囧研究：比萨斜塔正在逐渐变直！震惊到我了

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is no longer leaning as much as it was, according to a group of Italian engineering experts.

意大利的一队工程专家的表示，比萨斜塔已经没有以前那么斜了。

The tower, a tourism attraction in the pretty Tuscan city of Pisa, has straightened up 4cm over the past two decades, according to the tower's surveillance group which has been monitoring the health of the 57m monument for the past 17 years.

比萨斜塔，是意大利的著名旅游景点，位于美丽的托斯塔那的比萨城。监控小组已经监控了这座57米高的比萨斜塔17年了，他们表示在过去的20年中，比萨斜塔扶正了超过4厘米。

The surveillance group, set up by professor Michele Jamiolkowski, has been working to straighten the Leaning Tower's tilt.

该监控小组是由教授Michele Jamiolkowski创立，致力于把塔扶正。

Nunziante Squeglia, a professor of geotechnics at the University of Pisa, was quoted in Italian media reports as saying the leaning tower was now stable.

意大利媒体报道引用了比萨大学地质学教授Nunziante Squeglia，称比萨斜塔现在更稳了。

Prior to restoration work between 1990 and 2001, the tower's lean was 5.5 degrees, which has since been narrowed to 3.99 degrees.

在1990年到2001年的斜塔修复期间，那时候塔的倾斜度达5.5度，现在已经缩小到3.99度。

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a major international tourist attraction because of its quirky, lopsided appearance. Construction on the tower began in 1173, and it began to tilt almost immediately because the ground it was built on was too soft.

比萨斜塔因其奇怪、倾斜的外表而成为国际知名游览地。该塔在1173年完工，然后几乎同一时间就开始倾斜，因为建造的土地太松软了。

Multiple efforts have been made over the years to straighten up the tower. In the 1920s, the foundations were injected with cement grouting with the intention of stabilising it, while in 1990, a decision was made to completely close the site to visitors when its tilt reached 4.5m.

为了让塔变直，政府采用了很多方法。20世纪20年代，为了加固，在其基座里面注入了水泥灌浆。20世纪90年代，在倾斜度达到4.5米时该景点彻底对游客关闭。

It was the first time the tower had been closed in 800 years, but reopened again to visitors in 2001. More than one million visitors pay it a visit each year, typically to pose in front of it to give the appearance of holding it up.

这是该塔800年以来第一次对游客关闭，在2001年又重新开放。每年斜塔接待100万游客，通常游客在其前面摆拍，做出把斜塔推直的假动作。

（翻译：林浔鸥）