The longest suspension bridge in the world
世界上最长的吊桥
How is the bridge supported?
这座桥是如何支撑的?
Verrazano, an Italian about whom little is known, sailed into New York Harbour in 1524 and named it Angouleme.
Verrazano是一位鲜为人知的意大利人，于1524年驶入纽约港，并将其命名为Angouleme。
He described it as 'a very agreeable situation located within two small hills in the midst of which flowed a great river.'
他形容这是一个非常令人愉快的情况，位于两座小山上，中间流着一条大河。'
Though Verrazano is by no means considered to be a great explorer, his name will probably remain immortal,
虽然Verrazano绝不被认为是一位伟大的探险家，但他的名字可能会不朽,
for on November 21st, 1964, the longest suspension bridge in the world was named after him.
1964年11月21日，世界上最长的吊桥以他的名字命名。
The Verrazano Bridge, which was designed by Othmar Ammann, joins Brooklyn to Staten Island.
由Othmar Ammann设计的Verrazano大桥将布鲁克林连接到史坦顿岛。
It has a span of 4,260 feet.
它的跨度为4,260英尺。
The bridge is so long that the shape of the earth had to be taken into account by its designer.
这座桥是如此之长，地球的形状必须考虑到它的设计师。
Two great towers support four huge cables.
两个大塔支撑着四根巨大的电缆。
The towers are built on immense underwater platforms made of steel and concrete.
这些塔建在由钢铁和混凝土制成的巨大水下平台上。
The platforms extend to a depth of over 100 feet under the sea.
平台延伸到海底100英尺以上的深度。
These alone took sixteen months to build.
仅这些就花了十六个月的时间来建造。
Above the surface of the water, the towers rise to a height of nearly 700 feet.
在水面上方，塔楼上升到近700英尺的高度。
They support the cables from which the bridge has been suspended.
它们支持桥梁悬挂的电缆。
Each of the four cables contains 26,108 lengths of wire.
四根电缆中的每一根都包含26,108长度的电线。
It has been estimated that if the bridge were packed with cars, it would still only be carrying a third of its total capacity.
据估计，如果桥上挤满了汽车，它仍然只能承载总容量的三分之一。
However, size and strength are not the only important things about this bridge.
然而，尺寸和强度并不是这座桥唯一重要的事情。
Despite its immensity, it is both simple and elegant,
尽管它很大，但它既简单又优雅,
fulfilling its designer's dream to creat 'an enormous object drawn as faintly as possible'.
实现设计师的梦想，创造一个"尽可能微弱地绘制一个巨大的物体"。
