由MarksBarfield建筑公司完成的美丽壮观的伦敦眼，已经成为了伦敦的一个象征。伦敦眼非常成功地实现了它的既定目标：即有史以来第一次为参观者和城市居民提供了整个伦敦市和周围景色的鸟瞰全景。伦敦眼是世界上最大的旋转观察建筑，同时也是实现由水平竖吊成功的最大物体。完美地立于泰晤士河河畔，伦敦眼使其附近建筑--英国伦敦议会大厦顶的大钟和英国国会大厦相形见绌，但并不贬抑它们的存在。伦敦眼的观察舱，安装在旋转观察室的外部，因此，当每个观察舱旋转到顶端时，除了间断的360度的都市风景外，视野上方或周围并没有任何结构。总而言之，伦敦眼的确是一项工程技术的杰作。
BBC报道说，这座为迎接2000年来临而兴建的高达135米的摩天轮，本来只获准运作5年时间，但“伦敦眼”的拥有者希望能让它继续运作下去。
英国航空公司是“伦敦眼”的拥有者。该公司人士曾说，伦敦地方当局原则上同意让“伦敦眼”成为永久性标志，但还需要经伦敦市长和英国政府批准。
自2000年3月开放以来，乘坐“伦敦眼”升空鸟瞰伦敦景象的已超过850万人次，从而成为英国最受欢迎的付费观光点。英国航空公司说，这座1500吨重的建筑至少可以维持运作50年。不过，“伦敦眼”作为“世界第一”的荣誉维持不了多久，因为美国的拉斯维加斯和中国的上海正计划兴建比“伦敦眼”更大的观光摩天轮。
The British Airways London Eye， sometimes called the Millennium Wheel， is the firstbuilt and largest observation wheel in the world (a type of or evolutionevolution n.进展， 发展， 演变， 进化 on the Ferris wheel)， and has been since its opening at the end of 1999. It stands 135 metres (443 feet) high on the western end of Jubilee Gardens， on the South Bank of the River Thames in Lambeth， London， England， between Westminster and Hungerford Bridges. It is adjacent to London，s County Hall， and stands opposite the offices of the Ministry of Defence situated in Westminster which it overlooksoverlook vt.俯瞰， 耸出， 远眺， 没注意到 n.眺望， 俯瞰中的景色 to the west.
Designed by architects David Marks and Julia Barfield， the wheel carries 32 sealed， air conditioned， passenger capsules attached to its external circumference. It rotates at a rate of 0.26 metres per second (about 0.9 km/h or 0.6 mph) so that a complete revolution takes about 30 minutes to complete. The wheel does not usually stop to take on passengers； the rotationrotation n.旋转 rate is so slow that passengers can easily walk on and off the moving capsules at ground level. It is， however， stopped on occasion to allow disabled or elderly passengers time to alight safely. Structurally the Eye resembles a huge spoked bicycle wheel， and was depicted as such in a poster advertising a charity cycle race.
The wheel was constructed in sections which were floated up the river Thames on barges and assembled lying flat on pontoons. Once the wheel was complete it was raised into its upright position by cranes. The wheel was initially lifted at a rate of about 2 degrees per hour until it reached 65 degrees， where it stayed for a week while engineers prepared for the second phase of the lift. The total weight of steel in the Eye is 1，700 tonnes.
If you long to see London from a different perspective， look no further.To mark the start of the new millenniummillennium n.太平盛世， 一千年， architects David Marks and Julia Barfield conceived an entirely new vision： a beautiful and celebratory structure， which would allow people to see this great city from a completely new perspective - on a giant wheel. As well as representing the turning of the century， a wheel was seen as a symbol of regenerationregeneration n.再生， 重建 and the passing of time. The London Eye is the largest observation wheel ever built， and in the top 10 tallest structures in London. From design to construction it took seven years to complete. The 25minute slowmotion ride is so smooth， you，d hardly know you were suspended over the Thames， moving slowly round. On a clear day you can take in a range of up to 25 mi， viewing London，s most famous landmarks from a fascinating angle.
The Eye was opened by British Prime Minister Tony Blair on December 31，1999， although it was not actually opened to the public until March 2000 because of technical problems. Since its opening， the Eye， operated by Tussauds Group but sponsored by British Airways， has become a major landmark and tourist attraction. Recently， The London Eye was voted the world，s best tourist attraction in a poll commissioned by the snack company Pringles.
The Eye enjoyed a warmer reception from the British public upon its opening than London，s other significant Millennium project， the Dome， although the delay in opening had caused some press scepticismscepticism n.怀疑论， 怀疑主义. By July 2002 around 8.5 million people had “flown” the eye. It originally had planning permission only for five years， but at that time Lambeth Council agreed plans to make the attraction permanent.
Although the Eye is currently listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the tallest observation wheel in the world， it is unlikely to keep that title for long. Plans have been announced to build a 170 m wheel on the Las Vegas Strip and a 200 m wheel in Shanghai. (By comparison， the original 1893 Ferris wheel was 75 m high).
York City Walls
约克城墙
约克位于英格兰北部，历史追溯至公元71年，罗马人为了防御外敌而建立的堡垒，城市四周环绕着中古城墙。约克的古城墙是整个英格兰古城墙中保留最完整、最长的。城墙最早修建于罗马人统治时期，之后被来自丹麦的占领者重新加固，现在保留下来的大部分城墙是12世纪到14世纪重建的。它以约克大教堂 (York Minster)为中心，罗马人在17世纪建筑长达5公里的正方形城墙。从火车站的Micklegate Bar登上城墙，可以欣赏约克大教堂的雄伟景观。作为防御外敌的屏障，经过不同统治者的修补，现今在约克可见的是中古时代硕果仅存的城墙。 从火车站进入市区就可以看到这些保存完好的城墙，要登上城墙可以从各个登城口进入。在约克登城口称之为“Bar”，北边的Bootham Bar和西南边的Micklegate Bar，是以前统治者进入城内的主要入口，其他如东北边的Monk Bar和东南方的Walmgate Bar，也都是登城墙的入口。
城墙断续地环绕在古城四周。如果想登上城墙，有三个入口可以选择，三个入口各有特色，也建于不同时期。当你在城墙上漫步时，遇到约克本地人的机会可能大过在市中心--因为市中心总是游客聚集的地方。据说在城墙上散步是本地人的一项爱好。细心的人会发现城墙壁上有很多铜针，它们是当地的考古学家和工程师为了准确测定修复工程的位置而安插的。
绕城墙一圈大约需要2个小时，或是走其中一小段如约克大教堂附近的Bootham Bar到Monk Bar，可顺道欣赏约克大教堂的雄伟景观。
A walk around York，s city walls will take you through 1900 years of history.First built in Roman times， they have been added to and rebuilt over time - so that different parts date from different centuries.As such， they tell the important and fascinatingfascinating adj.迷人的， 醉人的， 着魔的 history of York. And as King George VI once said， “The history of York is the history of England.”
York，s city walls are among the longest and bestpreserved walls in England. They are a scheduled ancient monument and a Grade One listed building.They are visited by over one million people from all over the world every year.Originally built as defences， the focus is now on conservation.
York has more miles of intact city walls than anywhere else in England， visited by over a million people every year. Originally built as defences in Roman times， they，ve been added to and rebuilt over the centuries.