Lions and Tigers and Bears 部分背景知識

1、Background informationofUNIT4 Content1 Belvedere Castle2 Henry Luce Nature Observatory 3 Shakespeare Garden 4 The RambleBelvedere CastleBelvedere Castle( (眺望臺城堡)Belvedere Castle is a folly（裝（裝飾性建筑）飾性建筑） in Central Park in Manhattan, New York City. It contains exhibit rooms and an observation deck（觀（

2、觀測甲板）測甲板）, and since 1919, the folly has also been the location of the official Central Park weather station.Belvedere Castle was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux in the late 1800s. An architectural hybrid（建筑混合）（建筑混合） of Gothic（哥特（哥特式）式） and Romanesque（羅馬式）（羅馬式） styles, Vauxs desig

3、n called for a more weighty Manhattan schist（片（片巖）巖） and granite（花崗巖）（花崗巖） structure with a corner tower with conical cap（錐形頂）（錐形頂）, with the existing lookout over parapet walls（矮護墻）（矮護墻） between them. To reduce costs it was revised in November 1870, and completed under the new Tammany Hall（坦慕尼協(xié)會）（坦

4、慕尼協(xié)會）regime as an open painted-wood（烤漆的）（烤漆的） pavilion.Belvedere means “beautiful view” or “panoramic（全景的）（全景的） view in Italian.Henry luce nature observatory（亨利.魯斯 自然觀測中心） Named for philanthropist Henry Luce (founder of Time Magazine) the Nature Observatory is housed inside one of the parks most bea

5、utiful buildings, Belvedere Castle. The Castle also houses the Central Park center of the National Weather Bureau. Every minute the current climate conditions are sent to the weather center at Brookhaven, Long Island.Henry luce nature observatory is a wonderful educational site that teaches visitors

6、 about nature and wildlife in Central Park in New York. Climbing up and down the narrow, winding staircases（螺旋式樓（螺旋式樓梯）梯） of Belvedere Castle, guests can see all that this small Observatory has to offer, including microscopes（顯微鏡）（顯微鏡）, telescopes（望遠鏡）（望遠鏡）, and Discovery kits（發(fā)現(xiàn)包）（發(fā)現(xiàn)包） complete wit

7、h binoculars（雙筒望遠（雙筒望遠鏡）鏡）, maps, and paper for jotting down（草草記下）（草草記下） findings in the park.Shakespeare GardenShakespeare gardens, created out of reverence for the bard, can be found throughout many locations in both the US and Britain. Of these gardens, one of the most famous is that found in Cen

8、tral Park, where it is located on the West Side of the park and 79th street.What had formerly been known as the Garden of the Heart was, in 1916, renamed the Shakespeare Garden to mark the 300th anniversary of William Shakespeares death. Following in the tradition of already established Shakespeare

9、Gardens, the Garden was filled with the beautiful plants and flowers mentioned in the works of the playwright.The lush（蔥翠的）（蔥翠的） Central Park woodland, known as the Ramble, is composed of 38 acres of winding pathways between 73rd and 78th streets. The RambleThe Ramble（林中漫步）Described by Frederick Law

10、 Olmsted as a “wild garden”, the Rambles maze（迷宮）（迷宮） of trails amidst its abundant flora（植物群）（植物群） and fauna（動物群）（動物群） contrasts spectacularly with the formality of nearby attractions, such as the Bethesda Terrace（畢士畢士大平大平臺）臺）. The Ramble is often noted for its bird watching opportunities, where birdwatchers can catch a glimpse of some of the approximately 230 species found in the woods. Visitors can stop to take a look at the Gill, the man