Orbit tower unveiled in London's Olympic park

 　　LONDON, May 11 (Xinhua) -- A controversial steel tower was unveiled in the Olympic park of London on Friday, about two and a half months before opening of the Games, which was hoped to become of a new icon¹ of the city and bring more visitors.

　　The tower, officially known as the ArcelorMittal Orbit, stands 114.5 meters tall, with red "orbits" winding² and twisting like the tracks of a roller coaster. It is the tallest sculpture in the UK, 22 meters taller than the Statue of Liberty in the New York City.

　　Calling the orbit a "contemporary idea", its designer Cecil Balmond said the tower was "functional³ and robust⁴". "When you are travelling to the top of the tower, you see the line travelling with you," he said poetically⁵. "The space is compiled around you, and you are dissecting⁶ space."

　　The Orbit, which cost 22.7 million pounds (about 229.8 million yuan), took 18 months to finish. About 60 percent of the 2,000 tonnes of steel used in it was from recycled scrap⁷ collected from around the world, particularly Luxemburg in west Europe.

　　It will open to the public in July. "UNUSUAL WILL BECOME USUAL" Balmond is also designer of the quirky headquaters building of China Central Television in Beijing, which was dubbed⁸ by many as the "big boxer⁹ shorts" due to its shape. "I like to design eccentric buildings," Balmond told Xinhua. "Most buildings in Beijing are straight, but I designed the one as twisted." So is the Orbit.

　　Towers are mostly symmetrical, but the designers described the Orbit as "unsettling" and "refusal of a singular image". Talking about the color, he said that as the park is mostly green and white, it is important to have some other colors, like red. Orbit invited controversy¹⁰ from people, who satirize¹¹ it as the "Eiffel Tower after a nuclear attack", or a "catastrophic collision between two cranes". But Anish Kapoor, another designer of it, seemed at ease.

　　"Victor Hugo once described the Eiffel Tower as hideously¹² ugly, " he said, adding that in nowadays however, people no longer think so. As time passes, he noted¹³, "the unusual becomes usual and the concept of beauty changes".

　　Boris Johnson, the newly-elected mayor of London, likes the idea of having such a tower. "London needed something in the Olympic park like the Eiffel Tower," he said.

　　"We need some statement about the city, about what we are doing. " OLYMPIC PARK TO BE A LEGACY¹⁴ Plans as how to develop the Olympic park were also discussed on Monday.

　　According to Andrew Altman, chief executive of the London Legacy Development Corporation, the park, called in full the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, will be transformed into a visitor destination in the spring of 2014.

　　Unlike the other part of London, it will feature modernity as a combination of waterways, parklands, new neighborhoods and sports and entertainment venues¹⁵.

　　The Olympic venues will be used principally for sports, but other events will be carried out as well. "There will be floating cinema, niche¹⁶ festival and concerts and other outdoor activities," he said while showing a slide. "It is part of the city and we don' t want it to be isolated¹⁷."

　　It was hoped that the Orbit tower could help bring one million visitors a year. "(It) is a calling card for investment in east London," said Johnson the mayor. "It is the symbol of prosperity and growth."

　　"The development of this area, creating new jobs, homes, schcools and thriving communities beyond the Olympics, is one of the most important regeneration priorities as we lay the ground now to meet the needs of the next 25 years," Johnson added.

1 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

2 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

3 functional   

adj.为实用而设计的，具备功能的，起作用的

参考例句：

• The telephone was out of order,but is functional now.电话刚才坏了，但现在可以用了。
• The furniture is not fancy,just functional.这些家具不是摆着好看的，只是为了实用。

4 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

5 poetically   

adv.有诗意地，用韵文

参考例句：

• Life is poetically compared to the morning dew. 在诗歌中，人生被比喻为朝露。 来自辞典例句
• Poetically, Midsummer's Eve begins in flowers and ends in fire. 仲夏节是富有诗意的节日，它以鲜花领航，在篝火旁完美落幕。 来自互联网

6 dissecting   

v.解剖（动物等）( dissect的现在分词 )；仔细分析或研究

参考例句：

• Another group was dissecting a new film showing locally. 另外一批人正在剖析城里上演的一部新电影。 来自辞典例句
• Probe into Dissecting Refraction Method Statics Processing under Complicated Surface Conditions. 不同地表条件下土壤侵蚀的坡度效应。 来自互联网

7 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

8 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

10 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

11 satirize   

v.讽刺

参考例句：

• Somebody satirize that the general's lacking in courage.有人讽刺这位将军缺乏勇气。
• Luxun created such an image to satirize.鲁迅是为了讽刺才塑造这样一个人物形象的。

12 hideously   

adv.可怕地，非常讨厌地

参考例句：

• The witch was hideously ugly. 那个女巫丑得吓人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Pitt's smile returned, and it was hideously diabolic. 皮特的脸上重新浮现出笑容，但却狰狞可怕。 来自辞典例句

13 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

14 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

15 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

16 niche   

n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等)

参考例句：

• Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
• The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。

17 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。