美国学生世界地理教材 第113期:靴子顶端(2)

 Some people, called Veneti, were troubled by a wild tribe from the north.  一个叫做威尼西亚的民族，受到北方一个野蛮部落的不断侵扰，

So they moved to these islands to get away from these annoying tribes.  于是来到这些小岛上，避开这些讨厌的部落。

The Veneti cut posts made of cedar¹ wood, which does not easily rot, 威尼西亚人把不易腐烂的雪松木削成木桩，

and drove them down into the water, and on top of these posts they built their houses.  把木桩敲进水底，然后在木桩上建起房屋。

The Veneti lived chiefly on fish, which they caught in large numbers, because all they had to do was to drop a line or net out of the front door.  威尼西亚人的主食是鱼，他们能捕到大量的鱼，因为他们只要从房屋前门向水中丢下一根钓鱼线或者撒下一张渔网，

In fact, they caught so many fish they could not eat them all.  就能逮住鱼。甚至，他们捕的鱼多得吃不完。

So they gathered salt by drying seawater and salted the fish so that they would keep. 他们就蒸发海水获得盐，用盐腌鱼，鱼就能保存下去了。

As the Veneti lived on the water they had to be good sailors, and they were.  由于威尼西亚人住在水上，他们就必须擅长海上航行，实际上也确实如此。

So they sailed to all corners of the Mediterranean² Sea, selling their salt fish and selling salt too,  他们航行到地中海的每个角落，把咸鱼和盐卖掉，

and bringing back in payment silk gowns and rugs and jewels.  换回丝绸外袍、小毛毯和珠宝。

Then people from all over Europe came to Venice to buy these things which the Veneti had brought back in exchange for this fish and salt,  然后欧洲各地的人都到威尼斯购买威尼西亚人用鱼和盐换来的这些好东西，

and Venice became the greatest shopping-place, the greatest market, in Europe.  威尼斯因此就发展为欧洲最大的商场和最大的市场。

So the Venetians, as the Veneti came to be called, kept on getting richer and richer.  威尼西亚人也被称为威尼斯人了，他们变得越来越富有。

They built beautiful palaces along the canals, and as they believed a certain saint had brought good luck to them and their city,  undefined

they built a beautiful church to him.  他们在运河沿岸建造了一些美丽的宫殿。威尼斯人认为有个圣人给他们和他们的城市带来了好运气，于是就建了一个教堂纪念他。

This saint was St. Mark. They found his bones and buried them in this church underneath³ the altar.  这位圣人叫圣马可。他们找到了他的遗骨，并把遗骨埋在这个教堂里的祭坛下。

St. Mark’s Church is different-looking from any of the churches I have told you about so far.  圣马可教堂的外观和我以前介绍过的任何一个教堂都不一样。

It has five domes⁵, one on each side and one big dome⁴ in the center,  它有五座圆顶，四边各有一座，中间是一座大圆顶，

but these domes are not like those of St.Paul’s or the Capitol—they are shaped like an onion. 但是这些圆顶和圣保罗大教堂或国会大厦的圆顶不一样——它们的形状像洋葱头。

Pictures are usually painted with paint, and you have probably never seen colored pictures made without paint.  画通常是用颜料画的，你也许从未见过不是用颜料画的彩色画。

But the inside of St. Mark’s, and the outside too, is covered with hundreds of pictures,  但是在圣马可教堂里面和外面布满了许许多多画，

not made with paint but out of bits of colored stone and gold and colored glass.  都不是用颜料画的，而是用彩色石头、黄金和彩色玻璃一小片一小片镶嵌而成的。

Such pictures are called mosaics⁶. They will not fade nor peel off, nor wash off, as painted pictures might do. 这种画叫做“马赛克”。不会像颜料画那样褪色或脱落，也不会被水洗掉。

As you might have a dog for a pet, St. Mark was supposed to have had a lion for a companion,  就像你可能会养条小狗做宠物那样，据推断圣马可也养了个狮子做伴，

so on top of a column, out in front of his church, the Venetians put a bronze statue of a lion with wings.  于是在圣马可教堂前的圆柱上威尼斯人放了一头长翅膀的狮子青铜雕像。

Over the door of the church there are four horses.  在教堂门的上方有四匹马。

1 cedar   

n.雪松，香柏(木)

参考例句：

• The cedar was about five feet high and very shapely.那棵雪松约有五尺高,风姿优美。
• She struck the snow from the branches of an old cedar with gray lichen.她把长有灰色地衣的老雪松树枝上的雪打了下来。

2 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

3 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

4 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

5 domes   

n.圆屋顶( dome的名词复数 )；像圆屋顶一样的东西；圆顶体育场

参考例句：

• The domes are circular or ovoid in cross-section. 穹丘的横断面为圆形或卵圆形。 来自辞典例句
• Parks. The facilities highlighted in text include sport complexes and fabric domes. 本书重点讲的设施包括运动场所和顶棚式结构。 来自互联网

6 mosaics   

n.马赛克( mosaic的名词复数 )；镶嵌；镶嵌工艺；镶嵌图案

参考例句：

• The panel shows marked similarities with mosaics found elsewhere. 这块嵌板和在其他地方找到的镶嵌图案有明显的相似之处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The unsullied and shining floor was paved with white mosaics. 干净明亮的地上镶嵌着白色图案。 来自辞典例句