The Leaning Tower of Pisa
比萨斜塔

（拓展学习：熟词僻义 | lean 是一种怎样的时期？）

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is one of the most remarkable architectural structures from medieval Europe. It is located in the Italian town of Pisa, one of the most visited European cities.
比萨斜塔被誉为中世纪欧洲最卓越的建筑物之一。它位于意大利的比萨小镇——欧洲参观人数最多的城市之一。

The construction of the Tower of Pisa began in August 1173 and continued for about two hundred years due to the onset of a series of wars. Till today, the real identity of the architect is still a mystery. The leaning Tower of Pisa was designed as a circular bell tower that would stand 185 feet high. It is constructed of white marble. There is a 297-step spiral staircase inside the tower leading to the top.
比萨塔的修建始于1173年8月。由于一系列战争的干扰，建筑过程持续了约200年之久。直至今日，比萨斜塔设计师的真实身份仍是一个不解之谜。比萨斜塔是一座185英尺高的环形钟塔楼，主要建筑材料是白色大理石。塔内有一座297级台阶的螺旋梯通往塔顶。

The tower is also slightly curved despite the attempts by various architects to keep it from leaning more or falling over. The top of the leaning tower of Pisa is about seventeen feet off the vertical.
建筑师们尝试了各种方式使比萨斜塔不那么倾斜以至坍塌，但它还是稍微有点倾斜。比萨斜塔的塔顶大概偏离垂直方向17英尺。

Although only a third as high as the Washington Monument, it was a miracle of medieval engineering, probably the tallest bell towers in Europe. With two hundred and seven columns ranged around eight stories, Tower of Pisa looks like a massive wedding cake knocked precariously askew by a clumsy giant guest. Until recent years, tourists were not allowed to climb the staircase inside the tower due to consolidation work. But now the leaning Tower of Pisa is open again and it is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Italy.
虽然比萨斜塔的高度只有华盛顿纪念碑的三分之一，但它是中世纪工程的一大奇迹，或许也是欧洲最高的钟楼。207根圆柱在八层楼四周依次排开，使得比萨斜塔看起来就像是一个巨型结婚蛋糕，被一位笨手笨脚身材高大的客人撞得摇摇欲坠。由于塔内有加固工程，游客此前一直被禁止攀爬楼梯。但现在比萨斜塔再次对游客开放，并成为意大利最受欢迎的旅游景点之一。