傳奇之地

Rising from a hazy1 expanse of sand and waves， Mont Saint Michel appears like man’s defiance2 of the elements and of time. A rock lost in a landscape is smoothed3 by the wind. Mont Saint Michel is one of the most spectacular sights in the world. It is an island off the coast of Brittany and Normandy which holds a village and a large monastery4. Mont Saint Michel is home to the spectacular Benedictine5 Abbey6 and steepled7 church.

In 708， a dream led Bishop Saint Aubert to create a shrine8 to Saint Michael at this site. Mont Saint Michel then became one of the major pilgrimage9 destinations in medieval Christendom. In the 11th and 12th centuries， the monks built a Romanesque10 monastery with a church on the top of the hill. A part of this abbey burned down in 1204. It was replaced by another building constructed north of the church in a few yearstime that included halls for the pilgrims and rooms strictly reserved for the monks. The abbey played an important role in the Hundred Years War between France and England， when it was an almost impenetrable11 stronghold12. The heroic resistance13 of Mont Saint Michel to the English made the abbey a national symbol.

No one can remain unmoved14 by the praise of this place. Suspended15 high on the rock， the abbey calls the visitors to discover the wild ambition of its builders and of those who had wanted to make this isolated spot a meeting place for all people since 708.

Mont Saint Michel is connected to the mainland via a thin， natural land bridge， which before modernization was covered at high tide and revealed16 at low tide. Thus， the sight has gained a mystical17 quality， being an island half the time and being attached to land the other. However， in 1879， the land bridge was fortified into a true causeway18. This prevented the tide from scouring19 the silt around Mont Saint Michel. Now there are plans to remove the causeway and replace it with a bridge and shuttle20. In 2006， the French government announced a 150 million project to build a hydraulic21 dam that will help remove the accumulated22 silt23 and make Mont Saint Michel an island again. It is expected to be completed by 2012.

Today there’s a road reaching Mont Saint Michel that is only flooded when the tide is very high. Most of the time now a sea of touring cars and campers is surrounding the medieval fortress24. The small streets are packed with tourists， but there are still special arrangements for real pilgrims. Mont Saint Michel attracts many visitors every day. It’s better to go early in the morning to avoid the crowds.

Mont Saint Michel is a must-see! From the top， everything looks surprising: the prodigies25 of medieval architecture， the strength of nature， the light and much more. As a UNESCO world heritage26 site， the abbey of Mont Saint Michel is a monument for everyone.

圣米歇爾山傲然聳立在廣闊朦朧的沙與浪之中，儼然人類傲視自然與時間，它是消失在風景線中的一塊被風撫平著的巨石。圣米歇爾山是世界上最壯觀的景點之一。它是布列塔尼與諾曼底沿海的一個島嶼，島上有一個村落和一個大修道院。引人矚目的本篤會修道院和尖塔教堂就坐落于此。

公元708年，圣奧貝特主教受一個夢啟示，在島上為圣米歇爾建造了一座神殿。后來，圣米歇爾山成了中世紀基督教徒主要的朝圣地之一。在11至12世紀，僧侶在山頂修建了一個羅馬式的修道院和一座教堂。這座修道院的一部分于1204年被燒毀。而另一個建于教堂北面的建筑取代了原修道院，該建筑花了幾年時間建成，包括了供朝圣者用的大廳及只允許僧侶使用的房間。在英法百年戰爭中，這座修道院發揮著舉足輕重的作用——當時它幾乎是一座難以攻陷的要塞。圣米歇爾山抵抗英軍的英雄事跡使修道院成為法國的國家標記。

圣米歇爾山的美麗讓所有人心動。修道院高聳于巨石上，吸引著游客去發掘其建造者不尋常的雄心壯志，也讓游人體會到自從公元708年以來，把這個孤島變為大眾聚會的場所，就成了某些人瘋狂追逐的夢想。

圣米歇爾山與大陸的唯一連接是一條窄小天然的大陸橋，這條大陸橋在現代化實現之前曾被滾滾浪潮所淹沒，只有潮退時才展露出來。因而，這個景點非常神秘——時而成島孤立于海中，時而與大陸連接。然而，這條大陸橋于1879年被鞏固為一個真正的堤道。這一舉措使海潮不能把淤泥沖到圣米歇爾山周圍。現在法國計劃把堤道拆除，以一座橋和穿梭客車取而代之。2006年，法國政府宣布投入1億5千萬歐元來建造一個水力大壩，這將有利于移走堆積的淤泥，并使圣米歇爾山再次成為一個小島。這項工程預計到2012年完成。

如今，有一條通往圣米歇爾山的路，只有當海潮非常高的時候才會把它淹沒。如今，經常可以看到許多旅游車和露營者包圍著這個中世紀的堡壘。窄小的街道上到處是游客，但還會有一些特別的安排是為真正的朝圣者而設的。圣米歇爾山每天都吸引了許多游客，你最好上午早點去游覽，那就可以避開人群了。

圣米歇爾山是個必游之地！從山頂眺望，一切都是那么驚人：中世紀建筑奇觀、自然的力量、光線，還有許多許多。作為聯合國科教文組織的世界遺產，圣米歇爾山的修道院是屬于每個人的歷史遺跡。

注釋

1、hazy a.朦朧的

2、defiance n.挑釁

3、smooth v. 變平靜

4、monastery n.修道院

5、Benedictine a.本篤會的

6、abbey n.修道院

7、steepled a.有尖塔的

8、shrine n.神殿

9、pilgrimage n.朝圣

10、Romanesque n.羅馬式

11、impenetrable a.難以滲透的

12、stronghold n.要塞

13、resistance n.抵抗

14、unmoved a.無動于衷的

15、suspend v.吊，懸掛

16、reveal v.展現

17、mystical a.神秘的

18、causeway n.堤道

19、scour v. 沖洗

20、shuttle n.往返汽車

21、hydraulic a.水力的

22、accumulate v.積聚

23、silt n.淤泥

24、fortress n.堡壘

25、prodigy n. 奇觀

26、heritage n.遺產