell a story of engineering derring-do. The viaduct is cradled by 154 steel stays stretched out from seven cloud-piercing concrete pylons. These stand on piers of up to 245 metres in height, so that the tallest pylon stands at 326 metres above the base of its pier next to the River Tam. The top of one of the pylons is big enough to hold a tennis court. The bridge weighs 242,000 tonnes, comprising 36,000 tonnes of steel and 206,000 tonnes of concrete. There were rarely fewer than 400 workers on site.
H A minority of people might regard it as crazy to spend so much energy, and