Backgroundinformation

of

UNIT4

ContentBelvedereCastle(眺望臺城堡)BelvedereCastle

isa

folly〔裝飾性建筑〕

in

CentralPark

in

Manhattan,

NewYorkCity.Itcontainsexhibitroomsandanobservationdeck〔觀測甲板〕,andsince1919,thefollyhasalsobeenthelocationoftheofficialCentralParkweatherstation.BelvedereCastlewasdesignedby

FrederickLawOlmsted

and

CalvertVaux

inthelate1800s.Anarchitecturalhybrid〔建筑混合〕of

Gothic〔哥特式〕

and

Romanesque〔羅馬式〕

styles,Vaux‘sdesigncalledforamoreweightyManhattan

schist〔片巖〕

and

granite〔花崗巖〕structurewithacornertowerwithconicalcap〔錐形頂〕,withtheexistinglookoutoverparapetwalls〔矮護墻〕betweenthem.ToreducecostsitwasrevisedinNovember1870,andcompletedunderthenew

TammanyHall〔坦慕尼協(xié)會〕regimeasanopenpainted-wood〔烤漆的〕pavilion.Belvederemeans“beautifulview”or“panoramic〔全景的〕view"inItalian.Henrylucenatureobservatory〔亨利.魯斯自然觀測中心〕NamedforphilanthropistHenryLuce(founderofTimeMagazine)theNatureObservatoryishousedinsideoneoftheparksmostbeautifulbuildings,BelvedereCastle.TheCastlealsohousestheCentralParkcenteroftheNationalWeatherBureau.EveryminutethecurrentclimateconditionsaresenttotheweathercenteratBrookhaven,LongIsland.HenrylucenatureobservatoryisawonderfuleducationalsitethatteachesvisitorsaboutnatureandwildlifeinCentralParkinNewYork.Climbingupanddownthenarrow,windingstaircases〔螺旋式樓梯〕ofBelvedereCastle,guestscanseeallthatthissmallObservatoryhastooffer,includingmicroscopes〔顯微鏡〕,telescopes〔望遠鏡〕,andDiscoverykits〔發(fā)現(xiàn)包〕completewithbinoculars〔雙筒望遠鏡〕,maps,andpaperforjottingdown〔草草記下〕findingsinthepark.ShakespeareGardenShakespearegardens,createdoutofreverenceforthebard,canbefoundthroughoutmanylocationsinboththeUSandBritain.Ofthesegardens,oneofthemostfamousisthatfoundinCentralPark,whereitislocatedontheWestSideoftheparkand79thstreet.WhathadformerlybeenknownastheGardenoftheHeartwas,in1916,renamedtheShakespeareGardentomarkthe300thanniversaryofWilliamShakespeare‘sdeath.FollowinginthetraditionofalreadyestablishedShakespeareGardens,theGardenwasfilledwiththebeautifulplantsandflowersmentionedintheworksoftheplaywright.Thelush〔蔥蘢的〕CentralParkwoodland,knownastheRamble,iscomposedof38acresofwindingpathwaysbetween73rdand78thstreets.TheRamble〔林中漫步〕DescribedbyFrederickLawOlmstedasa“wildgarden”,theRamble‘smaze〔迷宮〕oftrailsamidstitsabundantflora〔植物群〕andfauna〔動物群〕contrastsspectacularlywiththeformalityofnearbyattractions,suchastheBethesdaTerrace〔畢士大平臺〕.TheRambleisoftennotedforitsbirdwatchingopportunities,wherebirdwatcherscancatchaglimpseofsomeoftheapproximately230speciesfoundinthewoods.VisitorscanstoptotakealookattheGill,theman-madestreamthat