eiffel tower
The Eiffel Tower
Vocabulary
| tower | structure | stand/stood/stood (2) |
| tall | transmit | draw out (2) |
| view (3) | bank (2) | on the way |
| stairs | elevator | imaginable |
| rather | fancy (2) | operate (2) |
| worry | platform | architecture |
| deck (2) | souvenir | draw/drew/drawn |
| fair (4) | consider | intellectual |
| tragic | common | ironically |
| lamp | contrast | broadside (3) |
| initial | sharp (3) | tear down |
| tear (2) | antenna | monument |
| offer (2) | strategic | impressive |
| dome | influence | element (2) |
| flashing | cityscape | once in a lifetime |
| elegant | snapshot | landmark |
| symbol | point (3) | de rigueur |
| awash | addition | perimeter |
| glow |
Video
Transcript
The Eiffel Tower rises above the French capital. Known as the “Iron Lady”, it stands three-hundred-twenty-four (324) meters tall.
It’s the tallest structure in Paris, offering great views of the city on the banks on the River Seine.
On the way to the top, there are three platforms. If you fancy the exercise, you can take the stairs to the second platform. If you’re heading to the top, be prepared to climb the one-thousand-one-hundred and sixty-five (1165) steps.
Of course, you can always take the elevator.
That’s where you’ll often find Karim Chaibi. He’s been working at the Eiffel Tower for fifteen years. He operates the elevator and talks to the visitors in almost every language imaginable.
Chaibi says there’s no place he’d rather work.
Karmi Chaibi, Works at the Eiffel Tower: “You can get away from everyday worries with a view like this. You see the city in a very interesting, architectural way. And somehow, you’re a bit of a tourist and feel as if you’re on holiday.”
The stop for the first platform is nearly sixty (60) meters up. Visitors are drawn out to the sun deck here, and the exhibition that takes them around the platform’s perimeter.
It tells the story of the Eiffel Tower.
The Eiffel Tower wasn’t always as popular as it is today: when engineer Gustave Eiffel had it built for the 1889 World’s Fair, artists and intellectuals considered it common and lowly.
Author Leon Bloy ironically described it as a truly tragic streetlamp.
That was a broadside at Eiffel’s industrial building methods, which contrasted sharply with the historical beauty of the city.
The initial plan was to tear the tower down after two decades. Architect Bertrand Lemoine explains why it’s still standing today.
Bertrand Lemoine, Architect and Historian: Eiffel at some point got the idea that the tower could be used as a place for a radio antenna.
The French army was really interested, and began to do experiments and transmit. That made the tower strategically important.”
That’s why they kept it.”
Impressive views can be had from all over the tower — especially from the second and third platforms.
You can see many other Parisian sights from here — including the Louvre — and the Dome of Les Invalides.
Karmi Chaibi, Works at the Eiffel Tower: “The view changes all the time; it’s never the same. What’s really impressive is how the sky and the tower influence each other. Here, you’re out in the elements: the wind, rain and sun. You’re never just IN Paris, but ABOVE it, between the sky and Earth.”
That’s what made the Eiffel Tower one of the world’s best-loved landmarks, with up to thirty-thousand (30,000)visitors a day. You need to pay to get in: tickets cost as much as seventeen euros (€17).
Visitor One: “It’s unbelievable — a once in a lifetime experience. I’m from Mexico, and I’m really impressed.
It’s wonderful.”
Visitor Two: “Knowing about the history, and that it’s more modern in addition to Paris’s cityscape, it’s kind of interesting to think about how that fits in with all of the older buildings.”
Visitor Three: “Everybody can come here and feel happy and realize a dream, and feel good.”
A souvenir snapshot is de rigueur!
Euromaxx views have sent us their favorite Eiffel Tower photographs.
Karmi Chaibi, Works at the Eiffel Tower: “The tower is so famous that people come here just to be photographed with it, so they can say, ‘I was here. I was at the Eiffel Tower.’
It’s not just a monument; it’s a symbol of Paris.”
And after dark, every hour on the hour, the tower is awash with flashing lights. Otherwise the famous landmark simply glows elegantly above the city of lights.
Questions
1. A skyscraper is the tallest building Paris. True or false?
2. Is it possible to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower? How can you get to the top?
3. Karim Chaibi, the Eiffel Tower elevator operator speaks only French and English. Is this right or wrong? Why is he a hyperpolyglot? Does he want to work in an office with computers?
4. When and why was the Eiffel Tower built? Has everyone always loved the new tower?
5. What was the original plan for the tower? Why was it spared demolition?
6. Does it feel fantastic and spectacular to be on the top? What can you see from the top?
7. How many people visit the tower every day? Do they love the tower?
A. I have visited the Eiffel Tower. Yes or no? If yes, what was it like? Describe it.
B. Can you think of other monuments or symbols of other countries? What is the most famous building or monument in your country?
C. Everyone must visit the Great Wall, Machu Picchu, the Kremlin, Leaning Tower, Statue of Libery. Yes or no?
D. Should people build huge buildings or monuments?
E. We should have theme parks in our country, with mini Eiffel Towers, castles, palaces. What do you think?
