The tallest timber building in the world

河北 胡金瑩

主題語境：建筑 篇幅：345詞 建議用時：7分鐘

1Ascent,an 86.6-metre-tall mass-timber tower in Milwaukee,has been regarded as the world's tallest timber building.Located in a neighbourhood near the lakefront,the 25-storey tower is made almost entirely from timber except for the base and elevators.

2The structure took only two years to build.It has a concrete-framed base that is six storeys tall and the 19-storey timber tower rises from the podium (基座).The core containing the elevator shaft and staircase is made of concrete to help the building deal with wind and seismic (地震的) shifts,as well as for fire safety reasons.

3The city required a three-hour fire rating for the columns,so the team worked with the Forest Products Laboratory to optimise (優(yōu)化) the columns to meet this standard.“We think it was the first three-hour fire testing on columns,” said the designer,adding that the floor plates had a two-hour rating,meaning the components can burn for two hours without losing structural integrity.Because of requirements preventing external wood exposure and the developer's desire to capture the lake views,the exterior of the structure is made almost entirely of glass and metal panelling.

4Both Korb and Fernandez agreed that many of the drivers behind the project were economic—from the real estate perspective of the facade (建筑物的正面）to the cost restrictions of the timber.Much of the wood was sourced from Austria because sourcing high-quality supplies from North American manufacturers would have been too expensive.

5Economic benefits were increased by labour usage of the project.Because of the pre-built panels,fewer workers are required on each floor,and because there is no setting time—like with traditional concrete construction—finishes can be added much sooner.Korb estimated that the project used about 25 percent of the onsite labour required for a concrete structure,and that it was completed in about half the time.

6The tower will provide further proof of concept for developers who are looking to create innovative structures from timber.And mid-rise developments like these that attract people to the urban core are a good thing.

Reading

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Detail 1.What can we know about the timber tower?

A.It is completely made of timber.

B.It took two years to finish building.

C.It is regarded as the tallest building.

D.It can avoid the effect of the earthquake.

Detail 2.Why did the building team work with the Forest Products Laboratory?

A.To keep the timber's standard integrity.

B.To choose the best timber for the building.

C.To enable the tower to bear various forces.

D.To make the columns meet fire rating standards.Detail 3.What's the benefit of using glass to decorate the exterior of the timber tower?

A.Bringing down the cost.

B.Protecting the wood materials.

C.Obtaining the lake views easily.

D.Making sure it is bright enough.

Inference 4.Compared with concrete construction,the timber building _____.

A.takes more time

B.is more attractive

C.costs fewer labors

D.brings more economic benefits

Language

Study

Ⅰ.Difficult sentence in the text

The core containing the elevator shaft and staircase is made of concrete to help the building deal with wind and seismic shifts,as well as for fire safety reasons.包含電梯井和樓梯的核心由混凝土制成，以幫助建筑物應對風和地震的變化，同時也是出于消防安全的考慮。

【點石成金】本句中，containing the elevator shaft and staircase 為修飾core的后置定語，和被修飾詞構(gòu)成主謂關系；to help the building deal with wind and seismic shifts,as well as for fire safety reasons 在句中作目的狀語。

Ⅱ.Fill in the blanks with the phrases in the box in proper forms.

deal with as well as meet this standard be sourced from be attracted to

1.To our delight,the menu contained traditional favorites ____________ more adventurous dishes.

2.Rescue teams are already hard at work trying to ____________ the spilled oil.

3.In order to reduce the cost,most of the materials had to ____________ a close-by supply.

4.You will ____________ Beijing Opera even if you know nothing of the dramatic background.

5.The Sierra Club was unable to ____________,so many people didn't want to join it.