双语阅读：关于埃菲尔铁塔的10件事

The iconic symbol of Paris, the Eiffel Tower opened to the public on March 31, 1889, and the graceful metal structure has continued to captivate the world for 130 years.

埃菲尔铁塔是巴黎的标志性建筑，于1889年3月31日向公众开放。130年以来，这座宏伟的金属结构建筑一直吸引着全球的目光。

But some little known facts about the Eiffel Tower may surprise you. We’ve put together a list.

但是关于埃菲尔铁塔一些鲜为人知的事实可能让你惊讶。我们一起来看看。

1) It was supposed to be torn down in 1909

原本打算1909年就把埃菲尔铁塔拆掉

The original intention was for the structure, which was built for the 1889 World’s Fair, to be demolished after 20 years. But engineer Gustave Eiffel later arranged to have a radio antenna and transmitter placed in the tower, and the importance of the tower to communications spared it from demolition. Currently 120 antennas broadcast radio and television transmissions from the tower.

埃菲尔铁塔是为1889年世界博览会修建的，人们最初打算在20年后把它拆掉。但工程师古斯塔夫-埃菲尔之后在塔上安装了无线电天线和发射机，铁塔的通信作用使之保留了下来。目前塔上有120个无线电广播和电视信号传输天线。

2) The Eiffel Tower once housed a newspaper printing plant

铁塔上曾经有一家报纸印刷厂

During the 1889 World’s Fair, the newspaper?Le Figaro?set up a small printing operation on the third floor that produced a daily commemorative edition for visitors to buy.

在1889年的世界博览会期间，法国《费加罗报》在埃菲尔铁塔三楼设立了一个小型印刷厂，每天为游客提供纪念版报纸。

3) It’s the world’s most visited paid tourist attraction

埃菲尔铁塔是全世界游客最多的付费旅游景点

Almost seven million visitors each year pay the admission fee to visit the Eiffel Tower. Since the structure opened in 1889, nearly 300 million people have experienced the tower.

每年有近700万游客购买门票参观埃菲尔铁塔。自铁塔1889年开放以来，已有近3亿人前来参观。

4) There’s an apartment at the top

铁塔顶部有一间公寓

A private apartment that Gustave Eiffel used as an office was created at the top of the tower. Eiffel entertained dignitaries there, and today visitors to the apartment will see it as it looked in Eiffel’s day, with life-like wax models of Eiffel and Thomas Edison.

铁塔建造者古斯塔夫-埃菲尔用作办公的私人公寓位于塔顶，他在那里招待贵宾。如今，去塔顶公寓参观的游客能见证埃菲尔的一天，那里还有埃菲尔和托马斯-爱迪生的仿真人版蜡像。

5) You could send a postcard by balloon from the Eiffel Tower

你可以在埃菲尔铁塔用气球发送明信片

As a promotion during the 1889 World’s Fair, visitors could buy a commemorative postcard that was attached to a balloon and a small parachute. Visitors would write an address on the postcard and release it into the air from the tower. The postcard was supposed to fall back to earth gently due to the parachute, but it’s not known how many of these postcards ever made it to their intended addresses.

作为1889年世界博览会期间的宣传推广活动，游客可以购买一张附带在一个气球和小型降落伞上的纪念明信片。参观者在明信片上写下地址，再将气球放到空中。明信片会随着降落伞缓慢落地，但不知道这些明信片中有多少曾经到达预期的地址。

6) The paint color of the Eiffel Tower presents an optical illusion

铁塔的油漆颜色呈现视错觉

Because the taller sections of the tower are against the brighter sky, the bronze paint color is shaded slightly darker than the color closer to the ground. This is to give the impression that the tower is painted in a single shade.

因为塔的较高部分与较亮的天空相对，所以那部分的青铜漆颜色比靠近地面的颜色略深。这样是为了让铁塔的整体颜色看上去是一致的。

7) You can enjoy some bubbly at the top

你可以在塔顶享受香槟酒

The Eiffel Tower has a champagne bar at the top level. There are a couple of options available, starting at about $15 for a glass of bubbly.

埃菲尔铁塔顶层设有香槟酒吧，饮品有多种选择，一杯香槟酒起价约15美元（约合人民币100元。）

8) The Eiffel Tower is a naked Statue of Liberty

埃菲尔铁塔是裸体版的自由女神像

So to speak. Gustave Eiffel’s company designed the metal structure that holds the Statue of Liberty together. You can think of the Eiffel Tower as a Statue of Liberty without the skin, though the shapes of the two structures are quite different.

可以这么说。古斯塔夫-埃菲尔的公司也为自由女神像设计了金属结构。你可以认为埃菲尔铁塔就是除去外部附着的自由女神像，尽管两个建筑的形状大相径庭。

9) It’s much less crowded at night

晚上不那么拥挤

Visitors to Paris may not be as romantic as we thought. Although Paris is known as the City of Light and its illuminated attractions can easily be seen at night, the Eiffel Tower has much fewer visitors in the evening than during the day. The tower is open year-round until 11:45 pm, with the last admissions at 11 pm, 10:30 pm to visit the top. During the height of summer, the tower stays open for another hour.

巴黎游客可能没我们想的那么浪漫。尽管巴黎以光之城著称，晚上很容易看到众多的照明景观，但埃菲尔铁塔晚上的游客比白天少得多。铁塔全年开放，每日关闭时间为晚上11点45分，最后入场时间为晚上11点，塔顶最后入场时间是晚上10点半。在夏季旅游高峰期，铁塔还延长开放一小时。

10) 19th-century elevators are still in operation

19世纪的电梯仍在运行

Two of the original elevator cars, and the 1899 hydraulic equipment, are still functioning in the Eiffel Tower elevators that go to the third floor in the east and west pillars. The equipment has been updated, but it is essentially the same technology that was used more than a century ago.

两台建塔时原有的电梯，以及1899年的液压设备仍在运行，可以将游客送到东部和西部铁柱的三层。电梯设备虽然经过更新，但基本上与一个多世纪以前使用的技术相同。