I. Please read the text after the speaker

                       The Louvre Pyramid that shocked Paris

1. ①When the Louvre’s new entrance — a glass pyramid — was first shown to the public, many people in France were shocked by its revolutionary design. ②However, it has been the key to making the Louvre the most-visited museum in the world.

2. ③It was the pyramid scheme that shocked Paris when a Chinese-born American architect, Ieoh Ming Pei, announced his plan to put one at the center of the Louvre. ④When he first presented his design in 1984, the reactions were as sharp as they were brutal. Critics considered Pei’s pyramid as “an eyesore”, “an architectural joke”, and “a design about Egyptian death which didn’t suit the age or the spirit of Paris”. In fact, in the early years of the long project, even Pei himself was publicly laughed at.

3. The project was commissioned by the president of France, François Mitterand, and it produced many political arguments as well as cultural ones. Many of France’s elite thought it would cost far too much money, and would make France lose its place in international culture.

4. ⑤There was also a real fear at the time that the project would be stopped in the middle of construction. So it was constructed out of sequence: The glass pyramid structure was built first, before the base. It was thought that it would be harder to give up the project once it existed in concrete form. The pyramid we see today is made of 70 triangular and 603 diamond-shaped pieces of glass. And the glass is the key. Pei was sure that he wanted the pyramid to be as transparent as possible. He spent a long time trying to find the most transparent and flattest glass so that views of the original gallery would not be blocked.

5. The finished pyramid was opened by Mitterand. ⑥The public were finally allowed to see what had become of their national treasure. By this time people had become used to the idea of this radical new entrance. The brave new design was soon embraced by both locals and tourists.

6. Jean-Luc Martinez, who was once the president of the Louvre, believes that Pei’s architecture has been central to the museum’s growth and success. “The idea of the pyramid wasn’t simply to make a dramatic gesture. This concept was functional and practical, to create a central entrance to help with visitor movement,” he told a radio station. “The pyramid has brought the Louvre into modernity. It is the sign of a revolution that puts the visitor at the center of the museum,” added Martine

II. Text analysis 

①When the Louvre’s new entrance — a glass pyramid — was first shown to the public, many people in France were shocked by its revolutionary design.

译文：卢浮宫新的入口“玻璃金字塔”首次向大众开放时，其革新的设计在法国引起了轩然大波。

②However, it has been the key to making the Louvre the most-visited museum in the world.

译文：然而，卢浮宫之所以成为世界上访问量最多的博物馆，“玻璃金字塔”设计功不可没。

③It was the pyramid scheme that shocked Paris when a Chinese-born American architect, Ieoh Ming Pei, announced his plan to put one at the center of the Louvre.

译文：这个金字塔规划方案由华裔美籍建筑师贝聿铭提出，当他宣布在卢浮宫中心处建一座金字塔时，整个巴黎为之震惊。

④When he first presented his design in 1984, the reactions were as sharp as they were brutal.

译文：1984年，贝聿铭首次公布设计方案，人们的反应尖锐而毫不留情。

⑤There was also a real fear at the time that the project would be stopped in the middle of construction.

译文：人们担忧这个设计可能会中途终止。

⑥The public were finally allowed to see what had become of their national treasure.

译文：终于，公众可以一睹国之瑰宝的辉煌。

III. Test  

1. ①When the Louvre’s new entrance — a glass pyramid — was first shown to the public, many people in France were shocked by its revolutionary design. ②However, it has been the key to making the Louvre the most-visited museum in the world.

2. ③It was the pyramid scheme that shocked Paris when a Chinese-born American architect, Ieoh Ming Pei, announced his plan to put one at the center of the Louvre. ④When he first presented his design in 1984, the reactions were as sharp as they were brutal. Critics considered Pei’s pyramid as “an eyesore”, “an architectural joke”, and “a design about Egyptian death which didn’t suit the age or the spirit of Paris”. In fact, in the early years of the long project, even Pei himself was publicly laughed at.

3. The project was commissioned by the president of France, François Mitterand, and it produced many political arguments as well as cultural ones. Many of France’s elite thought it would cost far too much money, and would make France lose its place in international culture.

4. ⑤There was also a real fear at the time that the project would be stopped in the middle of construction. So it was constructed out of sequence: The glass pyramid structure was built first, before the base. It was thought that it would be harder to give up the project once it existed in concrete form. The pyramid we see today is made of 70 triangular and 603 diamond-shaped pieces of glass. And the glass is the key. Pei was sure that he wanted the pyramid to be as transparent as possible. He spent a long time trying to find the most transparent and flattest glass so that views of the original gallery would not be blocked.

5. The finished pyramid was opened by Mitterand. ⑥The public were finally allowed to see what had become of their national treasure. By this time people had become used to the idea of this radical new entrance. The brave new design was soon embraced by both locals and tourists.

6. Jean-Luc Martinez, who was once the president of the Louvre, believes that Pei’s architecture has been central to the museum’s growth and success. “The idea of the pyramid wasn’t simply to make a dramatic gesture. This concept was functional and practical, to create a central entrance to help with visitor movement,” he told a radio station. “The pyramid has brought the Louvre into modernity. It is the sign of a revolution that puts the visitor at the center of the museum,” added Martine