明代長城近三成消失

周魯成

Leading：

長城在1987年被列入《世界遺產名錄》，然而沒過多久，世界古跡基金會就把它列為100個最瀕危的歷史文化遺產之一。目前長城的基本情況是三分之一完好，三分之一殘破不全，三分之一不復存在。

Around 30% of Chinas Ming-era Great Wall has disappeared over time as adverse① natural conditions and reckless human activities—including stealing bricks to build houses—erode the UNESCO world heritage site，state media has reported. The Great Wall is not a single unbroken structure but stretches for thousands of miles in sections，from Shanhaiguan on the east coast to Jiayuguan in the windswept sands on the edge of the Gobi desert to the west.

It is so destroyed in places that estimates of its total length vary from 9，000 to 21，000 kilometers，depending on whether missing sections are included. Despite its length，it is not，as is sometimes claimed，visible from space.

Construction first began in the 3rd century BC，but nearly 6，300km were built in the Ming dynasty of 1368-1644，including the much-visited sections north of Beijing.

Of that，1，962km has melted away over the centuries，the Beijing Times reported. Some of the construction has weathered away，while plants growing in the walls have accelerated the decay②，said the report，citing a survey last year by the Great Wall of China Society.

“Even though some of the walls are built of bricks and stones，they cannot withstand the perennial③ exposure to wind and rain，”the paper quoted Dong Yaohui，a vice-president of the society，as saying.“Many towers are becoming increasingly shaky and may collapse in a single rain storm in summer.”

Tourism and local residentsactivities are also damaging the longest human construction in the world，the paper added. Poor villagers in Lulong county，in the northern province of Hebei， used to knock thick grey bricks from a section of wall in their village to build homes，and slabs④ engraved with Chinese characters were sold for 30 yuan （￡3） each by locals，it said. Under Chinese regulations，people who take bricks from the Great Wall can be fined up to 5，000 yuan， according to the state-run Global Times.

“But there is no specific organization to enforce the rules，”said Jia Hailin，a cultural relics⑤ protection official in Hebei. “Damage could only be reported to higher authorities and it is hard to solve when it happened on the border of two provinces.”Explorations of undeveloped parts of the Great Wall—an increasingly popular leisure activity in recent years—had brought those sections more tourists than they could bear，damaging them severely，the Global Times report added.

Notes：

① adverse adj. 不利的

② decay n. 腐爛，腐朽

③ perennial n. 長久的，終年的

④ slab n. 厚板，平板

⑤ relic n. 遺跡，紀念物

1. Which factor didnt lead to Ming-era Great Wall disappear？

A. Disadvantageous natural conditions.

B. The law of protection.

C. Reckless human activities.

D. Villagers stole bricks to build houses.

2.When was the Great Wall mainly built？

A. In the Qin dynasty. B. In the Song dynasty.

C. In the Ming dynasty. D. In the Qing dynasty.

3. When may many towers collapse？

A. In spring. B. In summer.

C. In fall. D. In winter.

4. How much was the slab engraved with Chinese characters？

A. ￥30. B. ￡30.

C. ￥5，000. D. ￡5，000.

5. Whom could damage only be reported to？

A. The UNESCO. B. The Beijing Times.

C. The Global Times. D. Higher authorities.

答案與解析

1.答案為B。細節理解題。根據第一段的第一句可知，惡劣的自然條件和不計后果的人類活動是導致明代長城消失的因素。

2.答案為C。細節理解題。根據第三段的第一句可知，長城主要建于明朝年間。

3.答案為B。細節理解題。根據第五段的第二句可知，不少城樓已搖搖欲墜，夏季的一場暴雨就可能將其沖塌。

4.答案為A。細節理解題。根據第六段的第二句可知，村民還以每塊30元的價格出售刻有漢字的磚塊。

5.答案為D。細節理解題。根據第七段的第二句可知，破壞只能上報，如果發生在兩省交界處，就難以得到處理。

【語法點撥】

Some of the construction has weathered away，while plants growing in the walls have accelerated the decay，said the report，citing a survey last year by the Great Wall of China Society.

句意：報道引述中國長城學會去年的一項調查說：“長城的一些城墻遭到風雨侵蝕，而城墻上長出的植物加速了長城的破敗。”

分析：while用作連詞時，用法如下：

①while引導時間狀語從句，意為“當……時候”，既可放在句首，也可放在句中，此時從句中的謂語動詞必須是延續性動詞。如：

While I was watching TV，the doorbell rang.

當我看電視時，門鈴響了。

②while引導讓步狀語從句，意為“盡管，雖然”，多用于句首，不放在句末。如：

While he was tired，he went on working.

雖然他累了，但他還是繼續工作。

③ while引導條件狀語從句， 意為“只要”，可位于句首，也可位于句中。如：

While there is life，there is hope.

只要有生命，就有希望。

④while用作并列連詞，意思為“而，然而”，表示前后意義上的對比或轉折，一般位于句中。如：

You like sports，while I prefer music.

你喜歡體育，而我更喜歡音樂。

（責任編校？筑彭益）