走进剑桥大学 第5期:剑河的柔波

 The gentle waves of River Cam

剑河的柔波

Cambridge is famous as the home of one of the two oldest English universities, but the city has a long and eventful history of its own. The Roman may be the first to bridge the River Cam in 43 AD. In 875 the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle called it Grantabrycge - one of the earliest known uses of the word 'bridge' in the English Language, suggesting that the town was famous for its bridge.

剑桥以拥有两所英国最古老的大学之一剑桥大学而闻名于世，而这座城市本身就历史悠久、历经沧桑。人们认为，早在公元43年，罗马人就在剑河上筑桥了。公元 875年，盎格鲁-撒克逊编年史把在剑河上筑的桥称之为“格兰特桥”，这是英语语言中最早使用“桥”这一单词的用法，这暗示了这座城市是以桥而闻名的。

In the Middle Ages the River Cam was used for transporting corns as far as King’s Lynn, and stones into the centre of Cambridge. However, by the 17th century the River was badly silted¹ up, and it took almost another century before a Parliament Act saw improvements to its condition.

中世纪时期，剑河作为运输通道，可将玉米运至金斯林，将石头运至剑桥中心。 但是到了17世纪，剑河就被淤泥堵塞。差不多过了一个世纪，议会法案的实施才使情况好转。

The surrounding area of the Fens³ cover an area of some 800 square miles and are so low that the highest point is just 50m above sea level, with some parts having dropped below sea level entirely⁴. As the river makes its way to the North Sea it deposits huge amounts of silt² over time which accounts for the ever-decreasing nature of the waters，makes of which today is actually reclaimed⁵ marshland.

剑河的沼泽地带覆盖了约800平方英里流域，而且地势很低，最高点仅高于海平面50米，有些部分则完全低于海平面。由于入海口地势低，当剑河流入北海时，它会滞留大量淤泥。经年累月，河水不断减少，今天的大部分河段都变成沼泽地了。

This was not always the case, however. Records showed that during the 17th century the waters were plentiful⁶ here Despite the Romans，attempts at draining the land, the area remained swampland for many generations. From about 1500 until the mid-17th century, high ranking clergy⁷, members of the aristocracy and even royalty⁸ would attempt to drain the land, but it was only when the underlying⁹ peat shrank over time and the levels were gradually seeped¹⁰ off into new channels and waterways that the waters moved from being deep lakes into the myriad¹¹ of shallow channels as they are today.

但是只有当底层的泥炭随着时间推移而逐渐被侵蚀，河水流向新的渠道和航道，他们的目标才实现，因为这样一来，河水就不能聚积在一起形成深湖，而只能变成今天的无数浅水渠了。

Cambridge itself is steeped in history with an academic heritage dating back to as early as 1209. Some of the first colleges to be founded were built right on the banks of the river. On the riverside the colleges would benefit from the major trade route into the town of Cambridge. The result today is the “Backs”，a one mile stretch of river that supports some of finest examples of architecture in England. Altogether there are 8 colleges and 9 bridges. These include Queens1 College with the Mathematical Bridge, King’s College with its famous chapel¹², and the Bridge of Sighs at St. John’s College.

剑桥本身有着丰富的学术传统，它的学术传统可以追溯到公元1209年。最早的一批学院是在剑河的右岸建立起来的。通往剑桥镇的贸易航道都要通过剑河，建于河边的学院受益于此，结果形成了今天的“后园景观”。在一英里的水域内，游客们可以看到英格兰最漂亮的一些建筑。总共有8个学院和9座桥位于“后园景观”内，这其中包括拥有数学桥的女王学院，著名教堂的所在地国王学院和以叹息桥闻名的圣约翰学院。

1 silted   

v.（河流等）为淤泥淤塞( silt的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）淤塞

参考例句：

• The riverbed is silted up, so there's no outlet for the floodwater. 河道淤塞，水无出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The river is silted up and the water flows sluggishly. 河道淤塞，水流迟滞。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 silt   

n.淤泥，淤沙，粉砂层，泥沙层；vt.使淤塞；vi.被淤塞

参考例句：

• The lake was almost solid with silt and vegetation.湖里几乎快被淤泥和植物填满了。
• During the annual floods the river deposits its silt on the fields.每年河水泛滥时都会在田野上沉积一层淤泥。

3 fens   

n.（尤指英格兰东部的）沼泽地带( fen的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Most of the landscape in the Fens is as flat as a pancake. 菲恩斯的大部分地形都是极平坦的。 来自互联网
• He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens. 它伏在莲叶之下，卧在芦苇隐密处和水洼子里。 来自互联网

4 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

5 reclaimed   

adj.再生的；翻造的；收复的；回收的v.开拓( reclaim的过去式和过去分词 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救

参考例句：

• Many sufferers have been reclaimed from a dependence on alcohol. 许多嗜酒成癖的受害者已经被挽救过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They reclaimed him from his evil ways. 他们把他从邪恶中挽救出来。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

7 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

8 royalty   

n.皇家，皇族

参考例句：

• She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
• I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生， 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。

9 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

10 seeped   

v.（液体）渗( seep的过去式和过去分词 )；渗透；渗出；漏出

参考例句：

• The rain seeped through the roof. 雨水透过房顶渗透。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Icy air seeped in through the paper and the room became cold. 寒气透过了糊窗纸。屋里骤然冷起来。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

11 myriad   

adj.无数的；n.无数，极大数量

参考例句：

• They offered no solution for all our myriad problems.对于我们数不清的问题他们束手无策。
• I had three weeks to make a myriad of arrangements.我花了三个星期做大量准备工作。

12 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。