10-2 一个英国人眼中的长城

How Great Is Great Wall to a Briton

 

“If you haven’t been to the Great Wall, you aren’t a real man,” Mao Zedong once said. Indeed, so many real men, and women, are visiting the wall that the most popular sites outside Beijing are besieged¹ by hordes² of tourists in baseball caps and overrun with souvenir sellers. At Badaling, the most? visited section, there are hundreds of noodle shops and kitsch³ vendors⁴, a movie theater, two chairlifts, a Kentucky Fried Chicken, an imitation KFC and even an imitation Great Wall emblazoned⁵ with a replica⁴⁶ of Mao’ s quote in his own calligraphy⁵⁷.

This excessive development is disillusioning⁶ to many who visit, but for William Lindesay, a Briton who has devoted⁷ much of his adult life to exploring and studying the Great Wall, it is tantamount⁸ to sacrilege⁹. “For me, the Great Wall is the wonder of the world. Just the Ming Dynasty Wall dwarfs¹⁰ the Three Gorges⁹ dam project,” Lindesay says. “It has bricks that weigh 26 pounds, stones that took eight men to carry–the amount of labor¹⁰ invested in it makes it almost sacred.”

Lindesay, 46, says his passion for the wall dates from 1986, when he made the first of several attempts to run its length, by himself, with no support team. Dysentery¹¹, dehydration¹¹¹² and bone fractures thwarted¹² him, but in 1987 he successfully ran 2,500 kilometers of the Great Wall, despite being caught in an area closed to foreigners and deported¹³ to Hong Kong in mid–trip. That adventure, recorded in his book Alone on the Great Wall, made Lindesay intimately familiar with the wall and its geography. It also gave him a vocation¹⁴ –the preservation¹⁵ of wild areas around the wall and its surrounding “wallscape” in the Beijing vicinity¹⁴.

Lindesay’s initial effort, a clean–up at one section of wild wall outside the capital, received considerable attention from a number of Beijing newspapers. That reception reassured¹⁶ Lindesay that his efforts to help preserve the wall would be welcomed, rather than criticized as interference from foreigners. It also motivated him to use garbage collecting as a platform for addressing larger problems. “In the course of directing this small wall conservation program,” he says, “I’ve realized that we are moving too slowly; the issues are too complex and we need more financing to handle them in a timely and efficient way.”

So, to attract financing and other support, Lindesay worked with the Cultural Relics¹⁷ Bureau here to apply to have the Beijing area wall included in the World Monuments Fund 2002 list of the “ World’ s 100 Most Endangered Sites.” The application was accepted and Lindesay will now apply to the fund for a ＄50,000 grant, which he hopes to use to clean up Huanghuacheng, an area of the wall that was still wild only five or six years ago but has since fallen victim to tourism and illegal construction.

He also founded International Friends of the Great Wall, a group that he hopes will become a force in the battle to protect the wild areas of the wall near Beijing from further damage.

“What does protecting the Great Wall mean?” Lindesay says. “Most Chinese authorities see this as cementing it up, making it stable and bringing in the infrastructure¹⁸ required by modern tourism. Tourism is an important part of the economy and it will become more so. But, the Great Wall is a record of history, of the conflicts between nomads¹⁵and sedentary¹⁶peoples. It’s a part of China’s geography–it’s marked on maps around the world. ‘Great’ is not an overstatement, it’s an understatement.”

注释：

 

1. besiege¹ [bi5si:dV] vt. 拥在……周围，围住

2. horde² [hC:d] n. [贬] （大）群，（人）群，一帮，一伙

3. kitsch [kitF] n. 矫揉造作，庸俗文学（或艺术）作品

4. vendor³ [5vendC:] n. 摊贩

5. emblazon [im5bleizEn] vt. 用纹章装饰，把纹章刻在……上

6. replica [5replikE] n. （尤指出于原作者之手或在其指导下制成的）艺术复制品，（尤指按比例缩小的）复制品，仿样，摹本

7. calligraphy [kE5li^rEfi] n. 书法，字体

8. tantamount [5tAntEmaunt] a. 等于的，相当于的

9. sacrilege [5sAkrilidV] n. 渎圣罪，渎圣行为

10. dwarf⁸ [dwC:f] vt.（由于对比或距离）使显得矮小，使相形见绌

11. dysentery [5disEntri] n. [医] 痢疾

12. dehydration [7di:hai5dreiFEn] n. 脱水

13. deport¹³ [di5pC:t] vt. 把（外国人）驱逐出境

14. vicinity [vi5siniti] n. 周边地区，邻近地区

15. nomad¹⁹ [5nCmEd] n. 游牧部落一员

16. sedentary [5sedEntEri] a. （鸟等）不迁徙的，定栖的

 

一个英国人眼中的长城

 

毛泽东曾经说过：“不到长城非好汉。” 实际上，每天有无数男男女女登上了长城，当了回“好汉”。这个北京城外最著名的景点挤满了大群头戴棒球帽的游人，到处都是出售纪念品的小贩。在游客最多的八达岭，有几百家面馆和几百个出售庸俗艺术品的商贩，一个电影院、两条缆车道、一家肯德基餐厅、一家仿冒肯德基餐厅，甚至还有一段仿造长城，上面有毛泽东亲笔题词的复制品。

这种过度的开发使许多游览长城的人大失所望，但对于威廉·林赛，一个把成年后的大部分时间都用于探索和研究长城的英国人来说，这等于是对圣物的亵渎。林赛说：“对于我来说，长城是一个世界奇迹。光是明代长城就使三峡大坝工程相形见绌。长城的砖重达26磅，石料要8个人来抬——投入的巨大人力使它几近神圣。”

46岁的林赛说，他对长城的热爱是从1986年开始的。当时，他开始了独自跑完长城全程的尝试，这是他几次尝试中的头一次，没有任何支援人员。痢疾、脱水和骨折使他无功而返。但1987年，尽管中途在一个不对外国人开放的地区被扣押，并被驱逐到香港，他还是成功地在长城上跑了2500公里。这次探险被记录在林赛撰写的《只身在长城上》一书中，它使林赛详尽地熟悉了长城及其地理面貌，并赋予了他一项使命—保护长城附近的未开发区域以及北京周边地区环绕长城的“长城景观”。

林赛最初的努力——在首都郊外的一段野长城上清理垃圾——受到了很多北京报纸的关注。这样的反应让林赛打消了顾虑，他认识到自己帮助保护长城的努力是受人们欢迎的，而不会被指责为外国人的干预。这还激励他把捡垃圾作为一个平台，来解决更重大的问题。他说：“在领导实施这个保护长城的小型计划的过程中，我认识到我们进展得太慢，问题太复杂，而且我们需要更多的资金，及时有效地处理这些问题。”

因此，为了吸引资金和其他援助，林赛同当地的文物管理局合作，申请将北京地区的长城列入世界历史遗址基金2002年“世界100处濒危遗址”名录。申请被批准了，林赛现在要向这个基金会申请5万美元的拨款，他希望将这笔钱用于清理黄花城长城，这段长城在5、6年前还未被开发，但之后便受到旅游和非法建筑的侵害。

他还成立了“长城国际之友”，希望这个组织能够成为保护北京附近尚未开发的长城不受进一步损害的一支力量。

“保护长城意味着什么？” 林赛说，“中国大多数的管理者认为就是把它铺上水泥，使它坚固，并且引入现代旅游业所需要的基础设施。旅游业是经济的一个重要部分，而且会越来越重要。但长城是历史的记录，是游牧民族同定居民族之间冲突的记录。它是中国地理的一部分——被标在全世界的地图上。‘伟大’不是过分的说法，而是不够充分的说法。”

1 besiege   

vt.包围，围攻，拥在...周围

参考例句：

• The Afghan air force was using helicopters to supply the besieged town.阿富汗空军正用直升机向被围城镇提供补给。
• She was besieged by the press and the public.她被媒体和公众纠缠不休。

2 horde   

n.群众，一大群

参考例句：

• A horde of children ran over the office building.一大群孩子在办公大楼里到处奔跑。
• Two women were quarrelling on the street,surrounded by horde of people.有两个妇人在街上争吵，被一大群人围住了。

3 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

4 replica   

n.复制品

参考例句：

• The original conservatory has been rebuilt in replica.温室已按原样重建。
• The young artist made a replica of the famous painting.这位年轻的画家临摹了这幅著名的作品。

5 calligraphy   

n.书法

参考例句：

• At the calligraphy competition,people asked him to write a few characters.书法比赛会上，人们请他留字。
• His calligraphy is vigorous and forceful.他的书法苍劲有力。

6 disillusioning   

使不再抱幻想，使理想破灭( disillusion的现在分词 )

参考例句：

7 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

8 dwarf   

n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小

参考例句：

• The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
• The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀，摇摇头。

9 gorges   

n.山峡，峡谷( gorge的名词复数 )；咽喉v.（用食物把自己）塞饱，填饱( gorge的第三人称单数 )；作呕

参考例句：

• The explorers were confronted with gorges(that were)almost impassable and rivers(that were)often unfordable. 探险人员面临着几乎是无路可通的峡谷和常常是无法渡过的河流。 来自辞典例句
• We visited the Yangtse Gorges last summer. 去年夏天我们游历了长江三峡。 来自辞典例句

10 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。

11 dehydration   

n.脱水，干燥

参考例句：

• He died from severe dehydration.他死于严重脱水。
• The eyes are often retracted from dehydration.眼睛常因脱水而凹陷。

12 thwarted   

阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过

参考例句：

• The guards thwarted his attempt to escape from prison. 警卫阻扰了他越狱的企图。
• Our plans for a picnic were thwarted by the rain. 我们的野餐计划因雨受挫。

13 deport   

vt.驱逐出境

参考例句：

• We deport aliens who slip across our borders.我们把偷渡入境的外国人驱逐出境。
• More than 240 England football fans are being deported from Italy following riots last night.昨晚的骚乱发生后有240多名英格兰球迷被驱逐出意大利。

14 vocation   

n.职业，行业

参考例句：

• She struggled for years to find her true vocation.她多年来苦苦寻找真正适合自己的职业。
• She felt it was her vocation to minister to the sick.她觉得照料病人是她的天职。

15 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。

16 reassured   

adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 relics   

[pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸

参考例句：

• The area is a treasure house of archaeological relics. 这个地区是古文物遗迹的宝库。
• Xi'an is an ancient city full of treasures and saintly relics. 西安是一个有很多宝藏和神圣的遗物的古老城市。

18 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

19 nomad   

n.游牧部落的人，流浪者，游牧民

参考例句：

• He was indeed a nomad of no nationality.他的确是个无国籍的游民。
• The nomad life is rough and hazardous.游牧生活艰苦又危险。