TED演讲:是什么造就了长城的无与伦比(1)

 　　A 13,000 mile dragon of earth and stone winds its way through the countryside of China 一条1万3英里的土石之龙蜿蜒于中国乡野之间，

　　with a history almost as long and serpentine¹ as the structure. 它的历史几乎与其结构一样悠久曲折。

　　The Great Wall began as multiple walls of rammed² earth built by individual feudal³ states during the Chunqiu period 长城最初是多座泥土夯实的城墙，由春秋战国时期的各个独立封建国家修筑，

　　to protect against nomadic⁴ raiders north of China and each other. 以抵制中国北方游牧民和其它国家。

　　When Emperor Qin Shi Huang unified⁵ the states in 221 BCE, 公元前221年，秦始皇统一中国时，

　　the Tibetan Plateau and Pacific Ocean became natural barriers, 青藏高原和太平洋成为了国家的天然屏障，

　　but the mountains in the north remained vulnerable to Mongol, Turkish, and Xiongnu invasions. 但北方的山脉对于蒙古、土耳其及匈奴人的入侵来说显得非常薄弱。

　　To defend against them, the Emperor expanded the small walls built by his predecessors⁶, 为了抵御外敌，秦始皇扩建了之前所筑建的小城墙，

　　connecting some and fortifying⁷ others. 把它们巩固强化并加以连接。

　　As the structures grew from Lintao in the west to Liaodong in the east, 城墙起于西部临洮，止于东部辽东，

　　they collectively became known as The Long Wall. 合在一起称为长城。

　　To accomplish this task, the Emperor enlisted⁸ soldiers and commoners, not always voluntarily. 为了完成这项工程，秦始皇征召了士兵和平民，而他们往往不是出于自愿。

　　Of the hundreds of thousands of builders recorded during the Qin Dynasty, 在秦朝记录的成千上万建造者中，

　　many were forcibly conscripted peasants and others were criminals serving out sentences. 许多人都是被强征而去的农民，另外一些则是服刑犯人。

　　Under the Han Dynasty, the wall grew longer still, reaching 3700 miles, 汉朝时期，长城继续扩建延长至3700英里，

　　and spanning from Dunhuang to the Bohai Sea. 从敦煌延伸到渤海。

　　Forced labor⁹ continued under the Han Emperor Han-Wudi,  强制性劳动在汉武帝时期持续着，

　　and the walls reputation grew into a notorious place of suffering. 因而城墙被视作受苦受害之地，从而臭名昭彰。

　　Poems and legends of the time told of laborers¹⁰ buried in nearby mass graves, or even within the wall itself. 那一时期的诗歌与传说描述了劳动者被掩埋于附近的大规模墓地甚至是城墙内。

　　And while no human remains¹¹ have been found inside, grave pits do 然而城墙内并未发现人类尸骸墓坑，

　　indicate that many workers died from accidents, hunger and exhaustion¹². 表明那些劳动者大多死于意外、饥饿与疲劳。

　　The wall was formidable but not invincible¹³. 长城令人生畏却非不可战胜。

　　Both Genghis and his son Khublai Khan managed to surmount¹⁴ the wall during the Mongol invasion of the 13th Century. 成吉思汗和他的儿子忽必烈曾于13世纪蒙古侵入之际设法攻克城墙。

　　After the Ming dynasty gained control in 1368, 1368年明朝执政之后，

　　they began to refortify and further consolidate¹⁵ the wall using bricks and stones from local kilns¹⁶. 他们开始使用当地窑中烧制而成的砖与石头重新强化和加固长城。

1 serpentine   

adj.蜿蜒的，弯曲的

参考例句：

• One part of the Serpentine is kept for swimmers.蜿蜒河的一段划为游泳区。
• Tremolite laths and serpentine minerals are present in places.有的地方出现透闪石板条及蛇纹石。

2 rammed   

v.夯实（土等）( ram的过去式和过去分词 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输

参考例句：

• Two passengers were injured when their taxi was rammed from behind by a bus. 公共汽车从后面撞来，出租车上的两位乘客受了伤。
• I rammed down the earth around the newly-planted tree. 我将新栽的树周围的土捣硬。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 feudal   

adj.封建的，封地的，领地的

参考例句：

• Feudal rulers ruled over the country several thousand years.封建统治者统治这个国家几千年。
• The feudal system lasted for two thousand years in China.封建制度在中国延续了两千年之久。

4 nomadic   

adj.流浪的；游牧的

参考例句：

• This tribe still live a nomadic life.这个民族仍然过着游牧生活。
• The plowing culture and the nomadic culture are two traditional principal cultures in China.农耕文化与游牧文化是我国传统的两大主体文化。

5 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

6 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 fortifying   

筑防御工事于( fortify的现在分词 )； 筑堡于； 增强； 强化（食品）

参考例句：

• Fortifying executive function and restraining impulsivity are possible with active interventions. 积极干预可能有助加强执行功能和抑制冲动性。
• Vingo stopped looking, tightening his face, fortifying himself against still another disappointment. 文戈不再张望，他绷紧脸，仿佛正在鼓足勇气准备迎接另一次失望似的。

8 enlisted   

adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持）

参考例句：

• enlisted men and women 男兵和女兵
• He enlisted with the air force to fight against the enemy. 他应募加入空军对敌作战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

10 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

12 exhaustion   

n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述

参考例句：

• She slept the sleep of exhaustion.她因疲劳而酣睡。
• His exhaustion was obvious when he fell asleep standing.他站着睡着了，显然是太累了。

13 invincible   

adj.不可征服的，难以制服的

参考例句：

• This football team was once reputed to be invincible.这支足球队曾被誉为无敌的劲旅。
• The workers are invincible as long as they hold together.只要工人团结一致，他们就是不可战胜的。

14 surmount   

vt.克服；置于…顶上

参考例句：

• We have many problems to surmount before we can start the project.我们得克服许多困难才能著手做这项工作。
• We are fully confident that we can surmount these difficulties.我们完全相信我们能够克服这些困难。

15 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。

16 kilns   

n.窑( kiln的名词复数 )；烧窑工人

参考例句：

• Bricks and earthware articles are baked in kilns. 砖和陶器都是在窑中烧成的。 来自辞典例句
• The bricks are baking in the kilns. ？里正在烧砖。 来自辞典例句