Skyscrapers are very tall buildings in a city. Looking up at them might make you dizzy (眩晕的). Looking down from them might make you dizzy too. A skyscraper is a wonder (奇观), whether you are looking up or down.
How can the buildings be so tall? Something that happened during the 1880s made it possible. There were two important things at that time First, a man named William Jenney got the idea of using a steel frame to hold up the walls and floors (钢架支撑墙壁和地面) of a building. Jenney's idea made it possible to build taller buildings, so he is called the "Father of the American skyscraper". Second, the lifts improved They got much faster and safer. That helped people go up and down the tall buildings more easily.
Back in the 1880s, Jenney's first tall building was 10 stories (楼层) high. But today, some buildings have 100 stories or more. In 2004, Taipei 101, at 101 stories high, became the tallest building in the world. But soon the Burj Khalifa in Dubai overtook (超过) it in 2010. The 828-metre building has 163 stories.
现在全世界有许多非常高的建筑物。For example,Shanghai Tower in China,One World Trade Centre in the US,Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower in Saudi Arabia etc All of them are really wonderful,aren't they?
What are skyscrapers?
Who is the “Father of the American skyscraper”?
What does the underlined word “it” in the third paragraph refer to(指的是)?