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Shimizu: The Great Pyramid of Tokyo 东京金字塔城

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The construction of Egypt’s ancient pyramids still amazes the experts. Yet, today, to offset mass overcrowding in Tokyo, one of the world’s busiest cities, the Japanese have proposed to build the Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid. Its peak would reach twelve times the height of the Great Pyramid of Giza!

古埃及金字塔的建造至今仍让专家们啧啧称奇。而今，为了解决全球最忙碌城市之一－东京过度拥挤的居住空间，日本人打算建造「东京金字塔城」，其顶端将是埃及吉萨大金字塔的12倍高！

Enormous cables, linked by massive sphere nodes, would provide Shimizu’s outer frame. Inside these hollow cables would be fast walkways, elevators, and Personal Rapid Transit pods. They would transport the public to and from several thirty-story-high skyscrapers towering inside the pyramid. These buildings would provide housing and office space for up to 750,000 people.

这座金字塔城的外部骨架由巨型钢管架构而成，钢管间由巨大的球体结点连接。中空钢管内有快行步道、电梯及个人快速交通舱，可运送居民来往于内部数栋30层楼高的摩天大楼。这些大楼的住屋及办公室将可容纳多达75万人。

The Japanese plan to bring their huge idea to life in Tokyo Bay. This presents quite a few problems, though.

Like …. wouldn’t it sink? Amazingly, state-of-the-art carbon material would greatly reduce the weight of the structure. Thirty-six piers made of a similar material would hold the pyramid above the water.

日本人计划将金字塔城建于东京湾上，然而一些问题也随之浮现，例如：塔城不会下沉吗？神奇的是，最先进的碳纤维材质可大幅减轻塔城的重量，因此，类似材质所建造的36根墩柱会将金字塔撑在水面上。

Another critical concern is the frequency of earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan. Fortunately, the same carbon material is also super-strong! Engineers believe it would easily withstand dangerous quakes and powerful waves.

另一堪虑的问题是日本频繁的地震及海啸。所幸这种碳纤维材质也坚固无比，工程师们相信它能轻易抵挡强震及巨浪。

To prevent excessive pollution in Tokyo, photovoltaic film covering the mega cables would produce solar energy. At the base of the structure, ocean currents would provide more power, and fuel cells produced by algae would contribute as well.

为了防止东京遭到过度污染，巨大的钢管外层将覆盖一层能产生太阳能的光电薄膜。在塔城基座，洋流将提供更多电力，海藻制成的燃料电池也会参与发电。

For safety reasons, the Japanese are engineering robots to handle most of the pyramid’s dangerously-high construction. If it is completed, future generations will again look up and wonder – how did they build that?

基于安全考虑，金字塔城高危险性的高楼层将由机器人建造施工。一旦完工，未来人类在抬头仰望这座东京金字塔城时，应该也会不禁赞叹：「这座金字塔是怎么盖成的？」

−by Matthew Wilson

Vocabulary

massive [ˋmæsɪv] adj. 巨大的

sphere [sfɪr] n. 球；球体

withstand [wɪðˋstænd] v. 抵挡；禁得起

excessive [ɪkˋsɛsɪv] adj. 过度的；过分的

More Information

offset [ˋɔf͵sɛt] v. 抵销

overcrowding [ˏovɚ`kraʋdɪŋ] n. 过度拥挤

peak [pik] n. 顶端，最高点

pyramid [ˋpɪrəmɪd] n.（古埃及建造的）金字塔

node [nod] n. 结；节; 交接点

frame [frem] n. 架构，骨架

walkway [ˋwɔk͵we] n. 走道；通道

pod [pɑd] n. 可分离舱

transport [ˋtræns͵pɔrt] v. 运输

housing [ˋhaʊzɪŋ] n. 住房供给

bring.. to life  给某人/某事物的活力

state-of-the-art（科技、机电等产品）最先进的，最高级的

pier [pɪr] n. 墩，桥墩

critical [ˋkrɪtɪk!] adj. 紧要的，关键性的

frequency [ˋfrikwənsɪ] n. 频率

quake [kwek] n. 地震；震动

photovoltaic [ˌfotovɑlˋteɪk] adj. 光电池的

algae [`ældʒi] n. 藻类（植物）

engineer [͵ɛndʒəˋnɪr] v. 设计；建造

look up  仰视

Reading Questions

1.   How will the Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid limit pollution?

A.  By using robots to build it.

B.  By having very fast walkways.

C.  By having Personal Rapid Transit pods.

D.  By using photovoltaic film that will produce solar energy.

2.   Which of the following statements is true according to this passage?

A.  The Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid won’t be able to survive earthquakes.

B.  The Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid will be much bigger than the Great Pyramid of Giza.

C.  Elevators will be the only way to get around inside the pyramid.

D.  The Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid will do nothing to alleviate the overcrowding in Tokyo.

3.   Which of the following statements can be inferred from this passage?

A.  State-of-the-art carbon material has made building this pyramid possible.

B.  Without robots, the pyramid would sink in Tokyo Bay.

C.  The Pyramid will help to make earthquakes and tsunamis less frequent.

D.  There will only be one building, which is the pyramid itself.

Answer