书名：Where Is the Empire State Building?帝国大厦在哪里？

难度：Lexile蓝思阅读指数870L

读者对象：8-12岁

作者：Janet B. Pascal

出版社名称：Grosset & Dunlap

出版时间：2015

语种：英文

ISBN：9780448484266

商品尺寸：13.5 x 0.7 x 19.4 cm

包装：平装

页数：112页

企鹅出版社的Where Is…?系列科普读物介绍了众多世界各地的知名景观及自然奇迹。文字浅显易懂，叙述风趣幽默，图文并茂地将每个景观的特色及相关知识，几近完整地呈现。书末另附年代表，以及折页地图一张，有助于深入理解。

From historic landmarks to natural wonders, Penguin’sWhere Is? series goes on a world tour through our globe’s most exciting places.

New York City boasts one of the most famous skylines in the world, and the Empire State Building is undeniably the focal point of this incredible view. At 102 stories, the structure was no small feat. In fact, its construction coincided with the onset of the Great Depression, and so progress was met with numerous setbacks. Still, because of the efficiency that went into the building's development, it only took a year and forty-five days to complete! In this informative, easy-to-read account, Janet B. Pascal describes the rise of skyscrapers in the United States, the intricacies of the groundbreaking construction process, and the effect the iconic Empire State Building continues to have today.

WhereIs the Empire State Building?

From Farm to Skyscraper

How to Build a Tall Building

Up and Up

The Happy Warrior

A Building Shaped Like a Pencil

Blasting Away the Astor Hotel

A Framework of Steel

One Year and Forty-Five Days Later

Depressing Times

Filling the Empty State Building

A Lost World Record

Close to Heaven

Timelines

Bibliography

Janet B. Pascal is an Executive Production Editor at Viking Children's Books and the author ofWhat Was the Hindenburg?,What Is the Panama Canal?,Who Was Isaac Newton?,Who Was Dr. Seuss?,Who Was Maurice Sendak?, andWho Was Abraham Lincoln?

Where Is the Empire State Building?

In 1929, there was a “race for the sky” in New York City. Two new skyscrapers were going up—the Chrysler Building and the Manhattan Company Building. Each owner wanted his building to be the tallest in the world. But neither man knew exactly what height the other was aiming for. The owner of the Manhattan Company managed to discover the plans for the Chrysler Building. Immediately, he changed his plans so that his building would be taller.

So in April 1930, the Manhattan Company Building became the tallest in the world. But only for a few weeks. Secretly, the crew of the Chrysler Building was creating a tall spire. All the work took place inside the unfinished building, so no one knew about it. When the spire—125 feet high—was finished, it was lifted up through a hole in the roof. Suddenly the tallest building in the world was the Chrysler Building! With its spire, it was 1,046 feet tall.

What neither company knew was that a third group of builders was watching them both closely. Their building was already designed. But they were waiting until the Chrysler Building was finished before making their plans final. However tall the Chrysler Building was, they planned to make sure their own building was a little taller.