走遍全世界79：开罗

Few other countries are so dominated by their capital: for Egyptians to speak of one is to speak of the other. The "Mother of the World" nurtures¹ more than 16 million Egyptians, Arabs, Africans and sundry² international hangers-on in a collision of East and West, old and new, African and Arabic.

很少有其他国家的首都是像开罗这样占据着国家大部分的资本：开罗就是埃及的代名词。对于埃及人来说，两者的意义是等同的。有“世界母亲”之称的埃及培育了超过1,600万人口，包括埃及人、阿拉伯人、非洲人和其他人种。各种各样的碰撞在这里发生，东与西，新与旧，非洲和阿拉伯。

She's overburdened with one of the world's highest population densities³, which makes for a seething⁴ mass of people, buildings and cacophonous⁵ traffic.

作为世界上人口密度最高的国家，埃及不堪重负，这些造就了这里复杂的人口、建筑以及嘈杂的交通环境。

Cairo has been the heart of Egypt for more than 1,000 years. Here the medieval world and the contemporary Western world clash in a confusion of mud-brick houses and towering modern office buildings, of flashy cars and donkey-drawn carts.

开罗成为埃及的心脏已经超过1,000年。这里是中世纪世界和当代西方世界冲突的集中体现。泥砖屋的混乱和高耸的现代化办公大楼、迟钝的驴车和浮华小车都形成鲜明的对比。

Cairenes see nothing strange in this. They aren't driven by the Western obsession⁶ to update and upgrade. The resulting pervasive⁷ sense of timelessness is one of the city's great charms. At the end of the day, it's a city travelers either love or hate; few come away indifferent.

但在开罗人眼里，这些都不足为奇。他们不是痴迷于西方世界的更新和升级。由此普遍产生的永恒感是这个城市的巨大魅力之一。一天下来，要么喜欢这里要么讨厌这里，很少有旅客对这里的一切无动于衷。

Finding your way about Cairo's vast sprawl⁸ is  not as difficult as it may seem. Midan Tahrir is at the center. Northeast of Tahrir and centered on Sharia Talaat Harb is Downtown, a bustling⁹ commercial district.

寻找你对开罗的巨大张力的方式并不是像看起来那么困难。塔利尔是在中心。东北塔利尔和沙里亚·塔拉特·哈布为中心城区，是一个繁华的商业区。

The city' main train station at Midan Ramses marks Downtown's northernmost extent. Heading east, Downtown ends at Midan Ataba and the old medieval heart of the city known as Islamic Cairo takes over.

米丹·拉美西斯火车站是市区的最北端。向东，市区结束于米丹·阿塔巴，这里是中世界的中心，之后被伊斯兰开罗接管。

Bordering Downtown to the west is the Nile River, which is obstructed¹⁰ by two sizeable islands. The more central of these, connected directly to Downtown by three bridges, is Gezira, home to the Cairo Tower and the Opera House complex.

市区的西面是尼罗河，它被两个相当大的岛阻碍着。这里是更加中央的位置，其中三座桥直接连接到市中心，是吉齐拉，也是开罗塔河复杂的开罗歌剧院的地址所在。

The west bank of the Nile is less historical and much more residential¹¹. The primary districts are Mohandiseen, Agouza, Doqqi and Giza, all of which are light on charm and heavy on concrete. Giza covers by far the largest area of the four, stretching some 20km (12.4mi) west on either side of the long, straight road that ends at the foot of the Pyramids.

尼罗河西岸有着更短的和少得多的住宅。主要地区是Mohandiseen, Agouza, Doqqi和吉萨，所有这些都带着明亮、深层的魅力。吉萨到目前为止，包括四大领域，在长直路的两侧向西延伸20千米，一直伸展到金字塔的脚下。
 

1 nurtures   

教养，培育( nurture的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Art nurtures the soul and culture cultivates the mind. 艺术滋润心灵，文化陶冶情操。
• Who first loves and nurtures us and takes care of every need. 是谁先爱上我们，哺育我们，对我们无微不至。

2 sundry   

adj.各式各样的，种种的

参考例句：

• This cream can be used to treat sundry minor injuries.这种药膏可用来治各种轻伤。
• We can see the rich man on sundry occasions.我们能在各种场合见到那个富豪。

3 densities   

密集( density的名词复数 )； 稠密； 密度（固体、液体或气体单位体积的质量）； 密度（磁盘存贮数据的可用空间）

参考例句：

• The range of densities of interest is about 3.5. 有用的密度范围为3．5左右。
• Densities presumably can be probed by radar. 利用雷达也许还能探测出气体的密度。

4 seething   

沸腾的，火热的

参考例句：

• The stadium was a seething cauldron of emotion. 体育场内群情沸腾。
• The meeting hall was seething at once. 会场上顿时沸腾起来了。

5 cacophonous   

adj.发音不和谐的，粗腔横调的

参考例句：

• They produced the most cacophonous beat of pop music. 他们制造了流行音乐最不协调的节拍。 来自辞典例句

6 obsession   

n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感)

参考例句：

• I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
• She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。

7 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

8 sprawl   

vi.躺卧，扩张，蔓延；vt.使蔓延；n.躺卧，蔓延

参考例句：

• In our garden,bushes are allowed to sprawl as they will.在我们园子里，灌木丛爱怎么蔓延就怎么蔓延。
• He is lying in a sprawl on the bed.他伸开四肢躺在床上。

9 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

10 obstructed   

阻塞( obstruct的过去式和过去分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止

参考例句：

• Tall trees obstructed his view of the road. 有大树挡着，他看不到道路。
• The Irish and Bristol Channels were closed or grievously obstructed. 爱尔兰海峡和布里斯托尔海峡或遭受封锁，或受到了严重阻碍。

11 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。