词汇提示

1.nomadic 游牧民族的

2.raids 抢劫

3.unified 统一的

4.united 一统

5.tribe 部落

6.rebelled 反叛

7. rulers 统治者

8.rubble 瓦砾

9.quarried 开采

10.peasants 农民

11.forts 堡垒

12.lit 点火

13.plumes of smoke 烟柱

14.uprising 起义

15.revolt 反抗

16.maintaining 维护

原文

The Great Walls of China

The Great Wall of China is famous in North America, and many tourists would like to travel there.

However,most North Americans don't know very much about Chinese history.

That is changing now, as China is becoming an important subject for study in the West.

The settled communities of China were targets for nomadic raids since earliest times.

For much of its early history, China was not fully unified.

However,Shih Huang, who died in 210 B.C., united the whole country.

Then he set about defending China from the northern nomads.

It seems likely that there had been defensive walls in the north before.

However,Shih Huang had a wall constructed across the entire north of China.

This defensive wall extended for almost 2,000 miles and had 25,000 towers.

They also required huge numbers of men to construct them, and later to defend them.

Even so, the Great Wall did not stop nomadic invasions altogether.

Not long after Shih Huang's death, a tribe called the Huns crossed the wall.

The Emperor Hu Ti, who expanded Chinese power beyond the Wall, defeated them.

Centuries later, the Mongols to the north of China were united under Genghis Khan.

The Mongols attacked China, and Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis, became the first non- Chinese emperor of China in 1279.

Eventually, the Chinese rebelled and overthrew their Mongol rulers.

Nonetheless, the Mongols remained a threat.

In 1449, they destroyed a Chinese army and captured the Emperor.

A new Great Wall was begun to keep the Mongols out.

This is the wall which tourists visit today and which is pictured on Chinese stamps.

Construction continued for 200 years.

While some parts were built of packed earth, much of the wall was built of stone,brick and rubble.

This is why it took so long.

Stones had to be quarried, and bricks baked and carried to the site.

Laborers,peasants, soldiers and criminals were forced to work on the wall.

Large and small forts and watchtowers carefully guarded the wall.

Nearly a million soldiers were stationed along it.

The Chinese defenders lit fires when the enemy was sighted.

Plumes of smoke and cannon shots told that the enemy was advancing and how many there were.

By 1644, the new wall was almost completed.

That same year, however, an internal uprising overthrew the Emperor.

This revolt was partly caused by the high taxes demanded to pay for the wall.

The Emperor's men invited the nomadic Manchu tribe to come through the gates in the wall to help put down the revolt.

The Manchus came; but they stayed, and ruled China for several hundred years.

Since the Manchus ruled both north and south of the wall, they did not care about maintaining.

Many parts fell into disrepair, and some completely disappeared.

Today the parts that remain are a major tourist attraction.

Even if it didn't really succeed in its purpose of keeping the northern nomads out of China.

翻译

中国的长城

中国的长城在北美很有名，许多游客都想去那里旅游。
然而，大多数北美人不太了解中国的历史。
这种情况现在正在改变，因为中国正在成为西方研究的一个重要课题。
中国的定居社区自古以来就是游牧民族袭击的目标。
在早期历史的大部分时间里，中国并没有完全统一。
然而，公元前210年去世的始皇统一了整个国家。
然后，他开始保护中国免受北方游牧民族的侵害。
在此之前，北方很可能有防御墙。
然而，秦始皇在整个中国北部修建了一道城墙。
这道防御墙绵延近2000英里，有25000座塔楼。
它们还需要大量的人力来建造和保卫它们。
即便如此，长城并没有完全阻止游牧民族的入侵。
在秦始皇死后不久，一个叫匈奴的部落越过了长城。
把中国的力量扩大到长城之外的皇帝武帝打败了他们。
几个世纪后，中国北方的蒙古人在成吉思汗的统治下统一起来。
蒙古人进攻中国，1279年，成吉思汗的孙子忽必烈成为中国第一位非华人皇帝。
最终，中国人奋起反抗，推翻了蒙古统治者。
尽管如此，蒙古人仍然是一个威胁。
1449年，他们摧毁了一支中国军队并俘虏了皇帝。
为了抵御蒙古人的入侵，新的长城开始修建。
这是今天游客们参观的长城，它被印在了中国的邮票上。
工程持续了200年。
虽然有些部分是用泥土填筑的，但长城的大部分是用石头、砖和瓦砾建造的。
这就是为什么花了这么长时间。
石头要采石，砖要烧制后运到工地。
劳工、农民、士兵和罪犯被迫在长城上工作。
大大小小的堡垒和瞭望塔小心翼翼地守卫着城墙。
近一百万士兵驻扎在这条河上。
看到敌人时，中国守军点燃了火。
滚滚浓烟和炮声告诉我们敌人正在前进，知道敌人有多少。
到1644年，新城墙几乎完工。
然而，同一年，国内起义推翻了皇帝。
这次起义的部分原因是修建隔离墙需要缴纳高额税款。
皇帝的手下邀请游牧的满族部落通过城墙的大门来帮助镇压叛乱。
满族人来了;但他们留了下来，统治了中国几百年。
由于满族人统治着长城的南北，他们并不关心维护。
许多部件年久失修，有些完全消失了。
今天，保留下来的部分是一个主要的旅游景点。
即使它没有真正成功地将北方游牧民族赶出中国。

Level 4-Day 73.The Great Walls of China

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