It might have been larger, but not so many years ago a terrible earthquake shook down the city. 以前或许比洛杉矶还要大一点，但是在没有多少年以前，一场可怕的地震震倒了整个城市。 

The quake only lasted a few minutes, but in that few minutes it rocked the city, cracked open the ground,  地震只持续了几分钟，但就在那短短几分钟里城市摇晃，地面断裂，

and knocked down buildings as if they were houses of children’s blocks,and hundreds and hundreds of people were killed. 楼房倒塌，就好像是小孩搭的积木房子说倒就倒，许许多多的人失去了生命。

But the worst thing the earthquake did was to upset stoves and lamps that started one of the worst fires ever known—fires that burned up most of the city. 的灾难是打翻了火炉和油灯从而引发了至今为止最严重的火灾之一——大火烧掉了这个城市的大部分。

Were the people discouraged? Not at all. They collected their insurance money—and they built the city up again. 但地震造成的最严重人们因此而丧失希望了吗？丝毫没有。他们领取了保险赔偿金——重新建起了这个城市。

San Francisco has one of the finest harbors in the World. Its harbor is a long bay—fifty miles long.  圣弗朗西斯科有着世界上最好的港口之一。它的港口是一个长长的海湾——长达50英里。

Ships enter the harbor from the Pacific Ocean through an opening called the Golden Gate. 从太平洋来的船只通过一个叫做“金门”的海峡进入港口。 

The city is built on many hills so steep that it is difficult for automobiles to climb them,  这个城市建造在很多陡峭的山上，因此汽车很难爬上去，

but houses built on them have lovely views of the ocean, the bay, or the Golden Gate. 但建在山坡上房子里能看到很美的风景：大海、海湾和金门。 

Across the Golden Gate is a huge suspension bridge much bigger than the Brooklyn Bridge. 横跨金门海峡的金门大桥是一个比布鲁克林大桥更大的巨大吊桥。

Ships enter and leave San Francisco for all the countries on and across the Pacific Ocean. 在圣弗朗西斯科进进出出的船只来自于太平洋上和对岸的所有国家。 

Across the Pacific Ocean are China and Japan, and in days gone by so many Chinese came to the United States and landed in San Francisco that there is a part of the city called Chinatown,  太平洋对岸是中国和日本，在以往的岁月里有许许多多的中国人不断来到美国在圣弗朗西斯科上岸，所以这里有个叫做“唐人街”的地方，

where there are Chinese houses and shops and theaters.  唐人街有中国风格的房屋、商店和剧院。

Many Japanese too came to the United States from Japan, and bought farms where they raised fruits and vegetables. 许多日本人也远离故土来到美国，他们买下农场种植水果和蔬菜。