With its cluster of 18 honeycombed(蜂窝状的；多孔的), tapering(逐渐变细的；锥形的) towers, the basilica of the Sagrada Família (Holy Family) dominates(主宰；俯视) Barcelona’s skyline. For some, it is a work of genius, a modern reincarnation(化身；转世再生) of the great medieval cathedrals of Europe. For others it is a gigantic folly(一个巨大的蠢物). But no one can doubt that it has become a global icon(标志；偶像). Last year it attracted almost 5m people, making it one of the most visited churches in the world, alongside St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican and Notre Dame in Paris.
圣家堂（神圣家族）大教堂拥有18座蜂窝状锥形塔楼，主宰着巴塞罗那的天际线。对一些人来说，它是天才之作，是欧洲中世纪大教堂的现代转世。对另一些人而言，它是一个巨大的蠢物。但没人能否认它已成为全球标志。去年它吸引了近500万人，使其成为世界上参观人数最多的教堂之一，与梵蒂冈的圣彼得大教堂和巴黎的巴黎圣母院并列。
After almost 150 years of construction, in February builders finished installing a white 17-metre-high ceramic cross on top of the central tower. With that, it became the tallest church in the world, overtaking(超过；超越) Ulm Minster in Germany. Finishing a remaining façade may take another ten years. But on June 10th Pope Leo XIV celebrated a mass at the basilica to bless its near-completion and to mark the centenary(一百周年纪念) of the death of Antoni Gaudí, the architect who created it.
经过近150年的建设，今年2月，建筑工人在中央塔楼顶部安装了一个17米高的白色陶瓷十字架。至此，它成为世界上最高的教堂，超越了德国乌尔姆大教堂。完成剩余的一个立面可能还需要十年。但6月10日，教皇利奥十四世在大教堂举行弥撒，祝福其接近完工，并纪念其建筑师安东尼·高迪逝世一百周年。
To the outside world, Gaudí has become almost synonymous with(与...同义；等同于) Barcelona. As well as the Sagrada Família, his output(作品；产出) included six mansions and Parc Güell, which overlooks the city. Most were built for the Catalan bourgeoisie(资产阶级) as they grew rich from industrialisation in the late 19th century. His clients liked, or at least tolerated, the architect’s boundless decorative imagination and eclecticism(折衷主义；兼收并蓄).
对外界而言，高迪几乎成了巴塞罗那的代名词。除了圣家堂，他的作品还包括六座豪宅和俯瞰城市的古埃尔公园。它们大多是为19世纪末因工业化致富的加泰罗尼亚资产阶级建造的。他的客户喜欢，或者至少容忍了这位建筑师无限的装饰想象力和折衷主义风格。
