The first sky-scrapers were built in the last years of the nineteenth century.These early sky-scrapers were shaped like tall shoe boxes standing on end.After many of these box buildings were built，people found that they cut off the light from the streets below and from buildings next door.And so cities made rules about how sky-scrapers should be built.The rules said that sky-scrapers could no longer be built with a shape like a shoe box.The higher the building rose in the air，the rules said，the narrower it had to he.
The lower part of a sky-scraper，for instance，might cover an entire city block.But after the building had risen a certain number of stories.the other stories above had to be set back from the edge of the streets so as not to cut off the light.The tower of the building might be built as high as the sky，just so its base didn’t cover more than one quarter of the base of the first floor of the sky-scraper.
These set-back rules made the new sky-scrapers look quite different from the older ones.The older sky-scrapers looked different，too，because architects had tried to make them in the style of some architecture of the past.Some had Greek columns at the base，although the columns carried no weight and weren’t used for anything except show.Some had huge cornices at the top which were copied from the Renaissance buildings，but were just as useless and false as the columns.The outsides of these sky-scrapers were “fake，”and “fake”architecture can never be very beautiful.
The new sky-scrapers are not “fake.”They are not made to imitate some style of the past.Some people call them “stripped architecture.”The architects tried to make their shapes beautiful without sticking old-fashioned decorations on the outside.Color began to be used.Several sky-scrapers have the outside walls made of black brick trimmed at the top of the building with gold.The American Radiator Building in New York is black and gold.So is the Richfield Building in San Francisco.Other sky-scrapers have dark red bricks at the lower stories，with the color growing lighter and lighter towardthe upper stories.The Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building use the bright nickel-color of rustless steel on the outside.
The hundreds of windows are no longer just holes in the wall.They are used to add to the beauty of the building.In some sky-scrapers the windows look like stripes running from the ground to the top.They seem to carry the eye upward like the lines of a Gothic cathedral.Others have the windows arranged in rows that make stripes across the building instead of up and down.Other sky-scrapers are made like blocks，small blocks on top of larger blocks.
No.87THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING AT NIGHT，NEW YORK（纽约帝国大厦夜景）
Photograph by Publishers Photo Service
But I haven’t yet told you what sky-scrapers are used for.You probably know already.Some are used as offices where people work.Some are used as apartments where people live.Certainly people don’t build sky-scrapers for fun.They have to be useful.And as it costs millions of dollars to build a real sky-scraper，the buildings have to make money after they are built.Sky-scrapers make money by having their rooms rented for offices or apartments.In the office sky-scraper，there is often a bank or a store or even a theater on the first floor.Some office buildings have ten thousand people working in them and when all these people start going home between five and six in the afternoon，they jam the sidewalks and fill the streets with traffic.
Sky-scrapers seem wonderful at a distance，they seem wonderful near at hand，andthe more one learns about them the more wonderful they seem.If you’ve never seen a high sky-scraper，it will give you an idea of how very high it is when I tell you that the mail chutes have to be made with parts in them to slow up the letters dropping down from the top，for otherwise the letters would go so fast they would be scorched！
【中文阅读】
多高才算“高”呢？对一座山来说，可能要有几英里才算高山。对一架飞机来说，它甚至能飞得比最高的山还要高。而对一座建筑物来说，有一千多英尺高就算是高楼了。在我看来，一千多英尺高的大楼要比大山或飞机的高度更使人赞叹，尽管没有山那么高，也不及飞机的高度。
如你所知，那些很高的大楼，叫做摩天大厦。那是美国人的发明，而且大部分都在美国。美国大多数城市都有摩天大厦，但是纽约的摩天大楼最为壮观。纽约差不多有两百多座摩天大厦，就像巨型牙刷上的刚毛直插云霄。远远看去，它们就像是童话里的楼塔，梦幻中的蜃楼，让人难以置信。如果是乘电梯登上摩天大厦的楼顶，它们就更让人难以置信。
哥特式大教堂虽都有高塔和直耸的尖顶，但要是建在摩天大厦的旁边，就一点也不显得高了。你肯定会感到奇怪，人怎么会在地上建那么高的大楼呢？但它们确实就在那儿，拔地而起，直达102层高，从上往下看，街上的行人就像移动的黑蚂蚁。你掐自己一下，如果疼痛，就证明自己很清醒，不是在做梦。摩天大厦的确是真的。那建造一座这样的大楼一定要花很长的时间吧？
你错了！还记得吗？哥特式大教堂好几百年才建成，而建造一座摩天大厦所花的时间却非常短。纽约市的帝国大厦不到一年就建成了，而且有102层高。神奇呀！
神奇的事还多着呢！有一座现代的摩天大厦是靠货车建成的！它是按照时间表逐步在空中加高的。每一根钢椼、每一块石头、每一节管道，都由卡车按时拉来立即安装。如果先运到的建材有错，就会影响开工。因为运来的建材没地方放，否则就会挡道，就会导致街上交通阻塞。大楼的整体工程就要停工等待。所以卡车把建材一运到，立马就要卸下并吊到需要的地方，而不是堆在地上等待搬运。
因此也就不难明白，必须事先做好准备工作是建造摩天大厦的一个非常重要的环节。建筑师和工程师必须认真设计图纸，并仔细核查。必须安排好所有的建材，以便在规定的时间派上用场——既不能太早，也不能太晚。这就是为什么如此巨大、壮观的建筑物能这么快就建好，而同时又不影响街道的交通堵塞。
摩天大厦的建法与过去的建筑物不一样。摩天大厦有一个钢架结构。每一层都是一个钢筋笼，外墙就固定在钢筋笼上。支撑整个大楼的不是墙壁，而是这些钢筋笼。墙壁就像帐篷的四围一样——只是为了保护里面免受风霜雨雪的侵蚀，而不是起支撑作用。要是发现自家房屋外墙竟没立在地上时，谁不惊讶呢？可摩天大厦的外墙就是不立在地面，而是悬在钢筋笼上。有时候我们甚至会在摩天大厦的墙壁与人行道之间看到一条裂缝，原来墙壁根本就没接触地面！当然，没人愿意走到摩天大厦的顶层。那可要花很长时间啊。要是有谁走过的话，就会发现，爬到楼顶已是筋疲力尽，再也没有力气走下来了。所以说摩天大厦要是不安电梯，可就没什么吸引力啦。一座巨型的摩天大厦会有许多电梯。既有局部电梯也有快速电梯，就像铁路有快车慢车一样，可以将人快速送到顶层，而不需要在每层都停一下。近期建造的摩天大厦对电梯作了调制，确保等梯时间不超过一分钟。
第一批摩天大厦建于19世纪后期。这批早期的摩天大厦形状就像高高竖立的鞋盒子。人们在建造了许多这种鞋盒型大楼后发现，它们遮挡了下面街道和周围建筑物的光线。因此许多城市对建造摩天大厦制定了条例。这些条例规定，摩天大厦不能再建成鞋盒形。再就是楼层越高，宽度要越小。
譬如，摩天大厦的底部可能会占据整整一个街区的面积。但在往上建到一定的高度后，上面的楼层就必须往里缩，以免遮挡下面街道的光线，而大楼的尖塔可能要建得很高，直耸云霄，以使它的基座所占面积不超过整座楼地基的四分之一。
这些限制性的条例使新造的摩天大厦跟以往的很不一样。而以往的摩天大厦看起来也很不同，因为建筑师总是要掺杂一些传统的风格。有些大楼在底部安有希腊式柱子，尽管它们根本不起支撑作用，纯粹做样子。有些摩天大厦照搬文艺复兴模式，在顶部建造大型飞檐，就像希腊柱式，不讲实用，只做样子。这些摩天大厦的外表都在“假冒”，而“假冒”的建筑物绝不会好看。