中國網(wǎng)站品牌欄目（頻道）
 People walk in front of the Burj Dubai, the world's tallest tower, in Dubai January 3, 2010. Started at the height of the economic boom and built by some 12,000 labourers, the world's tallest building will open on Monday in Dubai as the glitzy emirate seeks to rekindle optimism after its financial crisis.
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Click for more photos of Burj Dubai
Behind the Scenes: After the Dubai Crisis
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Started at the height of the economic boom and built by some 12,000 laborers, the world's tallest building is to open today in Dubai as the glitzy emirate seeks to rekindle optimism after its financial crisis. Burj Dubai, whose opening has been delayed twice since construction began in 2004, will mark another milestone for the deeply indebted emirate with a penchant for seeking new records. Dubai, one of seven members of the United Arab Emirates, gained a reputation for excess with the creation of man-made islands shaped like palms and an indoor ski slope in the desert. With investor confidence in Dubai badly bruised by the emirate's announcement in November that it would seek a debt standstill for one of its largest conglomerates, the Burj Dubai is seen as a positive start to the year after a bleak 2009. The project has been scrutinized by human rights groups, who have objected to its treatment of laborers, as well as by environmentalists who said the tower would act as a power vacuum, increasing the city's already massive carbon footprint. But despite the criticism, many say the edifice, believed to have cost $1.5 billion to build, is an architectural marvel. The tower's height has been kept a closely guarded secret until now. Developer Emaar Properties PJSC will reveal the height -- known to exceed 800 meters (2,625 feet) -- on Tuesday and Dubai's ruler will inaugurate the opening. Experts believe Dubai's recent financial troubles have not hurt sales of approximately 1,100 residential units in the Burj -- meaning tower in Arabic -- saying they were nearly all sold. Dubai's real estate sector crashed at the end of 2008 when the global financial crisis hit the emirate after a six-year economic boom. Thousands of jobs were slashed and projects worth billions of dollars were canceled or delayed. With analysts suggesting tax-free Dubai might sell some of its assets to boost revenues and slash $80 billion in debt, many wondered if the tower was on the list for grabs. Dubai, with few natural resources of its own, expects a budget deficit of 2 percent of GDP this year. In December, the emirate received a $10 billion lifeline from neighboring Abu Dhabi to repay a $4.1 billion bond for Nakheel, a property arm of indebted Dubai World, and other obligations. (Read by Lee Hannon. Lee Hannon is a multimedia journalist at the China Daily Web site.) 點擊查看更多雙語新聞
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世界最高建筑“迪拜塔”于今日落成揭幕，這座高樓于經(jīng)濟(jì)鼎盛時期動工，約1.2萬名工人參與建造，飽受債務(wù)危機(jī)之苦的迪拜酋長國希望能借此機(jī)會揚(yáng)眉吐氣。 迪拜塔于2004年動工，其揭幕日期兩次延后。這座建筑有望打破世界最高建筑紀(jì)錄，為深陷債務(wù)危機(jī)的迪拜開創(chuàng)一個新的里程碑。 迪拜是阿聯(lián)酋七個酋長國之一，擁有人工修建的“棕櫚島”以及位于沙漠中的室內(nèi)滑雪場，讓其名噪一時。 2009年11月，迪拜宣布對其最大的一家集團(tuán)公司暫停償債，使投資者信心遭到重創(chuàng)。在這種情況下，迪拜塔的落成被視為黯淡的2009年過后迎接新年的良好開端。 該工程的建造曾受到人權(quán)組織的非議，稱參與建筑的工人受到不公正待遇；環(huán)境保護(hù)主義者也曾批評迪拜塔耗能過度，將加劇該城市原本已經(jīng)很龐大的碳足跡。 但盡管爭議不斷，仍有很多人認(rèn)為，這座據(jù)稱耗資15億美元的摩天大樓是一項建筑奇跡。 直至今日，迪拜塔的“身高”仍是個秘密。開發(fā)商艾馬爾地產(chǎn)公司將于本周二揭開這一謎底，據(jù)稱塔高超過800米（2625英尺）。迪拜酋長將主持落成儀式。 專家認(rèn)為，迪拜最近的債務(wù)危機(jī)并未影響到迪拜塔的銷售，樓內(nèi)近1100套住宅幾乎售罄。在阿拉伯語中，Burj意為“高塔”。 2008年末，在全球經(jīng)濟(jì)危機(jī)的重創(chuàng)之下，經(jīng)歷了六年經(jīng)濟(jì)繁盛期的迪拜的房地產(chǎn)業(yè)崩潰。成千上萬的工作機(jī)會被削減，價值數(shù)十億美元的項目被迫取消或延期。 分析人士稱，被稱為“免稅天堂”的迪拜或許將出售部分資產(chǎn)來增加收入，削減800億美元的債務(wù)，因此很多人懷疑這座高塔是否被列入出售清單。 迪拜酋長國今年的預(yù)算赤字預(yù)計將占國內(nèi)生產(chǎn)總值的2%。該國自然資源匱乏。 去年12月，迪拜從其鄰國阿布扎比獲得100億美元的資金援助，用于支付Nakhee公司所應(yīng)償還的41億美元的到期債券及其它債務(wù)。Nakheel公司是受債務(wù)危機(jī)困擾的“迪拜世界”旗下的房地產(chǎn)公司。 相關(guān)閱讀 登高比賽風(fēng)靡全球 誰是最快征服世界第一高樓的人？ （中國日報網(wǎng)英語點津 Julie 編輯蔡姍姍） |
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Vocabulary: rekindle：to revive or renew（重新點燃） penchant：a strong inclination, taste, or liking for something（強(qiáng)烈的傾向，趣味） edifice：a building, esp. one of large size or imposing appearance（大廈，大建筑物） tax-free：not subject to taxation; tax-exempt（免稅的，無稅的） |
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