World’s steepest railway line 世界上最陡峭的纜索鐵路

本集內容

學習要點

有關“heights 高度”的詞匯

邊看邊答

What dangers did the workers have to deal with on this project?

文字稿

Up here, 13 hundred metres above sea level, is not a view for the faint-hearted, and transporting people up this steep Swiss mountainside is not without its challenges.

Two years behind schedule, it’s taken 14 years of building with a price tag of 53 million dollars.

But the Swiss are convinced the new funicular on the world’s steepest line is worth it.

Reinhold Boiger, Engineer
“To construct a tunnel with a 110% gradient has rarely been done before. All the workers have to secure themselves. Sometimes they have to work hanging in the ropes. We have to be very careful with the material. If you drop something it falls all the way down, and what’s even more dangerous – if you drop something, it can fall on the head of a worker further below.”

If the breathtaking climb itself doesn’t leave you weak at the knees, then standing upright in the carriages shouldn’t be a problem either.

They’ve been uniquely designed to allow the floors to adjust with the gradient as it travels.

Each of the carriages can carry 34 people, at a speed of ten metres per second, meaning the climb or descent lasts no longer than four minutes.

The line replaces an old funicular that had been operating between the valley town of Schwyz to the mountain village of Stoos since 1933.

The new space-age looking carriages have been hailed an engineering success. It remains to be seen whether it will help take the area’s tourism to new heights.

這裡的海拔高度是1300米，眼前的這片風景讓膽小的人望而卻步，而且要把人運送到這麼陡峭的瑞士山峰上來的確充滿瞭挑戰。

比預期完工的時間晚瞭兩年，修築這條鐵路耗時14年，花費5300萬美元。

但瑞士人相信這條新建的世界上最陡峭的纜索鐵路是值得的。

萊因霍爾德·波傑爾，工程師
“建造一條坡度為110度的地道是我們在過去難得一見的。建築工人都必須保護好自己，有時他們得懸掛在繩索上作業。我們必須特別小心地處理這些建材，一旦掉瞭什麼東西，它就會一直墜落至山底，而且更危險的是，墜落物很可能會砸到正在下方作業的工人的頭。”

如果列車沿纜索驚人的攀升都不會讓你害怕得腿發軟，那麼直立地站在車廂裡也應該不會是個問題。

車廂經過巧妙獨特的設計，在運行時車廂底部會隨著坡度的變化進行調整。

每個車廂可以承載34人，列車的運行速度為每秒10米，這意味著不論是上山還是下山，單程運行時間都不會超過四分鐘。

這條線路取代瞭一條舊的纜索鐵路，就是那條從1933年開始運行在河谷小鎮施維茨到施圖斯山村之間的鐵路。

這些看上去充滿太空時代感的車廂，被人們稱贊為是一次工程設計上的勝利。該工程是否有助於將這個地區的旅遊業推向新的高度，我們拭目以待。

詞匯

faint-hearted
膽怯的

steep
陡的，陡峭的

gradient
坡度

weak at the knees
（因害怕而）腿發軟的

descent
下降，下落

你知道嗎？

The name ‘funicular’ is derived from the Latin word funis, which translates as ‘rope’. Funiculars use ropes or chains and operate on a counterbalancing system. The weight of the one at the top pulls against the one at the bottom, making it move.

英語單詞“纜索鐵道”源自拉丁語中的“funis”，也就是“纜繩、繩索”的意思。纜索鐵道依靠纜繩或鎖鏈來達到一種平衡系統，處於高處的纜繩利用重量拉拽處於低處的纜繩，由此纜索機制得以運行。

問題答案

They had to secure themselves and sometimes work hanging in the ropes. They also had to be careful with material. If it dropped, it could have injured a worker below.