The leaning Tower of Pisa
比萨斜塔
The Tower of Pisa was built to be the most beautiful bell tower in Italy.
比萨塔是整个意大利建造的最美丽的钟塔。
It is the bell tower of the Pisa Cathedral.
是为比萨大教堂所建的钟塔。
However, not only is the marble tower beautiful, it is perhaps the strangest tower in the world.
然而，这座大理石塔不仅美丽，大概还是世界上最奇特的。
It leans to one side and looks like it is going to fall over.
它斜向一边，看上去好像要倒似的。
The building of the tower began in August 1173 and took nearly two hundred years to complete.
这座建筑始于1173年8月，历时近200年。
Nobody is certain who designed the tower,
没人确定是谁设计了这座塔，
but for many years it was said that Bonanno Pisano was the architect.
但是多年来人们视伯纳诺·毕加诺为建筑师。
In 1319, all the floors were finished and years later,
1319年，钟塔地面铺设完毕。
work eventually began on the bell chamber at the top.
几年后，塔顶钟室的工程终于开始了。
It was officially opened after nearly 200 years of construction.
比萨塔在近200年的建造后正式开放。
The tower has eight floors. It is 54.5 metres tall with 294 steps up to the bell chamber.
塔高8层。这座塔到顶楼钟室高54.5米，有294级台阶。
From the top, there is a very beautiful view.
站在顶楼，风景优美。
Italian scientist, Galileo, once did his famous experiments about gravity and falling objects from the top of the tower.
意大利科学家伽利略曾在这座塔顶上进行他著名的地心引力和物体下落实验。
Why does the tower lean?
为什么塔斜了？
In fact, it was already leaning while they were building it.
其实，这座塔在建造时就开始倾斜了。
As soon as three floors had been built, by 1178, it began to lean as the ground beneath it sank.
1178年建造第三层时，塔就因为地面下陷开始倾斜。
The builders tried to make the tower straight again as they added more floors,
建造者在继续建造过程中试图把塔正过来，
but the lean only got worse as the tower grew.
但随着塔的增高倾斜得更厉害了。
It continued to lean by about 1 millimetre every year until finally,
它每年都以1毫米的速度倾斜，
on 7 January 1990, it was closed to the public.
直到最后1990年1月7日停止向公众开放。
For ten years, the rescue of the tower was a serious problem.
10年来，对这座塔的拯救是个严峻的问题。
The top was leaning over by 5 metres to the south and if its movement was not stopped,
塔顶向南倾斜了5米，如果移动不停止，
the tower would one day fall over.
这座塔有一天会倒塌。
Measurements taken in 1911 showed that the tower would collapse by 2050, if not sooner.
1911年的测量显示这座塔最晚会在2050年倒塌。
After 10 years of hard work, it was officially reopened on 16 June 2001.
经过10年的努力，这座塔于2001年6月16日重新正式开放。
However it was not opened to the public until the end of 2001 and even now,
但是直到2001年底才对公众开放，
the number of visitors is restricted.
而且即便现在参观人数也是受限制的。
It is now safe for the next 300 years because engineers have reduced the lean by 50 centimetres
塔在今后的300年是安全的，因为工程师们将塔的倾斜度减小了50厘米，
to give it the same lean that it had in 1838.
回到了1838年时的倾斜角度。
