敢及天比高――摩天大楼简史.docVIP

敢及天比高――摩天大楼简史自古以来，人类触碰天空的梦想就从未消失。从巴比伦的通天塔，到巴黎的埃菲尔铁塔，再到今天的摩天大楼，人类的建筑物在不断刷新建筑纪录。预计今年落成的迪拜塔更会达到前所未有的高度（在建的迪拜塔已经超越台101大厦，成为世界第一高楼）。这是一场终点设在蓝天的竞赛，一场终点只能遥望、却不可能到达的比赛。 The desire to build big is nothing new. Big buildings have been used to show off power and wealth; to honor leaders or 1)religious beliefs; to stretch the limits of what’s possible; and even as simple competition among owners, architects, and builders. Some of the most dramatic buildings of the past include the pyramids in Egypt, and the gothic 2)cathedrals of France. These buildings have one thing in common. They were built with 3)masonry or stone walls supporting most of the weight, including that of the floors, the people, and everything the rooms contained. Because of this, the height of these buildings was limited by how massive and heavy they had to be at the base. Removing the 4)Obstacles Two developments in the 19th century 5)paved the way for a whole new type of building: the skyscraper. The first was the development of a safe elevator. 6)Primitive elevators of various designs had been used for centuries, but these elevators were not considered safe for people. If the cable broke, they would 7)plummet to the bottom of the elevator 8)shaft. Then in 1853, an American inventor named Elisha Graves Otis developed a safety 9)device that kept elevators from falling if a cable should break. And later in the century, the 10)switch to an electric motor made the elevator a practical solution to the problem of getting up and down tall buildings. The second development took place in Chicago. In 1871, Chicago suffered a devastating fire. In the years that followed, however, instead of recovering slowly, the city experienced explosive growth, and it quickly began to strain against its natural 11)boundaries. By the 1880s, the 12)available land for new buildings in this area could not keep up with 13)demand; the only 14)alternative was to build up. But in order to achieve the desired height, constructi