It seemed a mile high,  看起来足有1英里高，

but it is really only about a tenth of a mile high—not even as high as a low mountain. 但它实际高度大概上只有1英里的十分之一—甚至还没有一座小山高。

No man has ever been able to build as high as God. 没有人能像上帝那样建造出高耸入云的东西。

Though there is an elevator,I used to run up the stairs,two steps at a time, to the top of the monument—just for fun 虽然有了电梯，我过去却经常自己登上纪念碑，一步两个台阶向上跑一这只是为了好玩

to see how quickly I could do it, and whether I could beat the elevator. 看看自己能有多快，能不能超过电梯。

Boys are like that. 男孩子就是这样，

They will run a race with anything. 跟什么都要比比速度。

I could beat the elevator down by jumping half a dozen steps at a time, but not up. 下来的时候我能一次跳六个台阶，比电梯还快，但是上去却比不过电梯；

My heart did the beating going up. 上的时候我心跳加速，只好败下阵来。

There is a long pool of water at the foot of the Washington Monument in which you can see the monument as in a mirror. 华盛顿纪念碑前有一个长长的水池，就像一面镜子，里面可以看到纪念碑的倒影。

At the other end of this pool is a marble building with columns all around the four sides. 在池子的另一端有一个大理石的建筑，四周有圆柱环绕。

It was built in honor of Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President after Washington. 这是为了纪念美国的第十六任总统亚伯拉罕林肯而建的。

It is probably the most thrilling memorial ever built to a human being. 这也许是有史以来为个人而建的最激动人心的纪念堂了。

There is a picture of Lincoln on the 5 dollar bill and on the other side a picture of his Memorial. 5美元纸币上有林肯像，纸币另一面就是他的纪念堂。

Lincoln was born in a tiny house made of logs, so small that the whole house could be put in one room of your home. 林肯出生在一个木头造的房子里，房子小得可怜，可以整个放进你们家任何一个房间里。

No boy was ever poorer, or had less money or less chance, and yet he became President of the United States. 没有人比他更卑微、更贫穷、更缺乏机会的了，然而他后来当了美国总统。

While he was President two parts of the United States fought a terrible war with each other and almost became un-United, but Lincoln kept the States together. 他任总统期间，美国 的南北两方爆发了激烈的战争，差一点就分裂了，但是林肯维护了美国的统一。

That's why this beautiful building was built in his honor. 这就是为什么要为他建造这座漂亮的纪念堂。

The only thing in the building is a statue of Lincoln sitting in a chair. 纪念堂里没有其他东西，只摆放着一尊坐在椅子上的林肯雕像。

He looks down on the crowds of people who visit him, as if his spirit were inside that figure of stone. 他向下注视着来瞻仰他的人群，好像他的精神还活在这石头的雕像里。