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Lesson 17The longest suspension bridge in the world世界上最长的吊桥 Verrazano, an Italian about whom little is known, sailed into NewYork Harbour in 1524 and named it Angouleme. He described it as a veryagreeable situation located within two small hills in the midst of which floweda great river. Though Verrazano is by no means considered to be a greatexplorer, his name will probably remain immortal, for on November 21st, 1964,the longest suspension bridge in the world was named after him. The Verrazano Bridge, which was designed by Othmar Ammann, joinsBrooklyn to Staten Island. It has a span of 4,260 feet. The bridge is so longthat the shape of the earth had to be taken into account by its designer. Twogreat towers support four huge cables. The towers are built on immenseunderwater platforms made of steel and concrete. The platforms extend to adepth of over 100 feet under the sea. These alone took sixteen months to build.Above the surface of the water, the towers rise to a height of nearly 700 feet.They support the cables from which the bridge has been suspended. Each of thefour cables contains 26,108 lengths of wire. It has been estimated that if thebridge were packed with cars, it would still only be carrying a third of itstotal capacity. However, size and strength are not the only important thingsabout this bridge. Despite its immensity, it is both simple and elegant,fulfilling its designers dream to create an enormous object drawn as faintlyas possible. | 
