英文介绍The Great Wall 长城 英文文档
2017-02-20 20:59阅读：
A 13000 mile dragon of earth and stone
winds its way through the countryside of China
with a history almost as long and
serpentine蜿蜒的，弯弯曲曲的 as the
structure
The great wall began as multiple walls of rammed
earth素土夯实
built by individual feudal states during the Chunqiu
period
to protect against
nomadic游牧的; 流浪的
raiders north of China and each other
when emperor Qin Shi Huang unified the states in 221
BCE
The Tibetan Plateau and Pacific Ocean became natural
barriers
but the mountains in the north remained vulnerable to Mongol,
Turkish and Xiongnu invasions
To defend against them
the emperor expanded the small walls built by his
predecessors祖先
connecting some and fortifying增强；筑
防御工事于 others
As the structure grew from
Lintao临洮in the west
to Liaodong辽东 in the
east
they collectively became known as the Long Wall
To accomplish this task
The emperor enlisted征募soldiers and
commoners平民
not always voluntarily
Of the hundreds of thousands of builders recorded during the
Qin Dynasty
many were forcibly conscripted应征入伍的
peasants
and others were criminal serving out sentences
Under the Han Dynasty
the wall grew longer still
reaching 3700 miles
and spanning from Dunhuang to the Bohai sea
Forced labor continued under the Han Emperor
Han-Wudi
and the walls reputation grew into a
notorious臭名昭著的place of
suffering
poems and legends of the time told of labors buried in the
nearby mass graves乱葬岗
or even within the wall itself
And while no human remains have been found
inside
grave pits do indicate that many workers died from accidents,
hunger and exhaustion
The wall was formidable难以对付的 but
not invincible不可战胜的
Both Genghis成吉思汗 and his son
Khublai Khan忽必烈 managed to surmount the
wall
during the Mongol invasion of the 13th
Century
After the Ming Dynasty gained control in 1368
they began to refortify and further consolidate the
wall
using bricks and stones from local
kilns窑炉
Averaging 23 feet high and 21 feet wide
the walls 5500 miles were punctuated by
watchtowers瞭望塔
When raiders入侵者 were
sighted
fire and smoke signals traveled between towers
until reinforcements arrived
small openings along the wall let
archers弓箭手 fire on invaders
while larger ones were used to drop stones and
more
but even this new and improved wall was not
enough
In 1644, northern Manchu clans氏族，宗族
overthrew the Ming
to establish the Qing Dynasty
incorporating Mongolia as well
Thus, for the second time
China was ruled by the very people
the wall had tried to keep out
With the empire’s borders now extending beyond the Great
Wall
the fortifications lost their purpose
and without regular reinforcement
the wall fell into disrepair
rammed earth eroded
while brick and stone were plundered抢劫，掠夺
for building materials
but its job wasn’t finished
During World WarⅡ
China used sections for defense against Japanese
invasion
and some parts are still rumored to be used for military
training
but the wall’s main purpose today is cultural
As one of the largest man-made structures on
earth
It was granted UNESCO World Heritage Status in
1987
Originally built to keep people out of China
The Great Wall now welcomes millions of visitors each
year
In fact, the influx流入of tourists
has caused the wall to deteriorate变坏
leading the Chinese government to launch preservation
initiatives
It’s also often acclaimed as the only man-made structure
visible from space
Unfortunately, that’s not at all true
In low earth orbit轨道, all sorts of
structures
like bridges, highways and airports are visible
and the Great Wall is only barely
discernible可辨识的
From the moon, it doesn’t stand a
chance有希望，有可能
But regardless, it’s the earth we should be studying it
from
because new sections are still discovered every few
years
branching off from the main body
and expanding this remarkable monument to human
achievement
