SET in the heart of Cambridge, the chapel at King’s College is rightly famous. Built in the Gothic style, and finished in 1515, its ceiling is particularly remarkable. From below it looks like a living web of stone (see picture below). Few know that the delicate masonry is strong enough that it is possible to walk on top of the ceiling’s shallow vault, in the gap beneath the timber roof.
在剑桥的中心地带，国王学院的小礼堂是非常有名的。它以哥特式风格建造，1515年竣工，它的天花板特别引人注目。从下往上看，它就像一个逼真的石头网（见下图）。很少有人知道这精美的石头建筑是足够的结实，人们能够在天花板的浅拱上方，就是木制屋顶下方的间隙处行走。
These days such structures have fallen out of fashion. They are too complicated for the methods employed by most modern builders, and the skilled labour required to produce them is scarce and pricey. Now, though, new technologies are beginning to bring this kind of construction back within reach. Powerful computers allow designers to envisage structures that squeeze more out of the compromise between utility, aesthetics and cost. And 3D printing can help turn those complicated, intricate designs into reality.
这些天这种建筑已经不再流行。对于实施这些方法的大多数现代建设者来说，它们太复杂，并且建造这些建筑的熟练劳动力是非常稀少且价格高。现在，尽管新的科技开始将这种建筑带回到触手可及的范围。高性能计算机使设计者能够设想出在功能、美学、费用中折中的结构。3D打印能够帮助人们将那些错综复杂的设计变为现实。
In a factory that makes precast concrete, 16km south of Doncaster, in northern England, a robotic arm hangs over a wide platform, a dribble of hard pink wax dangling from a nozzle at its tip. The arm is mounted on a steel gantry which lets it move about in three dimensions, covering a volume 30 metres long, 3.5 metres wide and 1.5 metres deep. Called FreeFAB, the system uses specialised wax to print ultra-precise moulds that, in turn, are used to cast concrete panels. Hundreds of these panels are being installed in passenger tunnels as part of Crossrail, Europe’s biggest construction project, which is digging a new east-west railway line across London.
在一家距英国北部唐卡斯特市南部16km的生产预拌混凝土的工厂里，一个机械手臂悬挂在一个宽阔的平台上，一滴在喷嘴尖端悬挂着的硬粉色蜡滴。机械手安装在轮式起重机上，它可以在三维空间中移动，覆盖30米长，3.5米宽，1.5米深的规模。这套被称作免费FAB的系统是用特制蜡来打印极其严格的反过来用于浇铸混凝土模型的模具。作为欧洲最大的建设工程横贯铁路的一部分，横贯铁路正在挖掘一条新的横穿伦敦的东西向铁路，这些数以百计的面板正安装在乘客隧道中。
Run by Laing O’Rourke, a construction firm, FreeFAB is the first 3D-printing technology used in a big commercial building project. Show offices and show homes have been printed in places such as Dubai and China, but are, for now, just concepts. The problem, says Bill Baker, an engineer who worked on the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the world’s tallest building, is that printed concrete is currently produced in layers, which are fused together to make a thicker panel. But the boundaries between the layers introduce weaknesses that make the panels unsuitable for real buildings. “These things can peel apart,” he says.
在一家Laing O’Rourke运营的建筑公司中，FreeFAB是第一个在大型商业建设工程中应用的3D打印技术。在迪拜和中国的一些地方展示办公室和展示房屋已经可以打印，但是现在仅仅是概念。在迪拜的世界最高建筑Burj Khalifa里上班的工程师Bill Baker说，问题是打印的混凝土当时在面板上生产出来的，它们融合在一起形成了一个厚的面板。他还说，多层面板之间引入了弱点，使得这些面板不适合真正的建筑，这些事情可以分开。
重点单词
1、chapel /ˈtʃæpəl/ CET6 TEM4 ( chapels )
N-COUNT A chapel is a part of a church which has its own altar and which is used for private prayer. (附属于大教堂的) 小教堂
例：
...the chapel of the Virgin Mary.
…圣母玛丽亚的教堂。
N-COUNT A chapel is a small church attached to a hospital, school, or prison. (附属于医院、学校或监狱的) 小教堂
例：
We married in the college chapel.
我们在学院的小教堂里结的婚。
N-VAR A chapel is a building used for worship by members of some Christian churches. Chapel refers to the religious services that take place there. 礼拜堂; 礼拜式
例：
...a Methodist chapel.
…一个卫理公会教徒的礼拜堂。
2、
masonry /ˈmeɪsənrɪ/
N-UNCOUNT Masonry is bricks or pieces of stone which have been stuck together with cement as part of a wall or building. 砖石建筑
例：
...a huge blast that sent pieces of masonry flying through the air.
…一场使砖石碎片漫天横飞的巨大爆炸。
3、
timber /ˈtɪmbə/ CET4 TEM4
N-UNCOUNT Timber is wood that is used for building houses and making furniture. You can also refer to trees that are grown for this purpose as timber. 木材
例：
These Michigan woods have been exploited for timber since the Great Fire of Chicago.
自芝加哥大火灾之后，密歇根的森林一直被砍伐作木材用。
4、
envisage /ɪnˈvɪzɪdʒ/ CET6 TEM4 ( envisaging, envisaged, envisages )
V-T If you envisage something, you imagine that it is true, real, or likely to happen. 设想
例：
He envisages the possibility of establishing direct diplomatic relations in the future.
他设想将来建立直接外交关系的可能性。
5、
utility /juːˈtɪlɪtɪ/ CET4 TEM4 ( utilities )
N-COUNT A utility is an important service such as water, electricity, or gas that is provided for everyone, and that everyone pays for. 公用事业
例：
...public utilities such as gas, electricity and phones.
…煤气、电和电话等公用事业。
6、
dig /dɪɡ/ CET4 TEM4 ( digging, dug, digs )
V-T/V-I If people or animals dig, they make a hole in the ground or in a pile of earth, stones, or rubbish. 挖掘
例：
I grabbed the spade and started digging.
我抓起铁锹开始挖了起来。
例：
Dig a large hole and drive the stake in first.
先挖个大洞，把桩子打进去。
V-I If you dig into something such as a deep container, you put your hand in it to search for something. 将手伸入… (以探寻某物)
例：
He dug into his coat pocket for his keys.
他把手伸进大衣口袋里找钥匙。
V-T/V-I If you dig one thing into another or if one thing digs into another, the first thing is pushed hard into the second, or presses hard into it. 刺入; 戳进
例：
She digs the serving spoon into the moussaka.
她把分菜匙插进茄合里。
V-I If you dig into a subject or a store of information, you study it very carefully in order to discover or check facts. 钻研
例：
...as a special congressional enquiry digs deeper into the alleged financial misdeeds of his government.
…随着一项国会特别调查行动对其政府所谓的不当财政行为的深入调查。
例：
He has been digging into the local archives.
他一直在仔细研究当地的档案。
V-T If you dig yourself out of a difficult or unpleasant situation, especially one which you caused yourself, you manage to get out of it. 摆脱 (困境)
例：
He's taken these measures to try and dig himself out of a hole.
他采取了这些措施，力图摆脱困境。
N-COUNT If you have a dig at someone, you say something which is intended to make fun of them or upset them. 挖苦; 嘲弄
例：
She couldn't resist a dig at Dave after his unfortunate performance.
戴夫演出失败之后，她忍不住给了他一顿嘲弄。
N-COUNT If you give someone a dig in a part of their body, you push them with your finger or your elbow, usually as a warning or as a joke. (出于警告或开玩笑而用手指或肘进行的) 戳
例：
Cassandra silenced him with a sharp dig in the small of the back.
卡桑德拉在他腰背上狠狠地戳了一下让他闭上了嘴。
