007 中国长城

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The Great Wall of China is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world

中国的长城是世界上最容易辨认的地标之一。

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It is the world's longest structure. In fact, some astronauts have said they could see it from space!

它是世界上最长的建筑。事实上，一些宇航员说过他们能从太空中看到它！

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Curving across the land like a sleeping dragon, it follows almost the entire northern border of China for more than twenty thousand kilometers

它像一条沉睡的巨龙蜿蜒在土地上，沿着中国整个北部边境延伸超过两万公里。

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You might ask why a nation would need a wall along its border

你可能会问，为什么一个国家需要沿着边境修一道墙。

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The Chinese people built the Great Wall to protect their civilization from attacking tribes in the north

中国人民修建长城是为了保护他们的文明免受北方部落的攻击。

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But the Great Wall of China took over two thousand years to complete, and during this time an incredible amount of history unfolded

但中国的长城花了两千多年才完成，在这段时间里发生了难以置信的历史。

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The Qin dynasty was a short-lived but important dynasty because its first ruler, Emperor Qin Shi Huang, was a very influential emperor

秦朝是一个短命但重要的朝代，因为它的第一位统治者秦始皇是一位非常有影响力的皇帝。

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He unified China and started the construction of the Great Wall of China

他统一了中国，并开始了长城的修建。

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He used all his authority to get the wall built

他动用了全部权威来修建城墙。

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The builders used the hang-tu method of construction

建造者使用了夯土法。

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They erected two temporary barriers parallel to each other and packed a layer of dirt, stones, and wood between them

他们建起两道平行的临时屏障，在中间填一层泥土、石块和木头。

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After many layers were built up, the temporary barriers were removed, leaving a tall, thick earthen wall

层层堆叠后，拆除临时屏障，留下一道高大厚实的土墙。

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Watchtowers were constructed along the wall so that soldiers could see enemy armies approaching

墙上建有烽火台，这样士兵就能瞭望敌军动向。

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If invaders attacked, the soldiers lit a fire, and the smoke was a signal to warn the soldiers in the other watchtowers

若有入侵者来袭，士兵便点火，以烟雾为信号，警告其他烽火台的士兵。

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Back then there were no mechanical tools to help with construction, so all the work was done by hand

当时没有机械工具辅助施工，所有工作都靠人工完成。

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It was back-breaking labor, and life was very hard for the workers, especially because Emperor Qin was ruthless

这是极其繁重的劳动，工人的生活非常艰苦，更何况秦始皇是个暴虐的君主。

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It is believed that hundreds of thousands of men died building it

据信，数十万人在修建过程中死去。

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The Qin dynasty did not last very long after the death of Emperor Qin Shi Huang in 210 BC

公元前210年秦始皇驾崩后，秦朝并未持续很久。

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According to some accounts, he was able to build over 2,500 kilometers of the Great Wall

根据一些记载，他修建了2500多公里的长城。

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After the fall of the Qin dynasty, a leader named Liu Bang came to power and established the Han dynasty

秦朝覆灭后，一位名叫刘邦的领袖掌权，建立了汉朝。

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By the time Emperor Wu Di, the seventh emperor of the Han dynasty, came to power in 141 BC, the Great Wall had deteriorated and needed major repairs

当汉武帝，汉朝的第七位皇帝，于公元前141年即位时，长城已破败不堪，需要大规模修缮。

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Wu Di wanted to rebuild and extend the wall

武帝想要重建并延伸长城。

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His workers also used the hang-tu method of construction

他的工匠同样使用夯土建筑法，

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so the architecture of the wall changed very little from that of the section built during the Qin dynasty

因此这段长城的结构与秦朝修建的部分相比几乎没什么变化。

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Wu Di's workers, however, had better working conditions, and got paid for their service

不过，武帝的工匠工作条件更好，且服役是有报酬的。

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During Wu Di's reign, another large section of the Great Wall was completed

在武帝统治期间，又一段很长的长城完工。

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It was also during the reign of Wu Di that China started trading its riches with countries in the west

也是在这一时期，中国开始与西方国家开展贸易。

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Chinese traders traveled to Central Asia, the Middle East, and even as far as Rome, bringing silk, paper, and spices to Europe

中国商人远行至中亚、中东，甚至直抵罗马，将丝绸、纸张和香料带到欧洲。

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This long trading route was called the Silk Road, and the main route of the Silk Road closely followed the curves of the Great Wall

这条漫长的贸易路线被称为丝绸之路，其干道几乎紧贴着长城的走势蜿蜒前行。

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Life in villages along the wall was prosperous and peaceful during this time, but this era eventually came to an end

那时，长城沿线的村庄生活富足而安宁，但这个时代终究走向了终结。

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After the death of Emperor Wu Di in 87 BC, the Han dynasty slowly deteriorated and finally ended in 220 AD

武帝于公元前87年去世后，汉朝逐渐衰落，最终于公元220年灭亡。

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It wasn't until a thousand years later, during the Ming dynasty, that the Great Wall became an impressive structure once again

直到一千年后的明朝，长城才再次成为一座令人叹为观止的建筑。

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What we see of the Great Wall today was built during the Ming dynasty

我们今天看到的长城，主要就是在明朝修建的。

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The first emperor and his successors maintained the Great Wall very carefully, and strengthened it to keep invaders out

明朝的开国皇帝及其继任者对长城精心维护，并不断加固以抵御入侵者。

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The wall became an important project for each of the Ming emperors

长城成了每一位明朝皇帝都极为重视的工程。

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By the time of this dynasty, new inventions had become available to help the workers with construction

到了这个朝代，新的发明也帮助工匠们更好地开展修建工作。

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Workers still used the hang-tu method of construction

工匠们仍旧使用夯土建筑法，

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but this time they packed the dirt and stones between two solid brick walls to make it more stable

但这次，他们将泥土和石块夯实到两道结实的砖墙之间，使墙体更加稳固。

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They made the top of the wall wide enough for horse carriages to travel, and built more watchtowers

他们还将长城顶部修得足够宽阔，可供马车通行，并增建了更多的瞭望塔。

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Now, instead of smoke signals, soldiers used gunpowder rockets to warn of an approaching enemy

此时，士兵们不再使用烽烟，而是用火药火箭来警示敌人的靠近。

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Another improvement made to the wall during the Ming dynasty was a drainage system

明朝对长城的另一项改进是修建了排水系统。

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Until then rainwater slowly collected in the wall, making it deteriorate more quickly

在此之前，雨水会慢慢渗入墙体，导致长城损坏得更快。

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After the last Ming emperor died in 1620, construction on the wall ceased. The era had ended

最后一位明朝皇帝于1620年去世后，长城的修建便停止了。一个时代就此终结。

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For the next four centuries, China was ruled by the Qing dynasty, which did not need the wall to protect its borders

之后的四个世纪，清朝统治着中国，他们不需要用长城来保护边疆。

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By the time the Qing dynasty collapsed and the Communist Party took control in 1911, the Great Wall was nearly forgotten

等到清朝覆灭、1911年共产党掌握政权时，长城几乎已被遗忘。

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But in 1980 the Chinese government decided to restore the Great Wall and show it to the world

但到了1980年，中国政府决定修复长城，并把它展示给全世界。

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Today it is one of the most visited tourist attractions on earth, a silent witness to the many battles, wars, and changing empires of China's history

如今，它是全球游客最多的景点之一，静静见证着中国历史上无数次的战斗、战争与王朝更迭。