(提示：如果您无法正常打开上面的节目，主要原因可能是您没有安装Windows Media Player和Realplayer 。如果您还没有安装，请点击此处下载安装)
听力文稿 ( Transcript )
Berlin's Grand Central will, literally and figuratively, reconnect East and West Germany, ushering in a new era of unification. Step into this megawork-in-progress as engineers race to complete the largest train station in Europe.
All this pressure now sits squarely on the shoulders of the two men in charge of the operation. Aularph Sephren will run the crew lowering the south tower. Benta Nauyorks will lead the north tower team. They go over the plans one last time. Years of preparation have led up to this weekend. At 10:00 tonight, all train traffic through the station will be halted. Aularph and Benta must complete the work by 4:00 AM Monday, the start of rush hour, when the train schedule must resume. If they are late, Berlin becomes one huge traffic jam.
Between now and Monday, neither one of them plans to get much sleep. On paper ,the plan is simple, each bridge section currently stands on its end. Both towers are fitted with twelve massive jacks,4 on top, and 8 on the bottom. To begin tipping the sections, the men will first activate the top jacks. These jacks pull up on a series of sealed cables pegged to the tower, tipping the tower on a single pivoting hinge. Once it reaches an angle of fifteen degrees, it will start to fall. To keep it from crashing down,the bottom jacks are now activated. These jacks act as a brake, lowering the tower by slowly letting out a second set of cables, centimeter by centimeter. The two sets of jack share the load until the bridge sections reach an angle of about 40 degrees. At that point, the bottom jacks take over completely for the rest of the ride.
A simple plan, but with years of experience, Aularph knows problems could spring from any direction: snap cables, misfiring hydraulics, high winds. So computers are on board to control the process. They can monitor the shifting weight, regulate the speed of the jacks, and shut down everything if they sense a problem. Aularph and Benta share final authority, and each of them knows that if they have to, they can override the computers. The two decide to make a bet on who will get to the bottom first. "One thing is for sure,Benta, we will reach the bottom first," "What? No, no, let's bet a case of beer."
页面导航： 
