London Eye

Vicki: Hello, this is BBC Learning English, I’m Vicki.

Jean: 大家好，我是董征。欢迎收听 BBC Learning English 为您特别制作的“On the Town” 节目。

Vicki: And today we’re talking about one of London’s most popular tourist attractions.

Jean: 在伦敦最吸引游客的一个景点，是哪里呢？

Vicki: See if you can guess…..

 

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It’s a big wheel.

It’s a modern structure.

Really big.

It’s made of steel… glass or maybe plastic.

It’s huge.

It’s a big wheel and it looks like an eye ‘cos it’s got a black thing in the middle.

 

Jean: 嗯，原来是个又大又圆，看上去像个轮子似的东西，不过是用钢筋和塑胶铸造的。

Vicki: But where is it and what does it do?

 

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It goes round… slowly. It’s on the river bank, opposite the Houses of Parliament.

It gives visitors to London a good view of the city.

As you go round it’s really fun because you can see everything.

It’s on the embankment of the Thames.

It moves in a circular motion, very slowly

 

Jean: 而这个建筑就坐落在伦敦泰晤士河畔。“河畔”这个词在英语里有两个不同的说法。

Vicki: River bank….and embankment.

Jean: 这个大轮子每天都在缓慢的转动，坐在上面你会看到伦敦很多的景色…

Vicki: You get a good view

Jean: Well Vicki, I think it must be the London Eye!

Vicki: Well done Jean! That’s right, it’s the London Eye.

Jean: 那Vicki，你给我们介绍一下这个London Eye 伦敦巨眼摩天轮好吗?

Vicki: Well, it’s the 6th tallest structure in London.

Jean: Structure – 建筑物。不光包括房屋大楼，也指像伦敦巨眼摩天轮这样独特的建筑设计。

Vicki: The top of the London Eye is 135 metres above the river Thames. So you get a great view from the top.

Jean: 天气好的时候，站在摩天轮上可以看到伦敦的市区全景，包括这里很多著名的景点景区。

Vicki: Yes, you can see many famous London landmarks, like Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, St Paul’s Cathedral and so on.

Jean: 其实这个巨眼摩天轮看上去很像游乐场里的大转盘，只不过要巨型很多倍了。

Vicki: Yes, it’s like a Ferris wheel at a fairground, but there are some differences.

Jean: 那都有什么不同呢？

Vicki: Well for a start it moves much more slowly than a Ferris wheel. Another difference is that the pods, or capsules are on the outside of the wheel, not hanging underneath.

Jean: OK原来摩天轮上的缆车包厢，英语叫做 pods，或者 capsules，是安装在轮盘外部的。

Vicki: Well there are 32 capsules, and each one can have up to 25 people in it. In one day up to 15,000 people can go on the big wheel.

Jean: 每天有一万五千人，这么多！

Jean: 大家现在收听的是 BBC Learning English 的节目。今天的话题就是 London Eye – 坐落在泰晤士河畔的伦敦巨眼摩天轮。

Vicki: So why is it so popular? I went to talk to some people who had just been on the London Eye to ask them what they thought about it.

 

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It’s a wonderful experience.

I think it’s a great attraction.

The view was absolutely spectacular.

I liked when we went up high.

We thought it was fantastic.

It was OK, a bit slow – you get a bit bored when you get to the top. You want to come down again then.

It was really good.

 

Jean: 看来大部分人还是比较喜欢这个 London Eye。他们用到了好几个不同的形容词。

Vicki: Wonderful…. Great…. Spectacular…..Fantastic.

Jean: 不过转得那么高，不害怕吗？

 

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I got a bit scared so I sat in the middle

Was it scary? No! No! No!

The little one found it scary.

Vicki: The London Eye is very modern compared to many of the ancient London buildings nearby, like the Houses of Parliament.

Jean: 那大家对这样的一个比较又有什么看法呢？

Vicki: We asked some people if they think the London Eye enhances the London skyline, or detracts from the historical buildings.

Jean: to enhance – 增色。To detract from – 减损。The skyline – 天际线。请大家留心听下面的几个评论，看看能不能捕捉到他们形容“难看”的时候，用到了那两个词？

 

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I wouldn’t say it’s an eyesore… maybe it does look a bit out of place but I think that’s perfectly alright for London.

I’m not sure that it enhances it … no not really.

It looks like a big white monstrosity on the side of the river – you’ve got all the nice old buildings like the Houses of Parliament, you’ve got the nice old bridges and things like that. I don’t think it looks too good.

I think it fits in really well.

 

Vicki: So some mixed opinions there… the two words which are used to describe something ugly were…. A monstrosity

Jean: 一个畸形的、怪兽般的东西。

Vicki: and an eyesore

Jean: An eyesore. 难看的东西，眼中钉。Well that’s all we have time for today.