The Gates of Paradise and the Dome of Heaven 天堂之门和天国的穹顶

Down the length of Italy like the back of a sea monster is a ridge of mountains called the Apennines.  有一条山脉的山脊从北向南纵贯整个意大利，就像海怪的脊背，这条山脉就是亚平宁山脉。

To get from one side of Italy to the other side you have to go over, under, or through these Apennine Mountains, and trains do all three;  从意大利的一边横穿到另一边，你就得从这条亚平宁山脉上面翻过去，或者从底下钻过去，或者从中间穿过去，而这三者火车都可以做到；

over, under, through, winding in and out of one tunnel after another.  在山脉上面、底下、中间，火车从一个又一个隧道钻进去又钻出来，蜿蜒而行。

There are forty-five tunnels in going just from Venice to a city across the Apennines called Florence. 从威尼斯穿过亚平宁山脉到一个叫做佛罗伦萨的城市，就要经过45个隧道。

Florence is a girl's name meaning “flowering,” but Florence is also the name of this city.  “佛罗伦萨”是一个女孩的名字，意思是“鲜花盛开”，但佛罗伦萨也是这个城市的名字。

As the train comes into Florence it curves around the city and you see above the housetops,  火车驶进佛罗伦萨，绕着城市转弯，这时你从火车向外眺望，

near the center of the city, a large dome that looks like the hub of a wheel about which the train is turning.  在城市一大片屋顶之上，在靠近市中心的地方，能看到一个巨大的圆顶，看起来就像个轮毂，火车正绕着这个轮毂在转。

Next to the dome is a big, square tower.  圆顶旁边是一个高大的方形塔楼。

Both the tower and the dome were built before Columbus was born.  塔楼和圆屋顶都是在哥伦布出生之前建造的。

The dome looks like the dome of St. Paul's in London, but, as a matter of fact, this dome is not like St. Paul's.  圆顶看上去像伦敦圣保罗大教堂的圆顶，但实际上我们只能反过来说圣保罗大教堂的圆顶像它，

The dome of St. Paul's is like it , and so is the dome of the Capitol in Washington like it,  华盛顿的国会大厦也像它，

and so are all the other domes of that kind in the World like it,  世界上所有这类圆顶都像它，

for this dome in Florence was the first one of that kind ever built and all others are copies. 因为佛罗伦萨的这个圆顶是最先建造的，所有其他的这类圆顶都是仿照它建造的。

Little domes and flat domes had been built before,  人们以前建造的都是小的圆顶和平的圆顶，

but when the people of Florence were building a cathedral they wanted a different kind of dome on it,  但后来佛罗伦萨人在建造一个大教堂时，他们想在上面建一个与众不同的圆顶，

a dome that would be bigger and better than any other dome i. t. w. W.  要比世界上其他任何一个圆顶都更大更好。

They wanted a dome so big that no one knew how to build it.  他们想造这么大一个圆顶，以至于没有人知道该怎么建。

Now a dome is built out of pieces of stone, and the stones have to cover a space beneath without falling, just like a bridge or an arch.  现在圆顶都是用一块一块的石头建成的，石头盖住下方的空间而且不会落下来，就像桥梁或拱门一样。

No cement is strong enough to stick stones together so that they will not fall when placed across an open space,  任何水泥都没有那么强的力量能把石头粘在一起，放在一个空间上，而不落下去，

but if the stones can be held up by some wooden framework until every stone is in place,  但是如果石头能先被某种木质结构支撑着，直到每一块石头都各就各位，

the wooden framework underneath can then be taken away and the stones will not fall, for all the stones push downward at the same time,  然后下面的木质结构就可以拿走，石头也不会落下来，因为所有的石头都同时往下挤，

and as all push downward together they get wedged in so tight that none can fall through.  这时所有石头向下的合力让石头紧紧挤压在一起，变得严丝合缝，没有一块石头会从中掉下来。