Eiffel Is an Eyeful
Some 300 meters up, near the Eiffel Tower's wind-whipped summit the world comes to scribble. Japanese, Brazilians, Americans — they graffiti their names, loves and politics on the cold iron — transforming the most French of monuments into symbol of a world on the move.
With Paris laid out in miniature below, it seems strange that visitors would rather waste time marking their presence than admiring the view. But the graffiti also raises a question：Why, nearly 114 years after it was completed, and decades after it ceased to be the world, s tallest structure, is la Tour Eiffel still so popular?
The reasons are as complex as the iron work that graces a structure some 90 stories high. But part of the answer is, no doubt, its agelessness. Regularly maintained, it should never rust away. Graffiti is regularly painted over, but the tower lives on.
"Eiffel represents Paris and Paris is France. It is very symbolic”，says Hugues Richard, a 31- year-old Frenchman who holds the record for cycling up to the tower's second floor 一 747 steps in 19 minutes and 4 seconds, without touching the floor with his feet. “It's iron lady. It inspires us ”，he says.
But to what? After all, the tower doesn' t have a purpose. It ceased to be the world’ s tallest in 1930 when the Chrysler Building went up in New York. Yes，television and radio signals are beamed from the top,and Gustave Eiffel, a frenetic builder who died on December 27，aged 91 ,used its height for conducting research into weather, aerodynamics and radio communication.
But in essence the tower inspires simply by being there _ a blank canvas for visitors to make of it what they will. To the technically minded, it's an engineering triumph. For lovers, it's romantic.
“The tower will outlast all of us,and by a long way”, says Isabelle Esnous, whose company manages Eiffel Tower.
詞匯：
Eiffel Tower (法國巴黎的)埃菲爾鐵塔
eyeful n.引人注目的景象
scribble v.亂涂，亂畫
graffiti n. 涂寫,涂畫
iron work 鐵制品;鐵工
agelessness n.永恒，永不過日寸
rust v.生銹(rust away 銹爛掉)
frenetic a辦極度激動的
tinker n.白鐵匠，能做各種小修小補(bǔ)的人
aerodynamics n.空氣動力學(xué)
注釋：
1. Eiffel Is an Eyeful:引人注目的埃菲爾鐵塔。由于Eiffel和Eyeful讀音相似，使 用Eyeful而 不是其他的詞是有其修辭效果的。埃菲爾鐵塔是古斯塔夫•埃菲爾(Gustave Eiffel，1832— 1923，法國工程師)為1889年的巴黎博覽會設(shè)計的。該塔在塞納河南岸，高300公尺(984 英尺)。埃菲爾鐵塔的法文是第二段最后一句中的“l(fā)a Tour Eiffel"。
2. some:意為“approximately;about，，(大約，將近)。如它 40 people attended the rally.大約 有40個人參加了集會。
3. the world comes to scribble:世界各地的人們來此涂鴉。
4. graffiti:在此用作graffito的動詞形式，意思是“涂鴉，在墻或其他表面上創(chuàng)作的畫或銘刻”。
5. transforming the most French of monuments into symbol of a world on the move.使最有法蘭西 色彩的紀(jì)念碑成為動感世界的象征。the most + adj. + of + n.意為“在……中最為…… 的” 如：Beethoven is the greatest of musicians.貝多芬是最偉大的音樂家。on the move:在 運(yùn)動中。
6. in miniature:小型的，小規(guī)模的，縮影的
7. would rather waste time marking their presence than admiring the view.寧愿花時 間留下到此一游的痕跡,而不去觀賞風(fēng)景。would rather…than:寧愿……而不……： He would rather stay at home watching DVD than going to the cinema.他寧愿待在家里看 DVD,而不愿到電*去看電影。
8. 在原句 Why is la Tour Eiffel still so popular?的 Why 與 la Tour Eiffel still so popular?之間插 AT nearly 114 years after it was completed, and decades after it ceased to be the world's tallest structure.
9. graces:在此作動詞，意為“to give beauty, elegance, or charm to”(使……優(yōu)美，優(yōu)雅或具有魅力)
10. Hugues Richard:法國自行車運(yùn)動員，多次打破自行車運(yùn)動的世界紀(jì)錄，于2002年4月8日 以19分鐘零4秒的成績騎自行車登上埃菲爾鐵塔的第二層，第六次打破自行車運(yùn)動的世 界紀(jì)錄。
11. “It’s iron lady, it inspires us. ”：“這是鐵娘子，能讓人產(chǎn)生靈感。”It指埃菲爾鐵塔。
12. But to what?這是一個省略句,接著上段Hugues Richard的話發(fā)問，完整的句子可以是:But what does it inspire people to?
13. the Chrysler Building:是美國紐約帝國大廈(the Empire State Building)建成之前，世界第一 高樓，共77層，設(shè)計師是William Van Alen。
14. a blank canvas for visitors to make of it what they will:—張空白的畫布，任游客自由遐想
15. To the technically minded:對于那些善于從技術(shù)角度考慮問題的人來說，從技術(shù)的角度來 說。
16. “The tower will outlast all of us,and by a long way. ”：“這座塔將在我們所有的人離去后長 久存在?！眔utlast：意為“ to last longer than”(比……持久)。out-：前綴，意思是“比…… 更…”。如：Women are said to outlive men.據(jù)說女人比男人長壽。by a long way ：副詞，意思是“大大地”。