报刊泛读.docx

报刊泛读.docx

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报刊泛读

TheDesireforTallestBuildingPersists

ByROBINPOGREBIN

 Giventhehauntingimageofthecollapsingtwintowers,it'shardformanyAmericanstofathomtheenduringurgetobuildtall.

Yetnowcomeplansforthenation'stallestskyscraper,acondominiumandhotelbuildingdesignedbySantiagoCalatravaforChicago'sNearNorthlakefront.At2,000feet,thebuilding,theFordhamSpire,wouldbeatoutthe1,776-footFreedomTowerplannedforgroundzero.

 Internationally,bothofthesedesignsaredwarfedbytheBurjTowerunderconstructioninDubai,whichisexpectedtoreach2,300feet.Oncecompleted,theBurjwillovertakeTaipei101,a1,667-footofficetower,astheworld'stallest.AndtheTaipeibuildingiscertainlyashort-timerecordholder;onlyinOctoberdiditsurpassthe1,483-footPetronasTowersinMalaysia.

"Therearerealbraggingrightstobeingthetallestthatgoback3,000years,"saidCarolWillis,thefounderanddirectoroftheSkyscraperMuseuminManhattan."ExceedingorexaltingforspiritualreasonsorademonstrationofpowerdatesbackfromBabylonon-wantingtotakeaplaceinhistory,reserveaplaceinthetimeline.Heightisafixation."

ForallthetalkaboutjittersdeterringpotentialtenantsofafutureFreedomTower,the9/11terroristattackhasdonelittleornothingtodiminishaglobalappetitetotouchthesky."Thenumberoftallbuildingsbeingbuiltaroundtheworldisatanall-timehigh,"saidRonKlemencic,chairmanoftheCouncilonTallBuildingsandUrbanHabitat,aprofessionalgroup.

Chicagoalreadyhasthreeofthe15tallestbuildingsintheworld:

theSearsTower,theJohnHancockCenterandAonCenter.

"TheskyscraperwasborninChicago,"saidChristianK.Narkiewicz-Laine,directorandpresidentoftheChicagoAthenaeum:

MuseumofArchitectureandDesign."Thewholeconceptoftheskyscraperhasalwaysbeenindigenoustothecity."

Developersareplanningfourbuildingsofaround80storiesinthecity,Mr.Klemencicsaid.（TheFordhamSpireistoriseto115storiesby2009.）Miami,SanFranciscoandLasVegasarealsointhemidstofbustlinghigh-riseconstruction.

DavidM.ChildsofSkidmoreOwings&Merrill,thearchitectwhodesignedtheFreedomTower,saidhewasnotatalltroubledbythenotionthatitsheightwouldbeeclipsedbythatofMr.Calatrava'sbuilding."Morepowertohim,"hesaid.

Mr.ChildspointedoutthatundercurrentFederalAviationAdministrationrules,Mr.Calatrava'sproposed2,000-foottowerisastallasanybuildingisallowedtobe.AndtheFreedomTowerwasnotmeanttobehigher,giventhepatrioticsymbolismof1,776feetmandatedbyDanielLibeskind'smasterplan.Mr.ChildsdesignedtheroofandrooftopparapettomatchtheheightofthetwooriginalWorldTradeCenterbuildings（1,362feetand1,368feet）;theantennacompletesthedistancetothetop.

ButthedeveloperbehindBurjTower,BalfourBeatty,hasmadeclearhisintentiontoset-andkeep-therecordfortheworld'stallestbuilding."Ifanyonecomesclose,"Ms.Willissaid,"they'llbuildatallerspire."

That,ofcourse,raisesthatperennialquestionintheskyscraperworld:

Doesthespirecount?

Isn'titkindofcheating?

TheCouncilonTallBuildings,whichcertifiesthetalleststructures,hasdeterminedthatthespirecountsifitis"integraltothearchitectureofthebuilding,"Mr.Klemencicsaid.

"IfyoutakeoffthetopoftheChryslerBuilding,itdoesn'tlookliketheChryslerBuildinganymore,"heexplained."ButifyoutaketheantennasofftheHancockTower,itstilllooksliketheHancockTower."

TheFreedomTower'sspireisexpectedtosetoffsomesquabbling."I'msuretherewillbeheateddebate,"Mr.Klemencicsaid.

The2,000-foot-highCalatravabuildinginChicago,tobebuiltbythedeveloperChristopherT.Carley,wouldbe1,458feetwithoutitsspire-onlyeightfeettallerthantheSearsTower.

Architecturebuffsrevelintheloreofsuchcompetition,recallinghowtheChryslerBuildingbeatouttheBankofManhattantowerin1929withthelast-minutehoistingofasecretlyplannedstainlesssteeltop.In1931,ofcourse,theChryslerwasbestedbytheEmpireStateBuilding,whichyieldedthetitletotheWorldTradeCenterfourdecadeslater.

WhiletheCalatravabuildingmaybemajornewsforthecountry,expertssayitisoldhatformuchoftherestoftheworld,particularlyAsia.HongKong,withitsnotoriouspopulationdensity,hasmoreskyscrapersthanNewYork,Ms.Willissaid,anditsresidentialbuildingstypicallyreach60storiesthesedays.

AlongShanghai'sjostlingskyline,plansareunderwayforan1,614-foottower,China'stallest,aspartoftheShanghaiWorldFinancialCenter."They'renotafraidofheightatall,"Ms.WillissaidofdevelopersinAsia."Thereisnoanxiety.Theybothneedthespaceandwanttheattention."

SomeNewYorkersnodoubtremaindeeplywaryoflivingorworkinginskyscrapersintheaftermathof9/11.Morethananyotherbuilding,theFreedomTowerisanaturallocusforfearsofaviolentrecurrence.Butarchitecturalexpertssaythatingeneral,plentyofpeopleandinstitutionswillsuccumbtothespellofanarchitecturallyprominenttallbuilding,nottomentiontheview."Allyouneedistherightnumberofpeoplewithsufficientmoney,"Ms.Willissaid.

（FromNewYorkTimes,July27,2005）

FilmStudiosSaidtoAgreeonDigitalStandards

ByLAURAM.HOLSON

LOSANGELES,July26-Hollywood'smajorfilmstudiosareexpectedtoannounceonWednesdaythattheyhaveagreedtonewtechnicalstandardsthatwillmakeiteasierformovietheaterstoshowdigitallyproducedmovies,accordingtotwostudioexecutivesapprisedoftheannouncement.

ForyearsHollywoodhasdiscussedhowtocreateanddistributedigitalfilmswithlittlesuccess,inpartbecausethepartiescouldnotagreeonastandardtechnologyforprojectorsoronwhowouldpaytoreplacetheequipment.Movietheaterownersdidnotwanttofootthebill,fearingthe$100,000projectorswouldbecomeobsoletewithoutaconsensusaboutthestandards.Themovieindustry,foritspart,hasresistedpayingtoreplaceprojectorsbecausestudiosdonotownthetheaters.

Butasitgetsmoreexpensivetomakeandmarketmovies,studioshavebecomemoreinterestedinthecostsavingsachievedwithdigitaldistribution.Accordingtooneoftheexecutives,whorequestedanonymitybecausetheagreementhasnotbeenannouncedyet,amoviefilmprintcosts$1,000to$1,200tomake.Adigitalversioncostsafractionofthatasitcanbeeitheronadiscortransferredelectronically.

AspokesmanforDigitalCinemaInitiatives,thegroupthatdevelopedthestandards,declinedtodiscusstheagreement.Butaccordingtothetwoexecutives,studioexecutivesagreedthattheprojectorsshouldnotonlyhavedigitalcapabilitiesnow,butbecompatiblewithhigherresolution,next-generationprojectors.

Financing,amajorstickingpointbetweenmovietheaterownersandthemoviestudios,isstillbeingworkedout.Itisunclearhowquicklytheaterownerswillconverttodigitaltechnology;itcouldtakeyears,accordingtosomeindustryestimates.（Piracywillremainaproblembecauseofillegalcamcorderuse.）

Oneplanbeingdiscussedishavingagroupofstudiosworkwithafinancingpartnertohelppayforthenewprojectors.Aseachprojectorisreplaced,thesavingsassociatedwithlowerfilmcostswouldbeusedtopaydownthedebt.Thetheaterownerswouldthenberesponsibleformaintenanceandupkeep.

（FromNewYorkTimes,July26,2005.）

Shuttlebackinspace

BYJacquiGoddard

 ITTOOKnearly30months,morethanabilliondollarsandtheendeavoursof20,000people.Yetinjust8½thunderousminutes,Nasa’sspaceshuttleprogrammewasfinallybackinorbityesterday.

 ThelaunchofDiscovery,whichpunchedoutoftheEarth’satmosphereat17,400mph,broughtachanceforthebeleagueredUSspaceagencytolayghoststorest.

GroundedsinceFebruary1,2003,whenColumbiadisintegrated16minutesfromlanding,killingsevenastronauts,the24-year-oldshuttlefleethasundergoneasafetymakeoverasNasafightstorestorefaithinitslong-termplantosendmenbacktotheMoonby2020,andontoMars.

Butinahauntingreminderofthe2003tragedy,inwhichthespacecraftbrokeupafterawinghadbeenpuncturedduringthelaunch,videofootageshoweddebrisfallingfromafueltankduringlift-off.

Thedebrisdidnotseemtohittheshuttle,andNasaofficialssaidthattherewasnoimmediatecauseforconcern.

Inasecondincident,radarandvideofootageshoweda1.5inpatchofsurfacingmissingfromaheat-resistanttileonthedoorcoveringDiscovery’snoselandinggear.

JohnShannon,spaceshuttleflightoperationsmanager,saidthatitwastooearlytotellwhetheritmaybecomeasafetyissue.“Personally,Ifeelverygoodaboutwhereweareatinthismissionrightnow,”hesaid.

SecondsbeforeMissionSTS-114liftedofffromtheKennedySpaceCentre,Florida,MikeLeinbach,theflightdirector,sentaradiomessagetoColonelEileenCollinsandhersixcrew.“Onbehalfofthemillionsofpeoplewhobelievesodeeplyinwhatwedo,goodluck,Godspeed—andhavealittlefunupthere,”hesaid.

AsColonelCollinsandherteamsoaredaway,LauraBush,theFirstLady,watchedfromtheroofofthelaunchcontrolcentrewiththefourwives,onehusbandand13childrentheastronautsleftbehind.

JoiningthemwererelativesoftheastronautswhodiedwhenChallengerblewupin1986andthefamiliesoffiveofthecrewofColumbia.

Discovery,propelledby7.5millionpoundsofthrustandburningfuelatarateoffivetonnesasecond,tookoffat10.39amlocaltime.Lessthan20minuteslatershewas111milesabovetheEarth.

The12-d