The Leaning Tower of Pisa
比萨斜塔
The tower of Pisa is one of the most beautiful bell towers in Italy.
比萨斜塔是意大利一个最美丽的钟楼。
It is not only beautiful, but also strange-it leans to one side.
它不仅美丽,而且怪--就是向一边倒。
Today it is known as "the Leaning Tower of Pisa".
今天,它被称为"比萨斜塔"。
The building of the tower began in 1173.
塔的建设始于 1173 年。
It took nearly 200 years to complete.
前后花了近 200 年才完成。
In 1178, when the building got to the third floor, it started to lean.
在 1178 年,当建到了三楼时,它就开始倾斜了。
The builders tried to make the tower straight again when they built the upper floors, but failed.
建设者在建造上面的楼层时,试图使塔纠正回来,但是失败了。
Over the years, the tower has continued to lean further.
多年以来,塔继续进一步倾斜。
Experts have done a lot of studies and tried to "rescue" the tower.
专家们进行了大量的研究,并试图"拯救"它。
In 1990, it was closed to the public for safety reasons.
在 1990 年,出于安全原因,它向公众关闭了。
After a lot of effort, it reopened in 2001.
经过大量的努力,它在 2001 年得以重开。
Hopefully it will be safe for at least the next 300 years.
希望这将使它在未来至少 300 年里是安全的。