016 苏伊士运河：不可能的梦想

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The story of the Suez Canal is a story of determination

苏伊士运河的故事是一个关于决心的故事。

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It started as a simple idea, turned into a grand dream, and finally became a reality

它始于一个简单的想法，转变为一个宏大的梦想，最终成为了现实。

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The man behind this dream was a French diplomat named Ferdinand de Lesseps

这个梦想背后的人是法国外交官费迪南·德·雷赛布。

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Born in France in 1805, Ferdinand was a bright, young man with a promising future

1805年生于法国，费迪南是一个聪明、前途光明的年轻人。

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His father was a diplomat who worked in many countries around the world

他的父亲是一位在世界许多国家工作的外交官。

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Ferdinand studied to become a diplomat like his father

费迪南学习成为一名像他父亲那样的外交官，

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and in 1832 he was sent to Egypt to take a diplomatic job as the French consul at Alexandria

1832年，他被派往埃及担任外交职务，成为法国驻亚历山大港的领事。

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Upon his arrival in the ancient city, however, Ferdinand had to stay in a hospital because someone from his ship had fallen sick

然而，抵达这座古老城市后，费迪南不得不住进医院，因为船上有人生病了。

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While he and others from the ship waited to learn if they were sick too, Ferdinand grew restless and picked up a book to read

当他和船上其他人等待得知是否也染病时，费迪南变得焦躁不安，拿起一本书来读。

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The book was a report written by a French engineer, and reading it inspired a dream that Ferdinand pursued for the rest of his life

这本书是一位法国工程师写的报告，阅读它激发了一个梦想，费迪南后来一生都在追求这个梦想。

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The report was about building a waterway between the Mediterranean and Red seas

那份报告是关于在地中海和红海之间修建一条水道。

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At that time ships sailing between Europe and Asia had to travel around the entire continent of Africa

那时，往返于欧洲和亚洲之间的船只必须绕行整个非洲大陆。

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If built, this new route would greatly shorten the trip between Europe and the Far East

如果建成，这条新航线将大大缩短欧洲与远东之间的航程。

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The report stated that building a canal from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea was impossible because of the different water levels of the two seas

报告指出，修建一条从地中海到红海的运河是不可能的，因为两个海的水位不同。

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But this conclusion did not discourage Ferdinand

但这个结论并没有让费迪南气馁。

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Instead, as soon as the young consul was released from the hospital

相反，这位年轻的领事一出院，

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he began researching the narrow piece of land, called the Isthmus of Suez, that separated the two seas

就开始研究那片分隔两海的狭长陆地，即苏伊士地峡。

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Ferdinand discovered that the pharaohs of Ancient Egypt

费迪南发现，古埃及的法老们

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had built waterways to connect the Nile River to the Red Sea to have access to the rich copper mines and spice lands of East Africa

曾修建水道，连接尼罗河与红海，以便通往东非丰富的铜矿和香料产地。

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Unfortunately, this was thousands of years in the past, and those waterways were long lost

不幸的是，这已是数千年前的事了，那些水道早已湮灭。

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But now that he knew a similar canal had once been built, Ferdinand was more determined than ever to pursue his goal

但现在既然知道类似的运河曾被建成，费迪南追求目标的决心比以往任何时候都更坚定。

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Ferdinand de Lesseps' duties as the French consul were demanding

费迪南·德·雷赛布作为法国领事的职责十分繁重。

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He traveled frequently between Alexandria and Cairo, and had little time for his beloved Suez Canal project

他频繁往返于亚历山大和开罗之间，几乎无暇顾及他心爱的苏伊士运河计划。

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It was also difficult to get the ruler of Egypt to support his plans

想要获得埃及统治者的支持同样困难重重，

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even though Ferdinand was teaching French and horseback riding to the ruler's grandson

即便费迪南正在教这位统治者的孙子法语和马术。

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Still Ferdinand did not give up. He continued to study the height of the land and the water levels along possible routes for the canal

费迪南仍未放弃。他继续研究运河可能线路沿途的地面高度和水位。

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In 1837 Ferdinand was transferred from Egypt back to Europe to take up other diplomatic posts

1837年，费迪南从埃及调回欧洲，担任其他外交职务。

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He was sad to leave, and it was twenty years before he saw his beloved Egypt again

离开令他伤感，而这一别就是二十年，他才得以重见心爱的埃及。

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During those years, as his diplomatic responsibilities increased, his dream of the canal began to fade

那些年里，随着外交职责的增多，他的运河之梦开始褪色。

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In 1849 Ferdinand retired and went to live in a villa on the outskirts of Paris

1849年，费迪南退休了，搬到巴黎郊外的一座别墅里生活。

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It seemed to him that his great dream belonged to a part of his life that was over, but things were about to change

在他看来，他那伟大的梦想似乎属于生命中已翻篇的一部分，但事情即将迎来转机。

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One morning in 1854, Ferdinand was reading the newspaper when a headline caught his eye

1854年的一天早晨，费迪南正读着报纸，一个标题吸引了他的目光。

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He read that Abbas Pasha, the ruler of Egypt, was dead and that Said Pasha had inherited the position

他读到，埃及统治者阿巴斯帕夏已死，赛义德帕夏继承了其位。

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Said Pasha was the boy Ferdinand had taught back in Alexandria

赛义德帕夏正是费迪南当年在亚历山大港教过的那个男孩。

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The young prince was now a grown man who remembered the retired French consul fondly

这位年轻的王子如今已长大成人，并对这位退休的法国领事念念不忘。

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Ferdinand knew that the new ruler of Egypt would support him in building the canal

费迪南知道，埃及的新统治者会支持他修建运河。

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His dream was coming to life once again

他的梦想再次苏醒了。

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When Said invited Ferdinand to come to Egypt to celebrate his new position, Ferdinand promptly agreed

当赛义德邀请费迪南前往埃及庆祝其就任新职时，费迪南立刻答应了。

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In the time since Ferdinand's first posting to Egypt

自费迪南首次派驻埃及以来，

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the reports about the different water levels of the Mediterranean and Red seas had been proved wrong

那些关于地中海与红海水位不同的报告已被证实是错误的。

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Now the only obstacle was finding the money to build the canal

如今，唯一的障碍便是筹措修建运河的资金。

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Almost everyone thought Ferdinand was out of his mind to dig a canal in the desert, and he had a hard time finding financial supporters

几乎所有人都认为费迪南想在沙漠里挖运河是疯了，他很难找到资金支持者。

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But his diplomatic charm, optimism, and belief in the project prevailed

但他凭借着外交魅力、乐观精神和对项目的信念，最终胜出。

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Ferdinand traveled between Europe and Egypt, gathering support for his project

费迪南往返于欧洲和埃及之间，为他的项目争取支持。

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It took him five years, but he was able to find supporters in France and Egypt who bought shares in his newly-formed Suez Canal Company

这花了他五年的时间，但他终于在法国和埃及找到了支持者，他们购买了他新成立的苏伊士运河公司的股份。

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In 1859 he finally had enough funds to start digging; construction began in April of that year

1859年，他终于有了足够的资金开工；那年四月，施工正式开始。

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Once construction started, it took ten years of hard labor to complete the canal

施工开始后，又花费了十年的艰辛劳作才完成了运河。

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Said Pasha supplied Ferdinand with the many laborers he needed

赛义德帕夏为费迪南提供了他所需的大量劳工。

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A total of one and a half million laborers worked on the canal

总共有一百五十万劳工参与了运河的修建，

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mostly by hand, digging in the sandy soil in extremely hot weather with almost no machinery to aid them

他们几乎全靠双手，在极端炎热的天气里挖掘沙土，几乎没有机器辅助。

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Finally, after much hardship and the death of many laborers, the Suez Canal was completed in 1869

最终，经历了重重艰难与众多劳工的死亡，苏伊士运河于1869年竣工。

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The day the Suez Canal officially opened, there was a grand celebration

苏伊士运河正式开通的那一天，举行了一场盛大的庆祝活动。

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Important people from all over the world came to Egypt, including Empress Eugenie of France

来自世界各地的显要人物齐聚埃及，包括法国的欧仁妮皇后。

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It had taken Ferdinand over forty years of hard work, but his dream had been realized

费迪南为此付出了四十多年的辛勤努力，但他的梦想终于实现了。

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Europe and the Far East were finally connected

欧洲与远东终于连接在了一起。

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The Suez Canal, one of the longest in the world, is 166 kilometers long, 11 meters deep, and 60 meters wide

苏伊士运河，作为世界上最长的运河之一，全长166公里，深11米，宽60米。

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It can accommodate any ship except the largest supertankers

除最大的超级油轮外，它能容纳任何船只通行。

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Each year thousands of ships from almost every country in the world travel through the canal

每年，有来自世界几乎每一个国家的数千艘船只通过该运河。

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In fact, 14 percent of all the goods traded worldwide pass through this waterway

事实上，全球贸易货物总量的14%都要经过这条水道。

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Ferdinand's dream to connect the world took him on a long and difficult journey, but in the end, the determined French diplomat succeeded

费迪南连接世界的梦想，带他踏上了一条漫长而艰难的旅程，但最终，这位意志坚定的法国外交官成功了。