VOA常速英语2015--长城需要进行修复及保护

长城需要进行修复及保护

Built in ancient times to keep invading Mongols out, the Great Wall is a historical treasure for China. Stretching for thousands of kilometers across northern China, the World Heritage site is a marvel¹ that attracts tens of thousands of tourists every year. But the massive length of the wall is also its greatest weakness.

为了抵御古代蒙古军队入侵而建造的长城对中国而言是历史的宝藏。长城绵延北方数千公里,世界文化遗产的这个奇迹每年吸引成千上万的游客。但长城城墙的长度也成为其最大的弊端。

In rural areas, the wall continues to disappear with alarming regularity² due to erosion and vandalism.

在偏远地区，由于侵蚀和破坏行为城墙继续呈现惊人速度的消失。

Aside from tourist spots near major cities such as Beijing, most of the wall is in poor condition and research indicates that 74 percent of it is poorly protected.

除了如北京等主要城市旅游景点附近,大部分的城墙状况较差,而研究表明74%的城墙保护措施没有到位。

"In the summer of 2014, we discovered that the walls were toppled. There were people buying scorpions⁴ from villagers to make Chinese medicine, and each scorpion³ was worth 5 cents. Five cents meant nothing to adults, but was appealing to children. Since scorpions resided between bricks, children toppled the Great Wall to catch them."

“在2014年的夏天,我们发现城墙被推倒。有人从村民手中购买蝎子制作中药,而抓到的每只蝎子价值5美分。五美分对成年人而言不值一提,但却很吸引孩子。由于蝎子是生活在砖墙之间,因此孩子们为了逮到蝎子推倒长城。”

Hou added that the rural areas of the wall, without the promise of tourists, lack profitability, which leads to a lack of protection from officials.Besides vandalism, the weather itself is largely to blame for the problem, according to local resident A Mao, who did not want to give his family name.

侯补充说,偏远地区的城墙没有游客到访,缺乏盈利能力,因此缺乏官员保护。当地一位不愿透露姓氏的居民毛某表示，除了破坏行为,很大程度上也要归咎于天气问题。

"It starts weathering once the weather gets drier. If the weather is rainy or windy, it weathers as well. There are cavities. They needed to be fixed⁵."

“一旦天气干燥城墙就开始风化。如果遇上下雨或刮风,也是这样。城墙受到破坏。它们需要修复。”

Although China’s State Council recently issued new regulations to protect the wall, the current situation remains⁶ gloomy. But according to the Beijing municipal government, Beijing, Hebei, and Tianjin have reached an agreement on repairing and protecting the Great Wall in rural areas.

尽管国务院最近出台了新规定来保护城墙,但前景仍然黯淡。但北京市政府、北京、河北、天津已就修复及保护偏远地区长城达成协议。

1 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

2 regularity   

n.规律性，规则性；匀称，整齐

参考例句：

• The idea is to maintain the regularity of the heartbeat.问题就是要维持心跳的规律性。
• He exercised with a regularity that amazed us.他锻炼的规律程度令我们非常惊讶。

3 scorpion   

n.蝎子，心黑的人，蝎子鞭

参考例句：

• The scorpion has a sting that can be deadly.蝎子有可以致命的螫针。
• The scorpion has a sting that can be deadly.蝎子有可以致命的螫针。

4 scorpions   

n.蝎子( scorpion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You promise me that Black Scorpions will never come back to Lanzhou. 你保证黑蝎子永远不再踏上兰州的土地。 来自电影对白
• You Scorpions are rather secretive about your likes and dislikes. 天蝎：蝎子是如此的神秘，你的喜好很难被别人洞悉。 来自互联网

5 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

6 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。