Introduction
A. Attention
getter: Have you ever heard of the
Seven Wonders of the World? Have you ever tried looking at it in a new
perspective?
B. Introduction
of topic: Here is a nice one. Try
looking at it from a civil engineer perspective. Quoted from Parthum, ASCE President
(1996), "The original wonders were amazing sites to behold, but today's
modern wonders are more than simply awe inspiring. They are functional,
operational masterpieces that have revolutionized civil engineering and
benefited humanity. The Seven Wonders of the Modern World are a tribute to
universal human desire to triumph over the impossible" .
C. Credibility
statement: The list released by ASCE
was based from nominated answers they gathered from experts around the world
for the greatest achievements in civil engineering in the 20th
century.
D. Thesis/preview
statement: The seven wonders of the
modern world cover these seven magnificent structures built by humanity which
are the Channel Tunnel, the CN Tower, the Empire State Building, the Golden
Gate Bridge, Itaipu Dam, Netherlands North Sea Protection Works and last but
not least the Panama Canal.
Transition: Okay, let us
delve into these amazing structures!
Body
Each of these Seven
Wonders, they were judged on factors such as pioneering of design and
construction, contributions to humanity, and engineering challenges that were
overcome.
Sub-point:
A. The Channel
Tunnel
Sub sub-point :
1.
The Channel
Tunnel is a 31-mile tunnel, made of three concrete tubes each 5 ft. thick,
plunge into the Earth at Coquelles, France and re-emerge at Folkstore.
2.
Through two of the tubes rush the broadest
trains ever built – double decker behemoth and the passengers on board do not travel
by foot but in automobiles and buses meanwhile maintenance and emergency
vehicles ply the third tunnel and the machines are always working which make it
into such a bustling and intelligent tunnel.
3.
It is
chosen for its infrastructure and immense machinery which formed an underwater
tunnel system fulfilling a centuries-old dream by linking Britain to the rest
of Europe.
B.
The CN Tower
Sub sub-point:
1.
The CN Tower
is the world’s tallest free-standing structure soaring 1,815 ft. above the
sidewalks of Toronto and it is as heavy as 23,214 large elephants.
2.
The CN Tower can withstand up to 260-mph gusts
and it has the SkyPod, a seven-story structure of 1,100 ft. high, built around
the base of the tower and jacked into place as one unit. Moreover, a pair of
10-ton counterweights is attached to the mast to keep the tower from swaying
too much.
3.
It is a
tower which broadcast FM radio signals from the base of the antenna, while
television signals are sent from the top.
Presently, 16 of Toronto’s media signals are transmitted from this
tower.
C.
The Empire State Building
Sub sub-point:
1.
The Empire State Building is
the best-known skyscraper in the world and was far the tallest building in the
world for more than 40 years at 1,250 ft. high.
2.
The building was so well-engineered that is was
easily repaired after a bomber crashed into it in 1945 (Camp, 1997).
3.
It has been
surpassed as the world’s tallest building; however it remains as the standard
against all other skycrapers that have been judged for the last 65 years.
D.
The Golden Gate Bridge
Sub sub-point:
1.
The Golden
Gate Bridge remains the world’s tallest suspension bridge for more than 60
years of its completion.
2.
Hanging
from two 746-ft-high towers, the cables- each a yard thick- according to Camp (1997),
it is enough to encircle the earth three times.
3.
The bridge
combines the engineering strength and beauty and it remains world’s most
revered and photographed bridges.
E.
The Itaipu Dam
Sub sub-point:
1.
It is a dam
five miles wide and have enough concrete in it to build five Hoover Dams,
spanning the Parana River at the Paraguay border.
2.
The main
dam, as high as a 65-story building contain enough iron and steel to build 300
Eiffel Towers. Another marvel is its
powerhouse, half a mile long and half underwater, generating 12, 600 megawatts.
3.
It is
enough to power most of California and currently supplies 28% of all the energy
in Brazil’s south and 72% of Paraguay’s total energy consumption.
F.
The North Sea Protection Works
Sub sub-point:
1.
Unique in the world, this vast and complex
system of dams, floodgates, storm surge barriers and other engineered works
literally allows the Netherlands to exist.
2.
For centuries, the people of the Netherlands
have repeatedly attempted to push back the sea - only to watch merciless storm
surges flood their efforts, since the nation sits below sea level and its land
mass is still sinking, thus they built this (Camp,1997).
3. The North Sea Protection Works exemplifies
humanity's ability to exist side-by-side with the forces of nature.
G.
The Panama Canal
Sub sub-point:
1.
The Panama Canal is one of civil engineering's
greatest triumphs. Under the direction of U.S. Col. George Washington Goethals,
42,000 moved enough earth from Colon to Balboa to bury the island of Manhattan
to a depth of 12 ft.
2.
The canal was finished on time and within
budget. But after completion, a challenge remained: how to tame the flood
waters of Chagres River, known to rise 25 ft. in a day during monsoon season?
Solution: Civil engineers erected a dam that formed the world's then-largest
man-made lake, the Gatun Lake (Nix, 2014).
3.
Today, the Canal operates much as it did in 1914
as it replaced fresh water with the Panama’s heavy rainfall which is lost due
to transit. It remains a testament to the combined skills of structural,
geotechnical and even hydraulic engineers.
Transition: Therefore,
this marks the ending of my speech.
Conclusion
A. Summary: The Seven Wonders of the Modern World is one of the perspectives
that I would like to share with you.
Bear in mind, these are proofs of human ability, how they achieved unreachable
feats and scorn the notion “it can’t be done” as claimed by Camp (1997).
B. Clincher: Hopefully, this Seven Wonders of the Modern World are able to
open your mind into looking at something from various angles and be amazed at
human ability!
References
Camp, C. (1997). CIVL 1101. Retrieved from
http://www.ce.memphis.edu/1101/interesting_stuff/7wonders.html
Nix, E. (2014, August 15). 7 Fascinating Facts About
the Panama Canal — History in the Headlines. Retrieved from
http://www.history.com/news/7-fascinating-facts-about-the-panama-canal
