美国学生世界地理教材 第102期:西班牙城堡(1)

 Chapter 31 Castles in Spain 第31章 西班牙城堡

When I was a boy I used to plan the kind of home I would have when I grew up and had plenty of money.  我小时候常常会想如果长大后我很有钱，我要住什么样子的房子呢？

It was to have a gymnasium in the attic¹, a zoo for pets in the cellar, a museum of curiosities in the parlor², and a soda-water fountain in the dining-room. 我的房屋阁楼上要有健身房，地下室要有宠物住的动物园，客厅里要有装满各种珍奇的博物馆，餐厅里要有一个苏打水喷泉。 

My mother used to say that was my Castle in Spain, and when I asked her what a Castle in Spain was, she said, “Any wonderful home—in your mind.”  我妈妈常说那是我的“西班牙城堡”，当我问她西班牙城堡是什么时，她说：“你幻想中的任何奇妙的房屋。”

But Spain is a real place, a real country, and there are real castles there even now. 但西班牙是个真实的地方，真实的国家，那里甚至现在还有真正的城堡。

The map of Europe is like a puzzle-picture.  欧洲地图就像一幅智力拼图。

If you turn it around or look at it sideways you will see a little old woman with a big head, a hump-back, and a long leg kicking a football into the sea. 如果你把它转过来或者从侧面看过去，你会看到一个小老太太，头大大的，背驼驼的，一条长长的腿正把一个足球踢倒海里去。

The head is called Spain, and the cap that Spain is wearing on the front of her head is called Portugal.  她的头叫做西班牙，西班牙头上戴的帽子叫做葡萄牙。

Where the head joins France there is a collar of mountains called the Pyrenees. 头和法国相接的地方是一条山脉形成的衣领，叫做比利牛斯山脉。

At one time Spain not only looked like the head of Europe, she really was the head of Europe, for she owned a great part of Europe.  西班牙不仅在地图上看起来像欧洲的头，而且曾经有一个时期真的是欧洲的首领，因为她拥有一大片欧洲的土地。

Then there came a time just after Columbus discovered America when Spain was the head not only of Europe but of all the World.  就在哥伦布发现美洲之后一段时间，西班牙不仅是欧洲的首领，还是全世界的首领。

She then owned a great part of North America and all of South America, except Brazil.  西班牙当时拥有北美洲大部分土地和除巴西之外的所有南美洲土地。

So she was the greatest country. Now, however, Spain doesn’t even own all of Spain.  因此它是世界上最大的国家。然而现在西班牙甚至不拥有西班牙的全部领土。

On the map Spain seems to be rubbing her nose against the nose of Africa, as some savages³ rub noses when they meet.  在地图上，西班牙看起来正在和非洲蹭鼻子，就像有些人在见面时会互相蹭蹭鼻子那样。

This nose of Spain is called Gibraltar, but Gibraltar does not belong to Spain; it belongs to England. 西班牙的这个鼻子叫做直布罗陀，但直布罗陀不属于西班牙；它属于英国。

1 attic   

n.顶楼，屋顶室

参考例句：

• Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
• What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理？

2 parlor   

n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅

参考例句：

• She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
• Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店？

3 savages   

未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There're some savages living in the forest. 森林里居住着一些野人。
• That's an island inhabited by savages. 那是一个野蛮人居住的岛屿。