2019年经济学人 印度阶梯井(3)

 

And, as you descend¹ into them, what mind-boggling structures these wells are. Their early builders were capable of astonishing feats² of engineering. The Chand Baori in Abhaneri, east of Jaipur (the capital of Rajasthan), resembles an inverted³ ziggurat. Its 13 storeys and 3,500 narrow steps prefigure M.C. Escher’s “impossible objects” by centuries. The Panna Meena Ka Kund stepwell, also near Jaipur, is another elaborate masterpiece. Hindu embellishments to baolis included covered arcades⁴ and pavilions that served as refuges from the heat and even as lodgings⁵. Sculptures and friezes⁶ were crammed⁷ with gods, animals and humans. Spreading Muslim rule introduced a more austere⁸, though no less impressive, architecture of arches and jaalis (stone lattice windows).

当你深入其中，你会发现这些井的结构是多么令人难以置信。早期的造井者具有惊人的工程才能。在斋浦尔(拉贾斯坦邦的首都)以东的阿巴涅里，Chand Baori就像一个倒立的金字型建筑。13层楼和3500个狭窄的台阶，预示着M.C.埃舍尔的“不可能图形”将存在数百年。同样位于斋浦尔附近的Panna Meena Ka Kund阶梯井是另一件精致的杰作。印度人对baoli的装饰包括有顶的拱廊和亭子，用作避暑的庇护所，甚至是住所。雕塑和楣板上刻画了神、动物和人类。穆斯林统治的扩张带来了一种更为简朴，但同样令人印象深刻的拱门和贾里斯(石格子窗)建筑。

But all this was abandoned. The decline of the stepwell began with the British raj, which insisted baolis were unhygienic havens⁹ of vermin and disease. They called for them to be filled in or barricaded¹⁰. The raj’s administrators¹¹ were blind to their role in socialising and as subterranean¹² caravanserais. Independent India’s encouragement of diesel-powered borewells proved to be the baoli’s death-knell.

但这一切都被抛弃了。阶梯井的衰落始于英国拉贾斯坦邦统治时期，当时的英国坚持认为，baoli是害虫和疾病的不卫生庇护所。他们要求将其填满或设置路障。拉贾斯坦邦的管理者对他们在社交和地下商队中的角色视而不见。独立后的印度鼓励以柴油为动力的钻井，这是baoli的丧钟。

Yet these borewells’ impactonthewater table, plus untrammelled urban development, have led to a drastic depletion¹³ of natural aquifers¹⁴ and a countrywide water crisis. That is one reason why the restoration efforts of the AKTC and like-minded groups have struck a chord: more Indians are wondering whether old-fashioned water-conservation methods have lessons for today.

然而，这些钻井对地下水位的影响，加上不受限制的城市发展，已经导致了自然含水层的急剧枯竭和全国性的水危机。这就是为什么阿加汗文化信托基金和志同道合的团体的恢复努力引起了共鸣的原因之一：越来越多的印度人想知道传统的节水方法对今天是否有借鉴意义。

At Nizamuddin dargah, the trust has saved the baoli. Its workers cleared the tank of tonnes of sludge, and relaid the neighbourhood’s sewage pipes. Marrying traditional workmanship with laser scans and ground-penetrating radar¹⁵, the trust rebuilt the baoli in a form as close to the original as possible. In the process, a subterranean passage from the saint’s tomb to the tank was uncovered, along with water springs and the well’s wooden foundations.

在Nizamuddin dargah，信托基金拯救了baoli。工人们清理了水箱里的数吨污泥，并重新铺设了附近的污水管道。该基金会将传统工艺与激光扫描和探地雷达相结合，以尽可能接近原始的形式重建了baoli。在这个过程中，发现了一个从圣人的坟墓到水槽的地下通道，还发现了泉水和井底的木质地基。

1 descend   

vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降

参考例句：

• I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。
• We're not going to descend to such methods.我们不会沦落到使用这种手段。

2 feats   

功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He used to astound his friends with feats of physical endurance. 过去，他表现出来的惊人耐力常让朋友们大吃一惊。
• His heroic feats made him a legend in his own time. 他的英雄业绩使他成了他那个时代的传奇人物。

3 inverted   

adj.反向的，倒转的v.使倒置，使反转( invert的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Only direct speech should go inside inverted commas. 只有直接引语应放在引号内。
• Inverted flight is an acrobatic manoeuvre of the plane. 倒飞是飞机的一种特技动作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 arcades   

n.商场( arcade的名词复数 )；拱形走道（两旁有商店或娱乐设施）；连拱廊；拱形建筑物

参考例句：

• Clothes are on sale in several shopping arcades these days. 近日一些服装店的服装正在大减价。 来自轻松英语会话---联想4000词(下)
• The Plaza Mayor, with its galleries and arcades, is particularly impressive. 市长大厦以其别具风格的走廊和拱廊给人留下十分深刻的印象。 来自互联网

5 lodgings   

n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍

参考例句：

• When he reached his lodgings the sun had set. 他到达公寓房间时，太阳已下山了。
• I'm on the hunt for lodgings. 我正在寻找住所。

6 friezes   

n.（柱顶过梁和挑檐间的）雕带，（墙顶的）饰带( frieze的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The friezes round the top of the wall are delicate. 墙顶的横条很精致。 来自互联网

7 crammed   

adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式)

参考例句：

• He crammed eight people into his car. 他往他的车里硬塞进八个人。
• All the shelves were crammed with books. 所有的架子上都堆满了书。

8 austere   

adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的

参考例句：

• His way of life is rather austere.他的生活方式相当简朴。
• The room was furnished in austere style.这间屋子的陈设都很简单朴素。

9 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网

10 barricaded   

设路障于，以障碍物阻塞( barricade的过去式和过去分词 )； 设路障[防御工事]保卫或固守

参考例句：

• The police barricaded the entrance. 警方在入口处设置了路障。
• The doors had been barricaded. 门都被堵住了。

11 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

12 subterranean   

adj.地下的，地表下的

参考例句：

• London has 9 miles of such subterranean passages.伦敦像这样的地下通道有9英里长。
• We wandered through subterranean passages.我们漫游地下通道。

13 depletion   

n.耗尽，枯竭

参考例句：

• Increased consumption of water has led to rapid depletion of groundwater reserves.用水量的增加导致了地下水贮备迅速枯竭。
• Farmers should rotate crops every season to prevent depletion of the soil.农夫每季应该要轮耕，以免耗尽土壤。

14 aquifers   

n.地下蓄水层，砂石含水层( aquifer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• And in Africa, the aquifers barely recharge at all. 非洲的地下水开采以后几乎得不到补充。 来自时文部分
• Aquifers have water contents over 30%. 含水层的水含过30％。 来自辞典例句

15 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。