美国学生世界地理教材 第114期:靴子顶端(3)

 They are not live horses, yet they have traveled far.  它们不是活马，但却走过了很远的路。

They were made about the time of Christ¹, out of bronze, and they have been carried away by one ruler  这四匹马大约是在耶稣在世时用青铜制作的，被一个又一个统治者

and another from one place to another, and finally back again to Venice. 从一个地方带到另一个地方，最终又回到了威尼斯。

The largest piece of land in Venice is a paved² square in front of St. Mark’s.  威尼斯最大的一块空地是圣马可教堂前一个铺了砖石的广场。

In this square there are flocks³ of pigeons⁵, and they are so tame⁶ they will alight on your hand or shoulder to be fed.  广场上有成群的鸽子，它们非常温顺，总是飞落到你的手上或肩上等你喂食。

People have pictures taken of themselves with pigeons on their head and shoulders and at their feet. 人们把鸽子在他们头上、肩上和脚边的情景拍摄下来。

Once upon a time Venice was saved from an enemy by a message brought by a carrier-pigeon⁴,  很久以前，一只信鸽送来了重要的情报，才使威尼斯免受敌人的袭击，保全下来，

and ever since then Venetians treat pigeons as sacred, and they would arrest and punish any one who harmed a pigeon.  从此以后威尼斯人把鸽子奉为神圣之物，任何人伤害鸽子，都会被拘捕并受到惩罚。

Did you know that a pigeon discovered America?  你知道“一只鸽子发现了美洲”这一说法吗？

Yes, that’s a fact, for in Italian “Columbus” means “pigeon.”  是的，那是真的，因为在意大利语中，“哥伦布”就是“鸽子”的意思。

So his real name is Christopher Pigeon. 所以他真正的名字是克里斯托弗?鸽子。

Venice is now only a city, but it used to be like a little country all by itself.  威尼斯现在只是一个城市，但过去就像一个独立的小国家。

It made its own money and it had its own ruler, who was called a Doge (dozhe), which means Duke.  自己造货币，也有自己的统治者，叫做总督，就是君主的意思。

A Doge ruled like a president and lived in a palace like a king, and punished people who had done wrong, like a judge.  总督像总统一样统治国家，像国王一样住在宫殿里，像法官一样惩罚做坏事的人。

Just across the water street from the Doge’s palace was the prison, and connecting his palace with the prison was a covered bridge.  总督府的水道对面就是监狱，连接总督府和监狱的是一座有篷的桥。

When a man was sent to prison by the Doge he crossed over this bridge, sighing and groaning⁷, so it came to be called the “Bridge of Sighs.”  被总督判刑送到监狱去的犯人跨过这座桥，总是一边叹息一边呻吟，因此这座桥后来就被叫做“叹息桥”。

Theaters are sometimes named “The Rialto,” but The Rialto is not a theater.  城市的剧院区有时被叫做“里阿尔托”，但“里阿尔托”并不是剧院。

It is a bridge in Venice over the Grand Canal.  而是威尼斯大运河上的一座桥。

It has shops along its sides.  两边有商店。

Venice was the shopping-place of Europe, and the Rialto was the department store of Venice, where every kind of thing was sold.  如果说威尼斯是欧洲的商场，那么里阿尔托则是威尼斯的百货商店，里面有各种各样的商品。

There is a play written by William Shakspere, the English author, called “The Merchant of Venice.”  英国作家莎士比亚写过一部戏剧叫做《威尼斯商人》。

The story is about a man who had a shop on the Rialto. 故事讲的就是一个在里阿尔托开店的人。

1 Christ   

n.基督，救世主，耶稣

参考例句：

• I regarded him as the Christ.我把他当作救世主。
• Christ preached that we should love each other.基督在布道中说人们应该互爱。

2 paved   

v.铺( pave的过去式和过去分词 )；为…铺平道路

参考例句：

• a paved area near the back door 后门旁一块石板地
• The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track. 铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 flocks   

n.畜群( flock的名词复数 )；鸟群；人群；同一教会团体的教徒v.群集，成群结队而行( flock的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Vistors came in flocks to see the new bridge. 参观者成群结队地来观看这座新桥。 来自《用法词典》
• They move with their flocks to upland pastures. 他们带着牲畜迁往高原上的牧场。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 pigeon   

n.鸽子

参考例句：

• The pigeon homed from a distance of 100 miles.鸽子从百英里之外返回窝巢。
• How many pigeon eggs do you need?你要几个鸽子蛋？

5 pigeons   

n. 鸽子 名词pigeon的复数形式

参考例句：

• the sound of pigeons cooing 鸽子咕咕的叫声
• The boy frightened away the pigeons from the roof. 那男孩把屋顶上的鸽子吓飞了。

6 tame   

adj.驯服的，柔顺的，乏味的；v.驯养，使...驯服

参考例句：

• His job is to tame lions.他的工作是驯狮。
• He is so tame that he agrees with everybody.他很随和，总是顺从他人的意见。

7 groaning   

adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• She's always groaning on about how much she has to do. 她总抱怨自己干很多活儿。
• The wounded man lay there groaning, with no one to help him. 受伤者躺在那里呻吟着，无人救助。