Crystal Cathedral1）， the United States 美国的水晶大教堂 The Protestant2） church in the Californian town of Garden Grove is made almost entirely of glass and its shape resembles a four-point crystal. In the process of construction， about twelve thousand glasses have been used， and inside is the world"s largest organ3）， with sixteen thousand pipes.
这座位于加州加登格罗夫镇的新教教堂几乎完全由玻璃建造而成，外形酷似一块四面体水晶。该教堂在建造过程中使用了约1.2万块玻璃。教堂内有世界上最大的管风琴，其音管多达1.6万根。
Hallgr ímskirkja， Iceland
冰岛的哈尔格林姆斯教堂
This unusual church， located in the center of Reykjavík， is the fourth highest building in Iceland， and at the same time the largest. Its height is 74.5 meters and on the top of the church there is an observation deck with a panoramic4） view of the city. The church got its strange name in memory of the Icelandic clergyman5） and poet Hallgrímur Pétursson， and its appearance， according to the designers， is made to resemble geysers6）， of which there are many in Iceland. The construction of the church lasted for a long time， from 1945 to 1986.
这座教堂造型奇特，位于雷克雅未克市中心，是冰岛国内第四高同时也是规模最大的建筑。教堂高74.5米，在顶层设有一个可以俯瞰雷克雅未克全景的望台。为了纪念冰岛的神职人员兼诗人哈尔格林姆斯·彼得松，教堂才取了这个奇怪的名字。按照设计者的说法，教堂的外形是根据冰岛数量众多的间歇泉设计的。这座教堂的建造耗时颇久，1945年动工，1986年才建成。
St. Basil"s Cathedral， Russia俄罗斯的圣巴西尔大教堂
The church， which has long been along with the Kremlin the symbol of Moscow and Russia， was built in the years 1555～1561 by order of Ivan Grozny in honour of the capture of Kazan and the victory over the Kazan Khanate. The designer of the church is unknown. According to one version， it was Yakovlev Postnikov， a master from Pskov； according to others it was a Western-European， probably， Italian architect. Legend has it that the Russian tsar7） ordered the designer of the cathedral to be blinded， so that he would never be able to build anything more beautiful.
这座教堂和克里姆林宫历来被一同视为莫斯科和俄罗斯的标志。它建于1555～1561年间，是伊凡四世为了纪念攻占喀山、打败喀山汗国而下令建造的。教堂的设计者是谁已无从知晓。一种说法称，设计者是来自普斯科夫的工匠雅科夫列夫·普斯特尼科夫。另有说法称，设计者是西欧人，很可能是一位意大利建筑师。据说，俄国沙皇伊凡四世下令弄瞎了大教堂设计者的眼睛，以确保他再也无法建造出比这座教堂更美丽的建筑。
Sagrada Familia， Spain 西班牙的圣家族大教堂
Antonio Gaudi"s creation is perhaps one of the most famous unfinished， long-in-construction buildings in the world. Started in 1882， the construction is scheduled for completion in 2026， on the 100th anniversary of the death of the great architect. However， the dates have changed so many times that no one particularly believes in the newly appointed date. Gaudi himself in answer to the question why it was taking so long to erect8） the temple （and he supervised the construction for over forty years） said， "My customer is not in a hurry." 安东尼奥·高迪的这件作品也许是世界上最著名的建造时间旷日持久、目前还尚未完工的建筑之一。该教堂于1882年动工，计划于2026年——这位伟大的建筑师逝世100周年时完工。不过，由于完工日期变动次数太多，没有人真正相信这个新制定的完工日期。当有人问到为什么建造这座教堂要花那么长的时间时，高迪本人（他曾督建该教堂40多年）的回答是：“我的顾客不着急。”
The Cathedral of Brasília， Brazil 巴西的巴西利亚大教堂
The construction of this unusual church in the capital of Brazil， was completed in 1970. The designer， Oscar Niemeyer， created a structure consisting of asymmetric9） hyperbolic10） columns， each weighing 90 tons. The form of the church symbolizes hands raised to heaven， to God. It is said that the Liverpool Roman Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral served as a prototype11） for the church.
位于巴西首都的这座外观独特的教堂建成于1970年。建筑师奥斯卡·尼迈耶设计的这座建筑由一组不对称的双曲线形支柱构成，每根支柱重90吨。教堂的外形象征着向天堂和上帝举起的一双双手。据说该教堂是以利物浦的罗马天主教大都会教堂为蓝本设计的。
Sedlec Ossuary， Czech Republic 捷克共和国的人骨教堂
The decoration of this Czech church， located on the outskirts of the small town of Kutná Hora， is made entirely of bones. For this reason the church was called "Church of the Bones" or Kostnice. The church was built on the territory of an ancient cemetery， and its interior is made from the remains of about 40，000 people who were once buried here. The author of the creation， the half-blind monk Frantisek Rint， was appointed the task to "sort" the territory of the cemetery. To that end， he sorted the bones by size and shape， washed and whitened them， and then used them in the decoration of the church.
这座教堂坐落于捷克小镇库特纳霍拉的郊外，内部装饰全部用人骨制成，因此被人们叫做“人骨教堂”。教堂建于一处古代墓园之上，其内部装饰用过去葬在此地的约四万人的遗骨制成。这些人骨装饰品的制作者是半盲的僧侣弗兰蒂塞克·林特，他当时受命“清理”墓园。为完成使命，他把那些遗骨按尺寸和形状归类，清洗并漂白，再用它们来装饰教堂。
Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew， Thailand 泰国的万瓶寺
This Buddhist temple in the Thai province of Sisaket is built entirely of glass bottles， mainly beer bottles， left behind by tourists. The monks began to collect glass bottles back in the 1980s. The half a million bottles they collected were enough not only for the construction of the temple， but also for the monastic dwellings12） and even a few houses for tourists. Tin lids were also put to use—they have served to create several panels depicting the Buddha.
位于泰国四色菊府的这座佛寺完全由游客丢弃的玻璃瓶——主要是啤酒瓶——建造而成。僧人们从上世纪80年代开始收集玻璃瓶，收集来的50万只瓶子不仅足够搭建寺庙，还够用来建造僧舍和几间供游客居住的客房。马口铁做的瓶盖也派上了用场——它们被做成了描绘佛祖形象的几幅镶嵌画。
1. cathedral [k??θi?dr?l] n. 大教堂，重要（或堂皇宏伟）的教堂
2. Protestant [?pr?t?st?nt] adj. 新教（教徒）的
3. organ [???ɡ?n] n. 管风琴
4. panoramic [?p?n??r?m?k] adj. 全景的
5. clergyman [?kl??d?im?n] n. 【宗】神职人员
6. geyser [?ɡi?z?（r）] n. 【地】间歇（喷）泉
7. tsar [zɑ?（r）] n. （1917年以前的）俄国沙皇
8. erect [??rekt] vt. 架设；建造
9. asymmetric [?e?s??metr?k] adj. 不对称的，不匀称的
10. hyperbolic [?ha?p??b?l?k] adj. 【数】双曲（线）的
11. prototype [?pr??t?ta?p] n. 原型；样品，样本
12. dwelling： 参见P49注释8