Burj Khalifa， known as Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration， is a skyscraper in Dubai， United Arab Emirates， and is the tallest man-made structure in the world， at 829.8 m (2，722 ft).
Construction began on 21 September 2004， with the exterior of the structure completed on 1 October 2009. The building officially opened on 4 January 2010 and is part of the new 2 square kilometers (490-acre) development called Downtown Dubai at the “First Interchange” along Sheikh Zayed Road， near Dubai’s main business district. The tower’s architecture and engineering were performed by Skidmore， Owings and Merrill of Chicago， with Adrian Smith as chief architect and Bill Baker as chief structural engineer. The primary contractor was Samsung C&T of South Korea.
古祠留芳
Chen Clan Temple
Introduction 简介
Located at Zhongshan 7th Road， the Chen Clan Temple is an academic temple in Guangzhou， China， built by the 72 Chen clans for their juniors’ accommodation and preparation for the imperial examinations in 1894 in Qing Dynasty. Later it was changed to be the Chen Clan’s Industry College， and then middle schools afterward. Now it houses the Guangdong Folk Art Museum. It was added in the list of “Cultural Relics of National Importance under the Protection of the State” in 1988.
陈家祠堂坐落于广东省广州市中山七路，又称“陈氏书院”，是广东省著名的宗祠建筑。陈家祠始建于清光绪十四年（1888年），光绪二十年（1894年）落成，它是由清末广东省七十二县的陈姓人士联合建造的。其建造初衷是为本族各地读书人来广州参加科举考试时提供住处。科举废除之后，陈氏书院被先后改为陈氏实业学堂、专科院校以及中学等。1959年陈家祠被辟为广东民间工艺博物馆，并在1988年被列为全国重点文物保护单位。
The Chen Clan Temple is a symmetric complex and consists of nine halls， six courtyards， several wing-rooms and long corridors. Facing south， the complex forms around a north-south axis. On the main axis lie the Head-entrance， the Gathering Hall and the Back Hall . These three main buildings are separated with courtyards. The Chen Clan Temple complex exemplifies traditional Chinese architecture and decoration style and has influenced cultural and architectural developments worldwide.
陈氏书院坐北朝南，为中国“三进三路九堂两厢杪”院落式布局，由9座厅堂、6个院落、10座厢房和长廊巷组成。沿着中心轴线依次坐落的是头门、聚贤堂和后堂，三者之间有庭院相间。陈家祠是中国传统建筑和装饰风格的典型代表，对世界文化及建筑发展产生深远的影响。
The Head-entrance is 27.56 meter wide and 14.91 meter deep with 17 columns， all decorated with flowers and figures. On the top of the gate of the Head-entrance hangs a tablet with words， meaning “Chen Clan Temple”. On the sides of the gate sit stone mats and a pair of 2.25 meter high stone drums. River Gods are painted in color on the gate. Inside the gate there are four double-side engraved screen. The main beams are decorated with birds， flowers， human figures plasters， bats and lions.
头门面宽五间27.56米、进深三间14.91米。17架梁用四柱、梁架、驼峰、斗拱、雀替均刻有花卉、瓜果、人物等纹饰。头门大门上悬“陈氏书院” 横匾，两边有石砌垫台，门前两侧立一对直径1.4米、连座高2.25米的石鼓，两扇大门上彩绘河神。大门内设四扇双面镂雕屏风。正梁塑花鸟、人物灰塑纹饰，砌石湾陶塑人物瓦脊，垂脊塑寿果、蝠鼠和狮子等。
The Gathering Hall was once a place for meeting and worship of the Chen clansmen and now it is used as an ancestral hall. It is 27.84 meter wide and 16.7 meter deep with 21 main beams and 6 stone craved columns. In front of the hall lies a stone gazebo surrounded by stone balustrades. Inside the hall sit twelve engraved folding screens. The pottery sculptures on the beams are renewed in 1981.
聚贤堂原是陈姓族人举行春秋祭祀和议事聚会的地方。面宽五间27.84米、进深三间16.7米，二十一架梁六柱出前后廊，梁架、驼峰、斗拱、雀替雕刻花纹，后外金柱明间、次间装12扇镂雕屏风，稍间设花罩；堂前设月台，正脊上陶塑瓦脊是1981年修复时重新烧制的。
Memorial tablets of ancestors were placed on a 21-step wooden shelf in the Back Hall， which was once used for worship of ancestors. In the rooms sit 7-meter-high wooden-carved niche covers.
后进后堂及大厅三间原是安放陈氏祖先牌位及祭祀的厅堂。后金柱间各设高7米的木镂雕龛罩，后稍间设神龛，内设21级木阶放置神位、牌位。
The Chen clan Temple is notable for the rich decorations which exist inside， outside the halls and in almost every beams， ridges， walls and columns. This makes the Chen Clan Temple a large collection of wood carving， stone carving， brick carving， pottery， plaster and iron engraving.
陈氏书院集岭南建筑工艺装饰之大成，几乎全部堂、院、廊、厅、门、窗、栏、壁、屋脊、架梁都展示了岭南建筑的“三雕三塑”即石雕、木雕、砖雕、陶塑、泥塑、灰塑以及铁铸工艺的高超技艺。
Vocabulary 轻松学单词
axis [kss] n. 轴线
Mars takes longer to revolve on its axis than the earth.
火星自转一周的时间比地球长。
worship [w：p] v. 崇拜；礼拜
Our worship today is led by the priest.
我们今天的礼拜活动由约翰·帕克牧师主持。
balustrade [blstred] n. 栏杆
The girl leaned over the balustrade and shouted to the man downstairs.
女孩俯身在阳台栏杆上对楼下的人们喊着。
tablet [tblt] n. 碑；药片；平板电脑
A tablet commemorates his patriotic activities.
碑文铭记他的爱国行动。
niche [ni：] n. 壁龛；利基
What you have to do is find a niche for your product or service.
你要做的就是为你的产品或服务找到市场定位。
Dialogue 对话
Joyce：
Hello， Jack， how are you doing
Jack：
Hi， Joyce！ I’m fine. I heard you’ve been to many places in Guangzhou during the last month.
Joyce： Yes， I love travelling.
Jock：
Which do you prefer Visiting traditional attractions or modern architectures
Joyce：
I prefer to visit traditional architecture such as Chen Clan Temple.
Jack： It must be very beautiful.
Joyce：
Yes， Clan Temple complex exemplifies traditional Chinese architecture and decoration style.
乔伊斯：
杰克，你好，最近好吗？
杰克：
你好，乔伊斯，我挺好的。听说你上个月游览了广州的很多地方。
乔伊斯：
是啊，我喜欢旅行。
杰克：
古传统建筑与现代建筑相比，你更喜欢那种呢？
乔伊斯：
我更喜欢参观想陈家祠那样的传统建筑。
杰克：
陈家祠一定很漂亮吧。
乔伊斯：
陈家祠是中国传统建筑和装饰风格的典型代表。
趣味连接：宗祠文化
在中国传统的民族文化里，宗祠文化是一项不可忽视的姓氏宗族文化。由于封建社会遗留下来的传宗接代思想的根深蒂固，中华民族就产生了姓氏文化。全世界任何国家的姓氏文化都没有像中国这样延续数千年来都没有间断。虽然在文化大革命时期，破四旧在一定程度上阻滞了其发展甚至受到严重批判，但作为一种宗族文化，一种植根于百姓骨髓的传统，还是迅速地在中国大地蔓延生息，香火不断。最具象的一面，即是宗祠文化。
宗祠
宗祠，习惯上多被称为家庙、祠堂，是供奉祖先神主（即俗称的牌位）、宗族祭祀祖先的场所，一向被视为宗族的象征。
崇拜祖先并立庙祭祀的现象，在原始社会后期即已存在。明世宗采纳大学士夏言的建议，正式允许民间皆得联宗立庙，从此宗祠遍立，祠宇建筑到处可见。宗祠原为“追远、报本”的目的而兴建，所以在建筑规制上要体现出礼尊而貌严。自南宋到明初，一般的祠堂都是家祠。特别是自明清以来，祠堂成了宗族祭祀先祖、举办宗族事务、修编宗谱、议决重大事务的重要场所。
宗祠，除了作为祭祀场所之外，过去的宗祠还是处理宗族内部事务、执行族规家法的地方。族人的冠礼、婚礼、丧礼基本上都在祠堂进行的。有的宗族规定族人之间或族人家庭之中发生了争执，都要到祠堂中裁决。所以，在封建时代，祠堂在一定意义上又成了衙门，具有一族“公堂”的性质。