In the closing years of the Sui Dynasty, a terrible flood (洪水) happened on the Xiao River outside the city of Zhaozhou. flood brought down a large stone bridge.
People had rebuilt the bridge many (time). But it was still washed away over and over again. "What's wrong it?" Li Chun, the most famous local engineer at that time, asked himself. He (work) day and night at the drawing of the bridge and found out that the stone supports (支柱) couldn't stand the force of the flood.
One day, an idea came into his mind! He thought of (build) bow-shaped arches (拱) instead of stone supports. And there would be only one big arch, supported at each end by two small ones. When floods came, the waters would run through the /fɔː(r)/ small arches, bringing little influence on the bridge. He was (great) excited by the idea, and danced happily right at his desk.
A new Zhaozhou Bridge was built. It was safe beautiful. The local people of Zhaozhou were very /ɡlæd/ that the problem of the stone bridge was finally worked out. Now, this great stone bridge with a history of over 1, 300 years has /bɪˈkʌm/ a classical example of China's arched bridges. It shows the wisdom and creativity of the Chinese people.
