The Silk Road

◎王莹莹

The Silk Road

◎王莹莹

One of the world’s most ancient and historically important trade routes，the world renowned Silk Road is a series of routes connecting the East and the West.Extending as far as the Indian kingdoms in the west，to present day Xi’an in China in the east，the Silk Road was already a crossroads of Asia by the third century B.C..

The Silk Road is a historically important international trade route between China and the Mediterranean.Because silk comprised a large proportion of trade along this road，in 1877，it was named the Silk Road by an eminent German geographer.

The Silk Road represents the ancient Chinese silk trade.The Silk Road trade played an important role in China，South Asia，Europe and Africa.It was through the Silk Road that Chinese papermaking，gunpowder，the compass and the printing press spread all over the world.Similarly，Chinese silk，tea and porcelain also spread all over the world through the Silk Road.And Europe exported all kinds of goods and plants through the Silk Road to meet the needs of the Chinese market.

译文

世界上最古老、历史上最重要的贸易路线之一——丝绸之路(the Silk Road)，是一条连接东西方的路线。丝绸之路绵亘远长，西至印度王国，东到中国现在的西安，早在公元前3世纪，丝绸之路就已经成为了亚洲交通的十字路口。

丝绸之路是历史上连接中国和地中海的一条重要贸易路线。因为这条路上的丝绸贸易占绝大部分，所以在1877年，它被德国的一位地理学家命名为“丝绸之路”。

丝绸之路是古代中国的丝绸贸易之路，在中国、南亚、欧洲和非洲发挥着重要作用。正是通过丝绸之路，中国的造纸、火药、指南针、印刷术传遍世界各地。同样，中国的丝绸、茶叶和瓷器也传遍世界各地，欧洲也是通过丝绸之路出口各种商品和植物，满足中国市场的需要。

注释

silk丝绸

ancient古代的；古老的

historically历史上的

route路线；航线；通道

extend延伸；扩大

crossroad十字路口；交叉路

international国际的

Mediterranean地中海

comprise包含；由……组成

proportion比例；面积

eminent杰出的；有名的；明显的

represent代表；表现

play an important role in有很大的作用

papermaking造纸；造纸业

gunpowder火药

compass指南针，罗盘

printing印刷

press压；按

spread传播；伸展

porcelain瓷；瓷器