圣迈克尔山：潮涨为岛，潮落为山

番茄上的小星星

很多游客都听说过圣米歇尔山，那是一个筑有防御工事的中世纪修道院，坐落在法国诺曼底地区的一座小岛上，当潮水退去时，你可以走到这座小岛上。更令人惊讶的是，英国也有这样一处景点——圣迈克尔山，它位于康沃尔郡海岸以南半英里的地方。在退潮后，你可以从马拉宰恩村的陆地走上岛去，进入岛上的中世纪城堡。

这两个景点都因圣米迦勒而得名，圣米迦勒是中世纪最重要的圣徒之一。据说，他在公元708年显灵，用自己的名字给圣米歇尔山命名。无独有偶，传说公元495年这位天使降临在圣迈克尔山，让许多渔民免于触礁。

Many travellers have heard of Mont St-Michel， the fortified medieval monastery1） perched on an island in Normandy， France， that you can walk to when the tide is out. More surprising is that England has its own version： St Michael's Mount， located half a mile south off the Cornish2） coast. At low tide， you can walk from the mainland village of Marazion to the island and its medieval castle.

Both sites got their names from St Michael3）， one of the most important saints in the Middle Ages. Just as he was said to appear in 708 to give his name to Mont St-Michel， legend holds that the angel appeared in 495 at St Michael's Mount to save .shermen from crashing into the rocks.

Island Life

St Michael's Mount isn't just a visitors' attraction， it's a living community. There are 23 residents who live in the buildings at the base of the fortress. Many of them work for the St Michael's Mount estate， which is jointly run by the National Trust4） and St Aubyn Estates. The population includes eight children who cross the sea to the mainland for school each day.

Life on the island isn't always easy. In fact， storms were so bad in 2014 that the causeway5） was damaged. It has since been repaired， however.

Royal Residents

The island's best-known residents are James and Mary St Aubyn， also known as Lord and Lady St Levan， who moved to the castle with their four children in 2003. The estate has been in their family for more than 350 years， ever since Parliamentarian6） Colonel John St Aubyn was made Captain of St Michael's Mount during the English Civil War； after coming out7） on the winning side， he purchased the castle from its Royalist8） owners. In 1954， the family gave most of the island to the National Trust， receiving a 999-year lease9） in return.

島上生活

圣迈克尔山不只是一处游览胜地，还是一个生活社区。这里有23位居民，他们住在城堡底部的建筑里。这些人大多是圣迈克尔山房产的工作人员，该房产由国民托管组织和圣奥宾房产公司共同管理。这些居民中还包括了八个每天漂洋过海去陆地上学的孩子。

岛上的生活并非总是顺风顺水。事实上，在2014年，岛上遭遇了非常猛烈的暴风雨，致使通往陆地的堤道遭到破坏。不过后来它又被修好了。

皇室居民

在这个岛上的居民中，声名最为显赫的要数詹姆斯和玛丽圣奥宾夫妇，他们也被称为圣莱文勋爵和夫人。2003年，他们带着他们的四个孩子一起搬进了城堡。自从议会党人约翰圣奥宾上校在英国内战期间成为圣迈克尔山的首领以来，这个产业在他们家族名下已有350多年的历史。在宣布支持胜利方（编注：议会派）之后，他就从保皇党人手里把这个城堡买了过来。1954年，这个家族把岛上的大部分都交给了国民托管组织，为此得到了999年的租约作为回报。endprint

圣奥宾家族成员

1. monastery [.m.n.stri] n. 修道院；寺院

2. Cornish [.k..n..] adj. 康沃尔郡的；康沃尔郡人的

3. St Michael： 圣米迦勒，《圣经》中一个天使的名字，是上帝身边的首席战士、天使军最高统帅。

4. National Trust： 国民托管组织，是英国一个保护名胜古迹的私人非营利组织。

5. causeway [.k..zwe.] n. （尤指穿越湿地的）堤道，砌道

6. Parliamentarian [.pɑ.l.m.n.te.ri.n] n. （反對查理一世的英国长期国会的）议会党人

7. come out： 表明态度，发表意见

8. Royalist [.r...l.st] n. （英王查理一世时代的）保皇党人

9. lease [li.s] n. 租约，租契

10. tuck [t.k] vt. 隐没，隐藏

11. lithodora： [希腊语]石礼草属

12. speak to： 证明；暗示

13. abseil [..bse.l] vi. 援绳爬下；绕绳下降

Cornish Tropics

Some visitors skip the castle gardens because they require a separate ticket. That's a mistake. Running up the terraces tucked10） under the castle walls， the gardens have a number of colourful， exotic plants that you'd normally see in warmer climates， such as the lithodora11） of the Mediterranean.

Serious Steeps

The survival of these warm-weather species speaks to12） Cornwall's climate—the Gulf Stream keeps this part of southwest England particularly mild—and to the sun-soaking terrace rocks that allow the gardens to heat up to 40℃. But that doesn't mean the gardens are easy to tend： The gardeners have to abseil13） in order to reach some of the steeper corners.

康沃尔热带花园

在来此游览的观光者中，有些人会略过城堡的那些花园不去，因为它们需要单独购票。这种做法并非明智之举。从隐没于城墙下的梯田里拾级而上，会看见花园种着很多色彩艳丽的外来植物，你通常得在更暖和的气候条件下才能看得到它们，比如地中海的石礼草属植物。

花园峭壁

这些需要温暖气候的物种能够活下来表明了两点：一个是康沃尔郡的气候条件适宜，墨西哥湾流让位于英格兰西南部的这一地区格外煦暖；另一个则是洒满阳光的梯田岩石助力，它们可以使花园的气温上升到40℃。但这并不意味着这些花园容易打理：为了能到达一些颇为陡峭的角落，园艺师们必须沿着下降的绳索滑下去。

切维猎场

切维猎场这个名字来源于一首中世纪歌谣（编注：The Ballad of Chevy Chase），它向人们展示了这个城堡多年来历经多少次修缮，却如何依旧保持着原貌。这里曾是僧侣们的食堂，在《解散修道院法令》颁布后改成了大厅，成为城堡里用餐和娱乐的地方。虽然后来翻新过几次，但直到20世纪50年代，这里一直作为主餐厅在使用。如今，圣奥宾家族仍会在一些特殊的场合使用这个大厅。

潮汐更迭

站在山顶，游客们可以看到对岸的马拉宰恩村，也可以看到山脚下这个岛自己的村庄。如今，那段历史很容易被人忘记，但在19世纪初的鼎盛时期，这里曾有300多位居民定居，而且还有学校、奶牛场和酒吧。当然，你可以看到连接着岛屿和马拉宰恩村的那条半英里长的堤道——不过它在涨潮时会被淹没在海水中。

被淹没的陆地

沿着鹅卵石铺成的堤道走过去并非是上岛的唯一方式；在涨潮期间，你还可以乘船往返，当地的引航员收两英镑（儿童一英镑）就会把游客摆渡过海。自从大约4000年前圣迈克尔山海湾被海水淹没以来，乘船过海就成了去岛上的主要方式之一。有人认为，早在3000年前，那些海上航线也许就已经让这座潮汐岛变成了贸易中心。

Chevy Chase

Chevy Chase， named after a medieval ballad14）， shows how many iterations15） the castle has undergone over the years—and yet how it's remained true to its origins. Once the dining hall for the monks， after the Dissolution of the Monasteries16） it was converted to the Great Hall， the part of a castle where meals and entertainment would take place. Although there were later renovations， it continued to serve as the main dining room up until the 1950s and is still used for special occasions by the St Aubyn family.endprint

Tides of Change

From the top of the Mount， visitors can see across to Marazion as well as down onto the island's own village. It's easy to forget now， but at its peak in the early 19th century the settlement had more than 300 residents as well as a school， dairy and pub. And， of course， you can see the half-mile-long causeway that links the island to Marazion—but， at high tide， is buried by the sea.

Drowned Land

Walking the cobbled17） causeway isn't the only way to arrive at the island； during high tide you can get back and forth by boat， with local pilots ferrying18） visitors across for ￡2 （￡1 for children）. Ever since Mount's Bay was flooded by sea about 4，000 years ago， this has been one of the main methods of arriving here； it's thought that sea routes might have made the tidal island a centre of trade as long as 3，000 years ago.

14. ballad [.b.l.d] n. 歌謠，民谣

15. iteration [..t..re..n] n. 反复（通常为了做出改善而重复做某事或重复整个过程一次）

16. Dissolution of the Monasteries： 《解散修道院法令》，由英国亨利八世颁布，旨在遣散修道院，转让其财产。英国很多引人注目的古迹都属于修道院一类，但在亨利八世解散修道院期间被士兵破坏摧残。

17. cobbled [.k.bld] adj. 铺鹅卵石的

18. ferry [.feri] vt. （尤指定期）渡运，摆渡endprint