TED演讲:是什么造就了长城的无与伦比(2)

 　　Averaging 23 feet high and 21 feet wide, the walls 5500 miles were punctuated¹ by watchtowers. 长城平均高7米，宽6米，5500英里的城墙中间隔着瞭望台。

　　When raiders were sighted, fire and smoke signals traveled between towers until reinforcements arrived. 一旦看到有侵入者，瞭望台之间便会用升起的狼烟与风火传递信号，直到援兵抵达。

　　Small openings along the wall let archers² fire on invaders³, 城墙上的小孔让弓箭手能够射击侵入者，

　　while larger ones were used to drop stones and more. 而大孔则用于投掷石头或者其它东西。

　　But even this new and improved wall was not enough. 但即便是这种全新改进的城墙仍然不够好。

　　In 1644, northern Manchu clans⁴ overthrew⁵ the Ming to establish the Qing dynasty, incorporating Mongolia as well, 1644年，北方满族推翻明朝建立清朝，同时合并了蒙古。

　　Thus, for the second time, China was ruled by the very people the wall had tried to keep out. 因此，这是中国第二次被城墙抵御的外族统治。

　　With the empire's borders now extending beyond the Great Wall, the fortifications lost their purpose. 随着帝国边界扩展到长城以外，这些工事失去了原本的目的。

　　And without regular reinforcement, the wall fell into disrepair, rammed⁶ earth eroded⁷, 没有了定期加固，城墙失修破损，夯土被侵蚀，

　　while brick and stone were plundered⁸ for building materials. But its job wasn't finished. 砖和石头则被盗窃用作建筑材料，但是长城的使命仍未结束。

　　During World War II, China used sections for defense⁹ against Japanese invasion, 第二次世界大战期间，中国用部分城墙来抵御日本侵略，

　　and some parts are still rumored¹⁰ to be used for military training. 一部分城墙仍然被盛传用于军事训练。

　　But the Wall's main purpose today is cultural. 然而今日，文化才是长城的主要目的。

　　As one of the largest man-made structures on Earth, 作为地球上大型人工建筑之一，

　　it was granted UNESCO World Heritage Status in 1987. 长城于1987年被联合国教科文组织列为世界文化遗产。

　　Originally built to keep people out of China, the Great Wall now welcomes millions of visitors each year. 长城起初建造用于防御外人进入中国，如今每年都会迎接数百万游客。

　　In fact, the influx¹¹ of tourists has caused the wall to deteriorate¹², 实际上，大量涌入的游客已导致长城日益损坏，

　　leading the Chinese government to launch preservation¹³ initiatives. 致使中国政府启动保护措施。

　　It's also often acclaimed¹⁴ as the only man-made structure visible from space. 它也经常被宣称为唯一一处可自太空看见的人造建筑。

　　Unfortunately, that's not at all true. 不幸的是，这种说法不完全正确。

　　In low Earth orbit, all sorts of structures, like bridges, highways and airports are visible, 在地球低轨道上，各种建筑物如桥梁、高速公路以及机场均可看见，

　　and the Great Wall is only barely discernible. 而长城却若隐若现。

　　From the moon, it doesn't stand a chance. 从月球上，它则一点也看不到。

　　But regardless, it's the Earth we should be studying it from because new sections are still discovered every few years,  但无论如何，地球才是我们应该好好研究长城的地方，因为每隔几年都会有新的部分被发现，

　　branching off from the main body and expanding this remarkable¹⁵ monument to human achievement. 它们从主体部分扩展开去，不断延伸着这见证人类成就的伟大奇迹。

1 punctuated   

v.（在文字中）加标点符号，加标点( punctuate的过去式和过去分词 )；不时打断某事物

参考例句：

• Her speech was punctuated by bursts of applause. 她的讲演不时被阵阵掌声打断。
• The audience punctuated his speech by outbursts of applause. 听众不时以阵阵掌声打断他的讲话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 archers   

n.弓箭手，射箭运动员( archer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The next evening old Mr. Sillerton Jackson came to dine with the Archers. 第二天晚上，西勒顿？杰克逊老先生来和阿切尔家人一起吃饭。 来自辞典例句
• Week of Archer: Double growth for Archers and Marksmen. 射手周：弓箭手与弩手（人类）产量加倍。 来自互联网

3 invaders   

入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They prepared to repel the invaders. 他们准备赶走侵略军。
• The family has traced its ancestry to the Norman invaders. 这个家族将自己的世系追溯到诺曼征服者。

4 clans   

宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派

参考例句：

• There are many clans in European countries. 欧洲国家有很多党派。
• The women were the great power among the clans [gentes], as everywhere else. 妇女在克兰〈氏族〉里，乃至一般在任何地方，都有很大的势力。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源

5 overthrew   

overthrow的过去式

参考例句：

• The people finally rose up and overthrew the reactionary regime. 人们终于起来把反动的政权推翻了。
• They overthrew their King. 他们推翻了国王。

6 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》

7 eroded   

adj. 被侵蚀的，有蚀痕的 动词erode的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The cliff face has been steadily eroded by the sea. 峭壁表面逐渐被海水侵蚀。
• The stream eroded a channel in the solid rock. 小溪在硬石中侵蚀成一条水道。

8 plundered   

掠夺，抢劫( plunder的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Many of our cultural treasures have been plundered by imperialists. 我国许多珍贵文物被帝国主义掠走了。
• The imperialists plundered many valuable works of art. 帝国主义列强掠夺了许多珍贵的艺术品。

9 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

10 rumored   

adj.传说的，谣传的v.传闻( rumor的过去式和过去分词 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• It is rumored that he cheats on his wife. 据传他对他老婆不忠。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was rumored that the white officer had been a Swede. 传说那个白人军官是个瑞典人。 来自辞典例句

11 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

12 deteriorate   

v.变坏；恶化；退化

参考例句：

• Do you think relations between China and Japan will continue to deteriorate?你认为中日关系会继续恶化吗？
• He held that this would only cause the situation to deteriorate further.他认为，这只会使局势更加恶化。

13 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

14 acclaimed   

adj.受人欢迎的

参考例句：

• They acclaimed him as the best writer of the year. 他们称赞他为当年的最佳作者。
• Confuscius is acclaimed as a great thinker. 孔子被赞誉为伟大的思想家。

15 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。