走进剑桥大学 第3期:古老的建筑

 Ancient buildings

古老的建筑

It is a commonplace remark that Cambridge as a town contrasts unfavorably with Oxford¹, and an acute American writer, himself an alumnus of Trinity College, has gone so far as to describe it as, of all English provincial² towns, the most insignificant³, the dullest, and the ugliest.

常听人说，剑桥市根本就不能和牛津市相比。一位激进的美国作家甚至过分地说，在英格兰所有的市镇中，剑桥是最无足轻重、枯燥乏味和不堪入目的，而这位作家自己就曾经是三一学院的一员。

The street architecture is mean，dingy yellow brick being the chief material of the houses, and the site, is as dreary⁴ and uninteresting as anything in England. But the glory of Cambridge is of course its group of colleges, whose varied⁵ beauty is rivaled only by Oxford; and the Cantab will not easily allow that anything at Oxford is finer than Trinity, King’s, or the Fitz William Museum. Of the university buildings, the last-named, founded by Viscount FitzWilliam, who died in 1816，is one of the noblest classical buildings in England, and contains valuable books, paintings, prints, and sculpture. The Senate-house, opened in 1730, is a building of admirable proportions, with a richly-decorated interior.

街道旁的建筑十分简陋，暗红色的砖块是建造房屋的主要材料，这样的场景在英格兰随处可见，令人感到压抑、无趣。当然了，剑桥也有它的亮点，坐落在市区各个地方的学院，其变换多姿的美景恐怕只有牛津才可与之媲美。剑桥人也绝不会同意，牛津有什么能比得过三一学院、国王学院和菲茨威廉博物馆的建筑。所有大学的建筑中，这所菲茨威廉博物馆是英格兰古建筑中最有名气的，里面有着大量的藏书、图画、报刊和雕塑。建造这个博物馆的菲茨威廉伯爵已经在1816年去世。1730年开放的议会大楼十分宽敞，内部装潢也甚为华丽。

Among the colleges，Trinity holds the premier⁶ place as the largest. Its great court covers more than two acres of ground, and the chapel⁷, dating from Queen Mary’s reign⁸, has been restored and elaborately decorated. King’s College, founded by Henry VI, in connection with his famous school at Eton, is celebrated⁹ for its chapel, unquestionably the finest building in Cambridge. It was finished in 1536，and ranks with St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, among the most perfect existing specimens¹⁰ of perpendicular¹¹ architecture.

三一学院是所有学院中面积最大的,其庭院超过了两英亩。还有可以追溯到玛丽女王统治时期的小教堂，后来被整修一新并精心装饰了一番。亨利六世主持建造的国王学院在1536年建成，与伊顿学院毗邻，并和圣乔治教堂，温莎教堂一起被视为为现存的垂直式建筑的典型代表。

Third in architectural importance is St John’s，with its four courts. The picturesque¹² buildings are mostly Tudor or Jacobean. In size and wealth, St. John’s ranks next to Trinity, and it has produced many famous scholars.

第三重要的建筑是圣约翰学院，它共有4个庭院。这些别致的建筑大多是都铎时期或者是詹姆士一世时期建造的，无论从规模还是从财力上来说，圣约翰学院都仅次于三一学院。这里也走出了许多的著名学者。

In addition, we have St. Catherine’s, its red brick buildings dating from the end of the seventeenth century, and its court, planted with elms, opening to the street. Many noted¹³ ecclesiastics¹⁴ and theologians have been educated here. Magdalene is the only college on the north side of the river Cam. Not much remains¹⁵ of the ancient buildings, the finest part of the college being the Pepysian library containing the books of the famous diarist, and many black letter volumes. St. Peter’s or Peterhouse, the oldest college in Cambridge, preserves some of its ancient buildings, has pretty gardens and a small deer-park, and a library rich in medieval theology. All of those buildings are scenic¹⁶ pictures which should not be missed in Cambridge.

此外，还有圣凯瑟琳学院，其典型的红砖建筑建成于17世纪末期，敞开的庭院里种满了榆树，许多著名的牧师和神学家都曾在此就读。莫德林学院是唯一一所坐落在康河北岸的学院，它并没有太多的古建筑。学院中最漂亮的应该算是佩皮斯图书馆了，里面有很多佩皮斯这位著名日记作家的书和黑体字卷册。剑桥大学历史最悠久的学院——圣彼得学院里保留有很多古建筑，它的花园小巧可爱，还拥有一所小型的鹿园，图书馆里拥有很多中世纪神学方面的典藏。所有的这些建筑都是剑桥大学里不可错过的风景。

1 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

2 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

3 insignificant   

adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的

参考例句：

• In winter the effect was found to be insignificant.在冬季，这种作用是不明显的。
• This problem was insignificant compared to others she faced.这一问题与她面临的其他问题比较起来算不得什么。

4 dreary   

adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的

参考例句：

• They live such dreary lives.他们的生活如此乏味。
• She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。

5 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

6 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

7 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

8 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

9 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

10 specimens   

n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人

参考例句：

• Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
• The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 perpendicular   

adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置

参考例句：

• The two lines of bones are set perpendicular to one another.这两排骨头相互垂直。
• The wall is out of the perpendicular.这墙有些倾斜。

12 picturesque   

adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的

参考例句：

• You can see the picturesque shores beside the river.在河边你可以看到景色如画的两岸。
• That was a picturesque phrase.那是一个形象化的说法。

13 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

14 ecclesiastics   

n.神职者，教会，牧师( ecclesiastic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

15 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

16 scenic   

adj.自然景色的，景色优美的

参考例句：

• The scenic beauty of the place entranced the visitors.这里的美丽风光把游客们迷住了。
• The scenic spot is on northwestern outskirts of Beijing.这个风景区位于北京的西北远郊。