The leaning tower

In Italy, the bell towers, or campaniles, of cathedrals are often separate from the cathedrals themselves, and that of Pisa is no exception. It was built between 1174 and 1271, with the top bell stage being added in 1350. Almost immediately, it seems, it began to tilt. The tower began to lean even before it was finished. The builders tried to compensate by building the tower so that the top would be straight, even if the bottom half was not. This gave the tower its slightly bent appearance. But the problem was in the ground beneath. It is extremely soft, and the tower's foundations do not spread out over a wide enough to stop the tower from overloading the ground and sinking.

HOW FAR DOES IT LEAN?

The leaning Tower has in the last 700 years tilted so far that, over a total height of more than 151 feet and a diameter of 52 feet, it is now 7,8 feet out of true. In other words, if you stood on its topmost parapet and dropped a stone over the edge, it would fall vertically but strike the ground that far from the base.

WILL IT FALL?

The tower is still leaning a little more each year, and the stresses in its stonework are so great that if the movement is not stopped, it will soon collapse.

SAVING THE TOWER

The Leaning Tower is so famous that no one wants it upright again! A method will have to be found to stop the movement, straighten it just a little so that the masonry stresses are mangeable, and hold it steady for good.

OTHER TOWERS

The tower at Pisa isn't Italy's only leaning tower. This pair, the Torre Asinelli and the Torre Garisenda, were built slightly earlier at Bologna, and the taller of the two is slightly higher than that at Pisa.

1. Answer the following questions:

1. When was the Leaning Tower built?

2. When did the tower begin to lean?

3. What was the reason for its leaning?

4. How far does it lean?

5. Is the tower still leaning?

6. What will happen to the tower if the movement is not stopped?

7. Is the tower at Pisa the only leaning tower?

2. Give the Russian equivalents to the following words and phrases:

campaniles; cathedral; tower's; foundations; overloading; topmost; parapet; stonework; to collapse

3. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English:

1. Построенная между 1174 и 1271 годами башня начала падать почти сразу же.

2. Главная причина падения башни заключается в исключительно мягкой почве.

3. Башня падает все последние 700 лет.

4. Если встать на парапет и бросить сверху камень, он упадет далеко от основания башни.

5. Если движение башни не остановить, она скоро разрушится.

6. Кроме башни в Пизе существуют еще две подобные ей: Торре Асинелли и Торре Гаризенди в Болонье.

4. Find all the Participles in the text and translate them.

5. Retell the Text.