This year is the seventy-fifth anniversary(1) of the Golden Gate(2) Bridge(3) in California. It opened to vehicle traffic(4) on May twenty-eighth, nineteen thirty-seven. Since then(5), more than two billion vehicles have crossed(6) the world-famous bridge linking(7) San Francisco and Marin County(8).
The bridge is named after(9) the Golden Gate Strait(10). That narrow passage(11) of water connects San Francisco Bay(12) to the Pacific Ocean. The Golden Gate Bridge had the longest suspension span(13) in the world at the time it was built(14).
The suspended roadway(15) stretches(16) one thousand two hundred eighty meters between(17) the bridge’s two tall(18) towers. Today the Golden gate still(19) rates among(20) the ten longest bridge spans.
Mary Currie works for the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway(21) and Transportation District. She says the bridge represents one of the most extraordinary engineering(22) projects of all time(23). She calls it an “engineering marvel(24)” and says it gets award after award(25) for what it means(26) in civil engineering and structural engineering.
She says the Golden Gate Bridge is also(27) a place(28) where “things(29) happen(30) first.” For example, it was the first suspension bridge to have to change the roadway deck(31).
The bridge is twenty-seven meters wide(32) and two thousand seven hundred eighty-eight meters long(33). Two large cables(34) pass over the top(35) of the bridge’s towers.
These structures stand(36) two hundred twenty-seven meters above(37) the water and one hundred fifty-two meters above the road. Each(38) cable holds(39) more than twenty-seven thousand five hundred strands of wire(40).
Two hundred fifty pairs(41) of vertical suspender ropes(42) connect the support cables to the suspension bridge. This is part of what enables(43) the bridge to move up and down(44) by nearly(45) five meters.
The project took(46) four years to complete. Work began(47) in nineteen thirty-three. The Golden Gate Bridge weighed(48) more than eight hundred thousand metric tons(49) when it was completed. The San Francisco Chronicle newspaper(50) called it a thirty-five million dollar steel harp(51).
Joseph Strauss was the chief engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge project. But architect Irving Morrow gets credit for its bright(52) orange color, known as(53) International Orange. The Navy(54) wanted the bridge painted(55) in yellow and black. The Air Force had suggested red and white. But Mary Currie says Irving Morrow knew(56) that orange would blend with(57) the environment(58).
It would contrast with the ocean and the air above, “and it would also allow(59) the art deco styling(60) to really stand out(61).” For VOA Special English, I’m Carolyn Presutti. (Adapted from a radio program broadcast 04Jun2012)
VOCABULARY
1. anniversary = aniversário 2. Golden Gate = portão dourado 3. Bridge = ponte 4. vehicle traffic = tráfego de veículos 5. Since then = desde então 6. have crossed = tem cruzado 7. linking = ligando 8. County = município, distrito 9. named after = recebeu o nome de 10. Strait = estreito (braço de mar) 11. narrow passage = passagem estreita 12. Bay = baía 13. Span = vão 14. at the time it was built = Na época em que ela foi construída 15. suspended roadway = Estrada suspense 16. stretches = estende-se 17. between = entre 18. tall = alto(a) 19. still = ainda 20. rates among = classifica-se entre 21. Highway = alto-estrada 22. Engineering = engenharia 23. of all time = de todos os tempos 24. marvel = prodígio, maravilha 25. gets award after award = ganha prêmios após prêmios 26. means = significa 27. also = também 28. place = lugar 29. things = coisas 30. happen = acontecem 31. roadway deck = pavimento da Estrada 32. wide = de largura 33. long = de comprimento 34. cables = cabos 35. pass over the top = passam por cima do topo 36. stand = levantam-se 37. above = sobre 38. Each = cada 39. Holds = sustenta, segura 40. strands of wire = fios de arame 41. pairs = pares 42. ropes = cordas 43. enables = possibilita 44. move up and down = mover-se para cima e para baixo 45. nearly = aproximadamente 46. took = levou (tempo) 47. began = começou 48. weighed = pesava 49. tons = toneladas 50. newspaper = jornal 51. steel harp = harpa de aço 52. bright = brilhante 53. known as = conhecido(a) como 54. Navy = Marinha 55. Painted = pintada 56. Knew = sabia 57. Blend with = combinar com 58. Environment = meio ambiente 59. Allow = permitir 60. Styling = estilo 61. stand out = destacar-se