陳蕙雅思教材 - 雅思閱讀精選 (Lighthouses)

Lighthouses

The  first navigational  lights  in  the  New World  were  probably  

lanterns  hung at  harbor entrances. The first         lighthouse was put up by

the Massachusetts BayColony in 1716 on Little Brewster Island at the

entrance to Boston   Harbor. Paid for and maintained by"light dues" levied

on ships, the originalbeacon was blown up in 1776. By        thenthere were only

a dozen or so truelighthouses in the colonies. Little over a century

later, there were 700           lighthouses.

The first light erectedon the West Coast in the 1850's featured the same

basic New England design:a Cape Cod  dwelling with the tower risingfrom

the center or standingclose by. In New England  and  elsewhere, though,      

lighthouses reflecteda  variety of architectural styles. Sincemost

stations in the Northeastwere built on rocky     eminences,enormous towers

were not the rule. Somewere made of stone and brick, others of wood or

metal. Some  stood on pilings or stilts; some were fastenedto rock with

iron rods. Farther south,from Maryland through the   Florida Keys,the coast

was low and sandy. It wasoften necessary to build tall  towersthere -  

massive structures   like the majestic Cape Hatteras, NorthCarolina,

lighthouse, which was litin 1870. At

190 feet, it is thetallest       brick lighthouse in thecountry.

Notwithstanding  differences in  appearance  and construction,  most

American  lighthouses shared several features: a        light, living quarters and

sometimes a bell (orlater, a foghorn).They also had something else in

common: a  keeper           and,  usually, the keeper's family. The  keeper's

essential task wastrimming  the lantern  wick in order to maintain  a

steady,  bright flame. The earliest keepers came fromevery walk of life -

they were seamen,farmers,  mechanics,          rough mill hands - and appointments

were often handed out bylocal customs commissioners as political plums.

After theadministration  of lighthouses was  taken over  in 1852 by the

United States LighthouseBoard, an agency of the       TreasuryDepartment, the

keeper corps graduallybecame highly professional.

燈塔在新大陸上，最初的航標燈要算那些掛在港灣入口的提燈了吧。  最初的燈塔是

1716 年由麻塞諸塞灣殖民地在波士頓港入口一個叫小布羅斯特的島上建起的。 這最初的燈 塔是通過向船隻徵收"買光錢"來維持運作的，於 1776

年被炸毀。  那時，在各殖民地，真正 的燈塔僅有十幾個。  但過了一個世紀多一點，燈塔就增至七百多個了。  1850  年，在西部

沿海建起的首座燈塔基本上沿襲了新英格蘭燈塔的設計方案，即那種中心或周圍升起塔樓的 典型的哥德角式房子。

新英格蘭與其它一些地方的燈塔在建築風格上是多樣化的。 在東北 部，燈塔大都建在石質的高地上，因此塔身不需要太高。  它們有磚石結構的；  也有木材或

金屬結構的，有的燈塔建在支架上，有的則用鐵條固定在岩石上。  在更南方的地區，從馬

裡蘭到弗羅裡達礁群的海岸地勢低平且多為沙質，因此高大的塔身就很必要了。  例如 1870 年在北卡羅來納的哈特拉角建的宏偉的大燈塔，高達 190

英尺，是全美最高的磚結構燈塔。 雖然美國的燈塔在外觀和結構上存在一些差異，但它們確有些共同之處，比如都有燈標、有 住房、有時還有鐘(後來改用霧角)。  

此外，還有一個相同之處，那就是都有守塔人，通常 是守塔人全家。 守塔人的基本工作就是修剪燈蕊，以便火焰明亮而穩定。 最早的守塔人來

自各種行業：海員、農民、技工和幹粗活的。  這個職位通常是作為政治回報由地方海關官 員決定任命。 但在 1852

年後，財政部下屬的美國燈塔管理委員會接管了所有燈塔，守塔人 這支隊伍也逐漸趨向專業化了。