The British Airways London Eye, also known as the Millennium Wheel, opened in 1999 and was the largest observation wheel in the world, until it was replaced by The Star of Nanchang. Now, that record is broken by the Singapore Flyer, which stands 165 metres tall. The London Eye stands 135 metres (443 feet) high on the western end of Jubilee Gardens, on the South Bank of the River Thames in Lambeth, London, England, between Westminster and Hungerford Bridges (Coordinates: 51°30′12〃N, 00°07′11〃W). The wheel is adjacent to London's County Hall, and stands opposite the offices of the Ministry of Defence.
History
Designed by architects David Marks, Julia Barfield, Malcolm Cook, Mark Sparrowhawk, Steven Chilton and Nic Bailey, the wheel carries 32 sealed and air-conditioned passenger capsules attached to its external circumference. It rotates at 0.26 metres (0.85 feet) per second (about 0.9 km/h or 0.5 mph) so that one revolution takes about 30 minutes. The wheel does not usually stop to take on passengers: the rotation rate is so slow that they can easily walk on and off the moving capsules at ground level. It is, however, stopped to allow disabled or elderly passengers time to embark and disembark safely.
The rim of the Eye is supported by tie rods and resembles a huge spoked bicycle wheel, and was depicted as such in a poster advertising a charity cycle race.
The wheel was constructed in sections which were floated up the Thames on barges and assembled lying flat on pontoons. Once the wheel was complete it was raised into an upright position by cranes, being lifted at 2 degrees an hour until it reached 65 degrees. It was left in that position for a week while engineers prepared for the second phase of the lift. The total weight of steel in the Eye is 1,700 tonnes.
It was opened by British Prime Minister Tony Blair at 20:00 GMT on December 31, 1999, although it was not opened to the public until March 2000 because of technical problems. Since its opening, the Eye, operated by The Tussauds Group but sponsored by British Airways, has become a major landmark and tourist attraction.
By July 2002, roughly 8.5 million people had ridden the Eye. It had planning permission only for five years, but at that time Lambeth Council agreed to plans to make the attraction permanent.
Although the Eye is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the tallest observation wheel in the world, it is unlikely to keep that title for long. Plans have been announced to build a 170 m wheel on the Las Vegas Strip and a 185 m wheel dubbed "Giant Wheel" planned to open in 2008 in Berlin.
对应的中文：
"伦敦眼"是伦敦最吸引的观光点，座落在伦敦泰晤士河畔的世界最大摩天轮"伦敦眼"将会永久成为伦敦的地标。
高135米的"伦敦眼"是为了庆祝公元2000年而兴建的，原定获准运作5年，但是"伦敦眼"的拥有者希望让它继续运作下去。
拥有"伦敦眼"部分权益的英国航空公司说，伦敦地方当局批准让它成为永久地标。这项决定还需要等待伦敦市长利文斯通和英国政府的批准。自2000年3月开放之后，已经有超过850万人次乘坐"伦敦眼"升上半空，鸟瞰伦敦。"伦敦眼"也是英国最受欢迎的付费观光点。英航说，这个1500吨重的建筑可以维持至少50年。
不过，"伦敦眼"是世上最大摩天轮这项荣誉将维持不了多久。美国消闲城市拉斯维加斯和中国的经贸中心上海已经计划兴建更巨型的观光摩天轮。
它被誉为数学上的奇迹；工程师透露，建造这座摩天轮所需的电脑计算能力，超过世界上最大、最复杂的建筑。
"伦敦之眼"重一千六百吨，横躺在浮于河面的一个平台上建造，原本预定九月初立正就位，并于明年一月开放大众搭乘。直到现在接近完工阶段，负责建造的工程师才有信心揭露，他们在设计建造时比原先估计多做了几百万次的计算，以确保其安全性。
摩天轮在建造过程中出现多次障碍，使批评者称其为"不幸之轮"。首先是高度比原先预定的减低了四十五英尺，以减少兴建时间；最近各种技术问题与安全上的隐忧，使得直立的工作被迫顺延。
然而，这些问题与设计及建造上的成就相比，显得微不足道。令人难以想像的是，这样一个史上最大技术最艰难的摩天轮，竟然在十六个月内就完成了设计与兴建工作。
设计经理汤姆森说："任何这么庞大的东西都会受到风力与温度的影响，更何况它还要旋转，使得金属疲劳的问题也要列入考量。当这些因素随著摩天轮的长度宽度而持续改变，产生了你无法想像的史上最复杂建筑问题。"
"伦敦之眼"的构想可回溯至一九九三年星期泰晤士报所举办的一场竞赛，该报要求参加者提出庆祝千禧年最具野心的计画，两名建筑师异想天开的率先提议建造全球最大的摩天轮。这项计画激发了英国航空公司董事长艾林的想像力，决定出资使其付诸实现。
对摩天轮的设计者而言，除了体积，最美妙的是这个庞然大物竟可以稳固的矗立在泰晤士河河面上。两支从陆地延伸过来的支架，将承担摩天轮大部分的重量，另外加上六条巨型钢索防止其倒塌；这些支架与钢索的地桩将打入地底一百八十英尺的深处，确保安全无虞。 The London Eye (Millennium Wheel) at a height of 135 metres (443 ft) , is the biggest Ferris wheel in Europe, and has become the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom, visited by over 3 million people a year. At the time it was erected it was the tallest Ferris wheel in the world, until it was surpassed by the Star of Nanchang (160m) in May 2006, and then the Singapore Flyer (165m) on February 11, 2008. However, it is still described by its operators as "the world's tallest cantilevered observation wheel" (because the entire structure is supported by an A-frame on one side only).
The London Eye is located at the western end of Jubilee Gardens, on the South Bank of the River Thames in London, United Kingdom, between Westminster Bridge and Hungerford Bridge. The site is adjacent to that of the former Dome of Discovery, which was built for the Festival of Britain in 1951.
伦敦眼（千禧轮）高135米(443英尺),是欧洲最大的摩天轮并,已成为英国最受欢迎的付费旅游景点，每年吸引超过300万的游客来这里。在建造完成时，它是当时世界上最高的摩天轮，直到2006年5月被南昌之星超过（160米），然后 又在2008年2月11日被“新加坡飞行器”（一六五米）超过。但是，它仍然其运营商描述为“世界上最高的悬臂式观景摩天轮” （因为它整个结构是单侧的框架支撑的） 。
伦敦眼位于银禧花园西端，在英国伦敦泰晤士河的南岸，威斯敏斯特桥和亨格福德大桥之间。该景点与发现展览馆（不知道对不对哦）毗邻，这是专为英国1951年的节日庆典而建造的http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Eye
http://baike.baidu.com/view/114542.htm
写作思路：把伦敦眼的特色写下来。
The London Eye is a giant Ferris wheel situated on the banks of the River Thames in London, England. The entire structure is 135 metres (443 ft) tall and the wheel has a diameter of 120 metres (394 ft).
It is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe, and the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom, visited by over 3.5 million people annually.
伦敦眼是一个位于英国伦敦泰晤士河岸的巨大摩天轮。它一共有135米（4443尺）高,轮的直径为120米（394尺）宽。
它是欧洲最高的摩天轮,也是英国最受欢迎的付费旅游景点,一年有超过3.5百万的游客。
介绍：
伦敦眼于1999年年底开幕，当时赞助商还是英国航空公司因此又称千禧之轮，总高度135米（443英尺）。伦敦眼共有32个乘坐舱（由序号1排列到33。因为宗教忌讳，无13号），因舱内外用钢化玻璃打造，所以设有空调系统。每个乘坐舱可载客约25名，回转速度约为每秒0.26米，即一圈需时30分钟。
伦敦眼已经成为一个城市的自然风貌和一个伟大的旅游景点。创造这样的设计，朱莉娅巴菲尔德说，对伦敦眼网址： '成分的车轮很简单-一个普遍渴望看到地球和城市，从一个伟大的高度和人类天然的魅力与规模，勇敢和美容。 '希拉蕊由Manchester ，谁参观了伦敦眼与她十几岁的女儿，说： '坐的是这么慢，你很难觉得你在移动，绝对不适合那些想要寻求极度刺激。另一方面，我认为它很完美。我感到非常安全，在我小小的玻璃舱中，丝毫没有幽闭有一些壮观的全景。
