纪录片《文明》 第102期 信仰之眼（1）

Every year, thousands of people from across the world

每年 世界各地成千上万的游客

come together at a single spot in rural Cambodia.

都聚集在柬埔寨乡村的一个地方

It's the spring equinox,

现在正值春分

and they're here to witness an extraordinary sight.

他们来此观赏一道非凡的风景

The moment when the sun rises over the central spire¹

即太阳升至吴哥窟

at the temple of Angkor Wat.

中央尖塔的那一刻

I don't usually think of myself as a pilgrim

我从不认为自己是一位朝圣者

but this morning I got up well before dawn

但今晨我与其他游客一样

with thousands of others

在黎明前早早起床

to come to see the sun at Angkor Wat.

来此观赏吴哥窟日出

Certainly, when the sun seemed to balance for a second or two

当太阳升至寺庙塔顶

on top of the central tower of the temple,

似乎定格那么一两秒的时候

there were gasps² of amazement³ and wonderment.

人们不禁发出赞叹

It's religious art at its most spectacular.

这是宗教艺术的极盛景致

It's show stopping.

令人叹为观止

But the spectacle of Angkor Wat doesn't stop there.

然而吴哥窟的奇观不止于此

Built by the kings of the Khmer empire in the 12th century,

由十二世纪高棉帝国的国王下令建造

Angkor is intended to give concrete form

吴哥窟是为了将印度教诸传说

to the claims of Hindu religion.

以实体呈现

Five high towers

据说五座高塔

are said to represent the mythical⁴ Mount Meru,

代表了传说中的须弥山

centre of the cosmos⁵.

也就是宇宙的中心

Religious patterns and symbols adorn⁶ the walls.

墙上装饰着宗教图案和符号

And a seemingly endless narrative⁷ frieze⁸

仿佛无边无际的叙事浮雕

is wrapped around the centre of the temple.

包围着寺庙中心

Angkor Wat is one of the biggest

吴哥窟是世界上最大

and best-known religious monuments in the world.

最负盛名的宗教伟迹之一

When you look at the sculpture

当你观赏这些雕塑

and the decorative patterns on the walls,

以及墙上的装饰图案时

1 spire   

n.(教堂)尖顶，尖塔，高点

参考例句：

• The church spire was struck by lightning.教堂的尖顶遭到了雷击。
• They could just make out the spire of the church in the distance.他们只能辨认出远处教堂的尖塔。

2 gasps   

v.喘气( gasp的第三人称单数 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• He leant against the railing, his breath coming in short gasps. 他倚着栏杆，急促地喘气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• My breaths were coming in gasps. 我急促地喘起气来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

4 mythical   

adj.神话的；虚构的；想像的

参考例句：

• Undeniably,he is a man of mythical status.不可否认，他是一个神话般的人物。
• Their wealth is merely mythical.他们的财富完全是虚构的。

5 cosmos   

n.宇宙；秩序，和谐

参考例句：

• Our world is but a small part of the cosmos.我们的世界仅仅是宇宙的一小部分而已。
• Is there any other intelligent life elsewhere in the cosmos?在宇宙的其他星球上还存在别的有智慧的生物吗？

6 adorn   

vt.使美化，装饰

参考例句：

• She loved to adorn herself with finery.她喜欢穿戴华丽的服饰。
• His watercolour designs adorn a wide range of books.他的水彩设计使许多图书大为生色。

7 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

8 frieze   

n.(墙上的)横饰带，雕带

参考例句：

• The Corinthian painter's primary ornamental device was the animal frieze.科林斯画家最初的装饰图案是动物形象的装饰带。
• A careful reconstruction of the frieze is a persuasive reason for visiting Liverpool. 这次能让游客走访利物浦展览会，其中一个具有说服力的原因则是壁画得到了精心的重建。