The Great Wall—A Remarkable Monument[豐碑]to Human Achievement長城的非凡歷史

⊙ By Megan Campisi and Pan-Pan Chen翻譯：丁一

The Great Wall—A Remarkable Monument[豐碑]to Human Achievement長城的非凡歷史

⊙ By Megan Campisi and Pan-Pan Chen翻譯：丁一

有幾個中國人不知道長城？從父母老師口中，從課本上，從影視作品里，我們無數次聽說過長城。可你真的了解它嗎？你知道它到底有多長？有多少傳說？它的前世今生？別苦思冥想了，在長城被列入《世界文化遺產名錄》30周年之際，跟我們一起來了解長城的歷史吧。你可以借此機會學會如何用英語向外國友人介紹長城，還可以為以后作文囤積武器哦。

A 13,000-mile dragon of earth and stone winds[蜿蜒]its way through the countryside of China, with a history almost as long and serpentine[曲折的]as its structure.

The Great Wall began as multiple walls of rammed[夯實的]earth built by individual feudal[封建的]states during the Chunqiu period, to protect against nomadic[游牧民族的]raiders[襲擊者]in north of China and each other. When Emperor Qinshihuang unified[統一]the states in 221 BCE[公元前], the Tibetan Plateau[青藏高原]and Pacific Ocean became natural barriers. But the mountains in the north remained[依然]vulnerable[脆弱的]to Mongol, Turkish and Xiongnu invasions[侵略].To defend against them, the emperor expanded the small walls built by his predecessors[前任], connecting some and fortifying[加固]others. As the structures grew from Lintao in the west to Liaodong in the east, they collectively[共同地]became known as the Long Wall. To accomplish this task, the emperor enlisted[征募]soldiers and commoners[平民], not always voluntarily. Of the hundreds of thousands of builders recorded during the Qin dynasty, many were forcibly[強迫地]conscripted[被征募的]peasants[農民], and others were criminals[罪犯]serving out sentences.

Under the Han dynasty, the wall grew longer still, reaching 3,700 miles, and spanning[跨越]from Dunhuang to the Bohai Sea. Forced labor continued under the Han emperor, Hanwudi, and the wall’s reputation grew into a notorious[臭名昭著的]place of suffering. Poems and legends of the time told of laborers buried in nearby mass graves, or even within the wall itself. And while no human remains have been found inside, grave pits[坑]do indicate that many workers died from accidents, hunger and exhaustion.

After the Ming dynasty gained control in 1368, they began to refortify[重新加固]and further consolidate[加強]the wall, using bricks and stones from local kilns[窯].

Averaging 23 feet high and 21 feet wide, the wall’s 5,500 miles were punctuated[中斷]by watchtowers. When raiders were sighted[發現], fire and smoke signals traveled between towers until reinforcements[援軍]arrived. Small openings along the wall let archers[弓箭手]fire on invaders, while larger ones were used to drop stones and more.

With the empire’s borders now extending[延伸]beyond[超過]the Great Wall, the fortifications[防御工事]lost their purpose. And without regular reinforcement, the wall fell into disrepair[失修]. Rammed earth eroded[侵蝕], while brick and stone were plundered[掠奪]for building materials. But its job wasn’t finished. During World War II, China used sections for defense against Japanese invasion.

The wall’s main purpose today is cultural. As one of the largest man-made structures on earth, it was granted UNESCO world heritage[遺產]status in 1987.Originally built to keep people out of China, the Great Wall now welcomes millions of visitors each year. In fact, the influx[涌入]of tourists has caused the wall to deteriorate[惡化], leading the Chinese government to launch preservation[保護]initiatives[倡議].

It’s also often acclaimed as the only man-made structure visible from space.Unfortunately, that’s not at all true. In the low Earth orbit, all sorts of structures like bridges, highways and airports are visible, and the Great Wall is only barely discernible[可辨別的]. From the moon, it doesn’t stand a chance. But regardless, it’s the Earth we should be studying it from, because new sections are still discovered every few years, branching off[岔開]from the main body and expanding this remarkable monument to human achievement.

◆ BCE 公元前：用于表示年份，與 BC（before Christ）同義，用法相同，是國際通行紀年體系的一部分。BCE是before Common Era或before Current Era的簡稱。用Common Era指代公元的做法早在1708年就已出現。到了20世紀后期，CE和BCE在學術出版物上使用漸多，以強調與宗教脫離。

◆ low Earth orbit 近地軌道：指航天器距離地面高度較低的軌道。近地軌道沒有公認的嚴格定義，一般軌道高度在2000千米以下的近圓形軌道都可以稱為近地軌道。由于近地軌道衛星離地面較近，大多數對地觀測衛星、測地衛星、空間站，以及一些通信衛星系統都采用近地軌道。近地軌道上運行著國土普查、氣象、資源、通信等各種用途的衛星，它們在人類生活中發揮著巨大的作用。

參考譯文

有一條13000英里（約20000公里）長的土石巨龍在中國北方郊野蜿蜒，它承載著一段如同它自身一般綿長曲折的歷史。

長城一開始是由春秋時期各諸侯國分別修筑的多段夯土墻，用于抵御北方游牧民族的襲擊和其他諸侯國的進攻。公元前221年秦始皇統一六國之后，青藏高原和太平洋便成為了東西兩邊的天然屏障，但是北方的山脈依然難以抵擋蒙古、突厥，以及匈奴的入侵。為了抵御這些外敵，秦始皇對前人留下的一段段土墻進行了擴建，把各段墻連接起來并進行加固。隨著西起臨洮，東至遼東的墻體日漸增長，它們開始被統稱為“長城”。為了完成修建，秦始皇征募了許多士兵與徭役，其中不少人是被迫應役的。據秦代史料記載，在數以十萬計的勞役當中，有許多是強行被征募的農民，還有一些是服刑的罪犯。

到了漢代，長城的長度還在增加，達到了3700英里（約5955公里），從敦煌橫跨至渤海岸邊。到了漢武帝時期，強征徭役還在繼續，長城成了苦難的代名詞。根據當時的詩歌和傳聞，徭役的尸體被就近埋在亂葬崗，甚至就埋在墻體里。雖然人們至今從未在長城的墻體里發現尸體，但附近的墓坑確實表明有無數的勞役死于事故、饑餓和過度疲勞。

明朝于1368年建立政權后，開始用當地窯燒制的磚石材料重新加固長城，使之更加堅固。烽火臺遍布這條平均23英尺（約7米）高、21英尺（6.4米）寬、長5500英里（約8851公里）的墻體，守軍一旦發現有人進犯，便會放出煙火信號，信號在一個個烽火臺間傳遞，直至援軍抵達。墻體上的小開口方便弓箭手隔墻向敵人放箭，大開口則用來滾放擂石等武器。

隨著國家的疆域擴展到了長城以北，這個防御工事也就失去了原來的軍事意義。缺少定期修繕的長城漸漸破損荒廢，夯土散落風化，磚石被掠去當建筑材料。但長城的使命還沒有結束。在二戰時期，中國軍隊用長城的一部分來抵御日本侵略者。

如今，長城的主要用途體現在文化方面。作為地球上最大的人造建筑之一，長城于1987年被聯合國教科文組織授予世界文化遺產稱號。原本為了抵擋外人而建的長城，如今每年都會迎來數百萬的游客。實際上，長城因游客的大量涌入受到了破壞，中國政府因此啟動了保護長城的計劃。

人們經常說，長城是在太空中唯一可見的人造建筑。可惜，事實并非如此。在近地軌道上，橋梁、高速公路、機場等多種建筑都能被看到，而長城只能被勉強識別出來，更別提從月亮上看到它了。但無論如何，我們更應該從地面上去研究長城，因為每隔幾年，新的長城遺址還會陸續地被發現，從主體部分向不同方向延伸，不斷書寫著這座人類歷史豐碑的傳奇故事。