The palaces in Florence look more like prisons than palaces. 佛罗伦萨的宫殿看起来更像是监狱。

They were built that way, not to keep people in, but to keep people out.  之所以建成那样，不是为了留住人，而是为了不让人进来。

In olden times rich families lived in these palaces, and they were not good neighbors,  在以往，富裕的家族都住在这些宫殿里，他们不能和睦相处，

for one family frequently quarreled or fought with another, so the palaces had to be strong as forts. 经常互相争吵和打斗，所以宫殿必须建得像堡垒一样坚固。

There are no water streets in Florence like those in Venice, but through Florence flows a river called the Arno, and across it are several bridges.  佛罗伦萨没有威尼斯那样的水道，但有一条河流经佛罗伦萨，叫做阿尔诺河，河上有几座桥。

On one of these bridges, called the Ponte Vecchio, which means the Old Bridge, are shops as on the Rialto in Venice.  其中一座桥叫做“PonteVecchio”，意思就是“老桥”，桥上有很多商店，就像威尼斯的里阿尔托桥一样。

Most of the shops sell ornaments and souvenirs made out of silver, mosaic, leather, and tortoiseshell,  大部分商店里出售用银、马赛克、皮革和龟甲做成的装饰品和纪念品。

for this is the kind of art work that present-day Florentines make to sell to the thousands of travelers that visit the city. 因为这就是当今的佛罗伦萨人做的艺术品，只为了赚成千上万游客的钞票。

Towers are built to stand erect—straight up and down—as boys and girls are.  塔建成后都是竖立的——从上到下都是垂直的——就像男孩子、女孩子挺直的身体。

But not far from Florence is a city named Pisa, which has a very peculiar tower that leans to one side.  但离佛罗伦萨不远有个叫比萨的城市，那里有一座很奇特的塔，它是朝一边倾斜的。

It is called the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  它叫比萨斜塔。

The tower was built to stand straight, but the foundation has sunk on one side, so that the tower slants over as if it were going to fall.  这个塔建成时也是竖立的，但是塔的基座往一侧沉陷，于是塔就往一边倾斜，好像要倒下来。

It has stood that way for hundreds of years, but is gradually leaning more and more, and if it cannot be stopped, some day it will fall. 几百年来它就那样矗立在那了，但一直在慢慢地向下倾斜，如果不能阻止，有一天它将会倒下。

You remember I told you that marble was made from the bones of sea animals;  你记得我介绍过大理石是由海洋动物的骨头变来的；

but all marble is not alike—some is so coarse you can even see the bones in the stone.  但不是所有的大理石都是一样的——有的很粗糙，你甚至可以看到里面的骨头。

But near Pisa are stone mines called quarries, from which are cut blocks of stone of a very fine and smooth kind of marble called from the name of the place, Carrara.  但在比萨附近有一些石矿，叫做露天矿场，从那里开采出一块块质地细密光滑的大理石，这种大理石是以产地的名字而命名的，叫卡拉拉。

Ever since the time of Christ men have been cutting out blocks of marble from these quarries,  从基督时代起人们就从这里的露天矿场开采大理石，

and people send all the way to Carrara from this country and other countries when they want especially fine marble for a building or a mantel or a piece of sculpture. 当意大利各地和世界各国的人们需要优质的大理石用于楼房或壁炉饰面或一件雕刻作品，他们就会派人前来采购。