The Great Wall—A Remarkable Monument[丰碑]to Human Achievement长城的非凡历史

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

The Great Wall—A Remarkable Monument[丰碑]to Human Achievement长城的非凡历史

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

有几个中国人不知道长城？从父母老师口中，从课本上，从影视作品里，我们无数次听说过长城。可你真的了解它吗？你知道它到底有多长？有多少传说？它的前世今生？别苦思冥想了，在长城被列入《世界文化遗产名录》30周年之际，跟我们一起来了解长城的历史吧。你可以借此机会学会如何用英语向外国友人介绍长城，还可以为以后作文囤积武器哦。

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[夯实的]earth built by individual feudal[封建的]states during the Chunqiu period, to protect against nomadic[游牧民族的]raiders[袭击者]in north of China and each other. When Emperor Qinshihuang unified[统一]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[强迫地]conscripted[被征募的]peasants[农民], 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[加强]the wall, using bricks and stones from local kilns[窑].

Averaging 23 feet high and 21 feet wide, the wall’s 5,500 miles were punctuated[中断]by watchtowers. When raiders were sighted[发现], fire and smoke signals traveled between towers until reinforcements[援军]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[超过]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[侵蚀], while brick and stone were plundered[掠夺]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[遗产]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[恶化], leading the Chinese government to launch preservation[保护]initiatives[倡议].

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[可辨别的]. 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[岔开]from the main body and expanding this remarkable monument to human achievement.

◆ BCE 公元前：用于表示年份，与 BC（before Christ）同义，用法相同，是国际通行纪年体系的一部分。BCE是before Common Era或before Current Era的简称。用Common Era指代公元的做法早在1708年就已出现。到了20世纪后期，CE和BCE在学术出版物上使用渐多，以强调与宗教脱离。

◆ low Earth orbit 近地轨道：指航天器距离地面高度较低的轨道。近地轨道没有公认的严格定义，一般轨道高度在2000千米以下的近圆形轨道都可以称为近地轨道。由于近地轨道卫星离地面较近，大多数对地观测卫星、测地卫星、空间站，以及一些通信卫星系统都采用近地轨道。近地轨道上运行着国土普查、气象、资源、通信等各种用途的卫星，它们在人类生活中发挥着巨大的作用。

参考译文

有一条13000英里（约20000公里）长的土石巨龙在中国北方郊野蜿蜒，它承载着一段如同它自身一般绵长曲折的历史。

长城一开始是由春秋时期各诸侯国分别修筑的多段夯土墙，用于抵御北方游牧民族的袭击和其他诸侯国的进攻。公元前221年秦始皇统一六国之后，青藏高原和太平洋便成为了东西两边的天然屏障，但是北方的山脉依然难以抵挡蒙古、突厥，以及匈奴的入侵。为了抵御这些外敌，秦始皇对前人留下的一段段土墙进行了扩建，把各段墙连接起来并进行加固。随着西起临洮，东至辽东的墙体日渐增长，它们开始被统称为“长城”。为了完成修建，秦始皇征募了许多士兵与徭役，其中不少人是被迫应役的。据秦代史料记载，在数以十万计的劳役当中，有许多是强行被征募的农民，还有一些是服刑的罪犯。

到了汉代，长城的长度还在增加，达到了3700英里（约5955公里），从敦煌横跨至渤海岸边。到了汉武帝时期，强征徭役还在继续，长城成了苦难的代名词。根据当时的诗歌和传闻，徭役的尸体被就近埋在乱葬岗，甚至就埋在墙体里。虽然人们至今从未在长城的墙体里发现尸体，但附近的墓坑确实表明有无数的劳役死于事故、饥饿和过度疲劳。

明朝于1368年建立政权后，开始用当地窑烧制的砖石材料重新加固长城，使之更加坚固。烽火台遍布这条平均23英尺（约7米）高、21英尺（6.4米）宽、长5500英里（约8851公里）的墙体，守军一旦发现有人进犯，便会放出烟火信号，信号在一个个烽火台间传递，直至援军抵达。墙体上的小开口方便弓箭手隔墙向敌人放箭，大开口则用来滚放擂石等武器。

随着国家的疆域扩展到了长城以北，这个防御工事也就失去了原来的军事意义。缺少定期修缮的长城渐渐破损荒废，夯土散落风化，砖石被掠去当建筑材料。但长城的使命还没有结束。在二战时期，中国军队用长城的一部分来抵御日本侵略者。

如今，长城的主要用途体现在文化方面。作为地球上最大的人造建筑之一，长城于1987年被联合国教科文组织授予世界文化遗产称号。原本为了抵挡外人而建的长城，如今每年都会迎来数百万的游客。实际上，长城因游客的大量涌入受到了破坏，中国政府因此启动了保护长城的计划。

人们经常说，长城是在太空中唯一可见的人造建筑。可惜，事实并非如此。在近地轨道上，桥梁、高速公路、机场等多种建筑都能被看到，而长城只能被勉强识别出来，更别提从月亮上看到它了。但无论如何，我们更应该从地面上去研究长城，因为每隔几年，新的长城遗址还会陆续地被发现，从主体部分向不同方向延伸，不断书写着这座人类历史丰碑的传奇故事。