Conversation 2

Janet: Why did you ask us to meet you here on the South Bank?

Cathy: Well, it's probably the best place to get an idea of the architectural history of London. Straight ahead we can see St Paul's Cathedral, and over to my right, the City of London skyline [the outline of buildings, trees, hills, etc. seen against the sky].

Janet: Tell me about St Paul's Cathedral.

Cathy: Well, it's the masterpiece of Sir Christopher Wren, and was completed in 1708. The dome [a round roof with a circular base] is now one of the most recognizable sights of London.

Janet: And of course, it was a landmark during the 1941 Blitz?

Cathy: Yes. The enemy bombers could see it from a distance, with the result that they knew where to drop their bombs. But to everyone's astonishment, it wasn't damaged.

Janet: And what about the modern buildings over there?

Cathy: Yes, absolutely. Perhaps the most notable one is the rocket-shaped building, which Londoners call the Gherkin. This was designed and built in 2004 by Norman Foster.

Janet: He was the architect of the new terminal at Beijing Airport, wasn't he?

Cathy: That's absolutely right.

Janet: London is now quite a high-rise city [(only before noun)(of a building) very tall and having a lot of floors], isn't it?

Cathy: Well, I'm not convinced you're right. It's not at all like Shanghai, or even Beijing.

Janet: So what about the future?

Cathy: As you might expect, the future is more skyscrapers, and most important of all will be the 72 storey Shard of Glass, at 310 metres, one of the tallest buildings in Europe.

Janet: And the exhibition opens tonight at Somerset House...

Cathy: Exactly, and runs until next September.

Janet: I'm sure lots of people will go and see how such a familiar skyline has changed, and will develop in the future. Cathy Young, thank you very much.

Joe: One take, thank you, Janet. You should be on TV.

Andy: Amazing Janet. You will be on TV one day, if you keep going like this. Well done!

Outside view

Chicago is the third largest American city after New York and Los Angeles. It's hard to believe that in 1871, a great fire destroyed the whole of Chicago's downtown. The only building to survive the great fire was the Stone Water Tower. 

The best architects in the world arrived to rebuild the city, many of them were young and prepared to try new ideas. They used a tall steel frame and curtains of glass[玻璃幕墙] to make a different type of building – the skyscraper. In just 15 years, a new Chicago was born. The centre of the city is now called the Loop[环区], and it takes its name from the elevated train track that circled. The buildings contained inside the Loop are a textbook of American architecture. 

Everyone calls Chicago the "Windy City". Why? It's not because of the weather. It's because the politicians of Chicago talk so much about their city. In fact, all the people of Chicago enjoy talking about their city. They like to tell you about Sears Tower, 110 stories of office space. That's a world record. It's so tall. It takes 70 seconds to ride the elevator to the top. 

Beautiful modern sculptures by Picasso and others, help to make Chicago a centre of art. 

Then there's O'Hare International Airport. With 840 flights every day, it's the busiest airport in theworld. 

The people of Chicago are very proud of their beautiful lake shoreline, 29 miles of parkland along Lake Michigan. 

And they don't let you forget that Chicago is the home of the blues. Musicians like Muddy Waters made blues popular, and even influenced the Rolling Stones. 

Chicago is home to the Bulls basketball team and the Cubs baseball team. The city certainly has a wonderful sports history. Chicago, a city where everyone works hard to be a part of the winning team.

Talk 

 Now, any course on 21st century architecture has to include the work of Santiago Calatrava, the Spanish architect, engineer, sculptor and painter. And perhaps the most significant and most contemporary building is the recently completed World Trade Center Transportation Hub, constructed to replace the rail station by the World Trade Center Towers destroyed in the 9/11 attacks in New York.

I was prepared not to like it [was指出speaker亲眼见到之前的态度]. Architects have a responsibility not just to themselves, but to their clients. This building is $2 billion over budget, and has suffered from construction problems and design compromises. It's also seven years late. This struck me as a lack of respect to the customer who is picking up the bill. [该段中几个负面词汇暗示了最初态度]

But I changed my mind when I saw it. Above ground, it's meant to look like a bird being released from a child's hand. Below ground, it has a huge marble area two storeys below the street level, and your eye is drawn up along glass and steel ribs supporting the roof to the sky, from where, around the time of the 9/11 attack, the sun's rays shine directly into the station. [该段从but暗示态度的转变，没有负面词汇出现] 

Well, it's similar to Calatrava's other station designs, especially the one in Lyon, France, so it's not original. You might even think the symbolism, the dove as the bird of peace, the child's hand as the symbol of innocence, hope and renewal, is rather too sentimental and in poor taste. But it is original in another way. It has a very clear vision, and it's striking in comparison with the surrounding architecture of the rebuilt district, which generally has no buildings of great distinction. [暗示此区域为Manhattan商务区，周围建筑多为缺乏辨识度的办公大厦。]

So is it worth $4 billion? No. Could that money have been better spent? Well, yes. It's extravagant, and could have been spent instead on the other parts of a subway system which is desperate for significant improvement.

But we have the architects we deserve. And we deserve Calatrava and this inspirational new building, because he understands that sometimes we need a statement of vision[远期愿望，理想宣言], and that we need public places which make the heart, like the eye, soar towards the sky. The footprint of the destroyed World Trade Center Towers, the sheer incomprehension at the pointless destruction of 9/11[(公众)对911(恐怖分子)毫无意义的毁灭行为的完全不理解] … all these need the symbolism this building offers.

Take a good look at the photos, save up and go visit in New York. You may not like it, but you cannot ignore it.

 [同学们未来一定要亲眼去看看， 它会带给你什么样的感受？]

Q1: What is the speaker talking about?

Q2: What are the speaker's criticisms ofthe building?

Q3: What does the speaker like about thebuilding?

Part 1

I'm standing in the Arrivals Hall of Terminal 3, Beijing Capital Airport's newest terminal which became operational in March 2008. The terminal, which has a third runway and a rail link to the city centre, is the second largest in the world. Designed by the famous British architect Norman Foster, it extends almost three kilometres but took only three and a half years to build.

The terminal has been designed to look and feel Chinese. The building, a mixture of glass and steel, uses the traditional Chinese colours of red and gold. Columns inside are red and the roof is a dull gold. From the air it is said to resemble a flying dragon.

The building uses the latest technology. To save energy, the roof allows in the maximum amount of light and heat, and the advanced baggage system can handle up to 19,000 pieces of luggage per hour.

Part 2

The terminal is only one of a number of new buildings that have made Beijing a leading example of 21st century architectural design. Another design success is the capital's new National Centre for the Performing Arts, which opened in late December 2007.

The centre, which has created huge interest all over the world, is based at West Chang'an Avenue, just west of the Great Hall of the People and Tian'anmen Square. Designed by French architect Paul Andreu, it took six years to complete. The building is in the shape of a dome made of titanium and glass, and changes colour depending on the amount of sunlight it receives. A man-made lake surrounds it and to enter the building you walk through an 80-metre-long underwater corridor with a glass ceiling. 

The inside of the centre is as light as the outside. A glass curtain that goes from the floor to the ceiling reflects sunlight during the day and the city lights at night. The floor is made in ten different colours of marble which came from all over China.

The Centre has three main performance venues. The Opera House, with almost 4,000 seats is the largest venue, followed by the Concert Hall with seating for 2,000 and the Theatre with seating for 1,035. Top companies from all over the world will perform there. Guests walking through the gardens and trees that surround the lake describe the building and the performances as "spectacular".

Passage 2

Man: Three weeks ago we asked listeners to vote for the most unusual buildings in the world. Architecture is a very popular interest with the public and the response has been astonishing – we've been flooded with emails. So here's the countdown starting with number five.

Woman: Yes, Number Five is Gaudi's Batlló House in Barcelona, Spain, designed by Antoni Gaudi, one of Spain's greatest architects. The building was completed in 1906 and the amazing thing about it is that the exterior looks as if it's been made from bones.

Man: It really does. I've seen it; it's most impressive.

Woman: In fact, the skulls are balconies and the bones are the pillars that support them. It's a masterpiece and a huge tourist attraction.

Man: Next, at Number Four, is an office building in Prague, in the Czech Republic that's supposed to look like a couple dancing together and is called the Dancing House. I'm not so sure it looks like a dancing couple myself.

Woman: Oh, I don't know, if you use a little imagination.

Man: This work of art was designed by a Czech architect, Vlado Milunić, and the great Canadian architect Frank Gehry and was completed in 1996.

Woman: Moving on to third place is a very strange house indeed. It's instantly recognizable by the tall long-legged figures at the front. It was built by a French postman called Ferdinand Cheval and he spent 33 years constructing it from stones he collected while delivering mail. It's called the Ideal Palace and is in a small town, in France. It's quite an extraordinary mixture of styles.

Man: It certainly looks extraordinary from the photos. I'd love to see it.

Woman: Me too! And now, in second place is a hotel that, although it was only built in 1997, is already a legend. It's the Burj Al Arab Hotel on the coastline of Dubai. This building is the tallest hotel in the world and it looks like a billowing sail.

Man: And finally, in first place is the most unusual building of all according to our listeners, the Basket House in Newark, Ohio, in the United States. It's the company office of the Longaberger Basket Company and as its name suggests, it looks like a basket. The building, which was completed in 1997, is made of steel. The exterior is covered in stucco [a type of plaster used for covering walls and decorating ceilings], a substance that gives it a rough surface and this makes it look like a basket.

Woman: Actually, when you get closer it looks less like a basket …