外事往來閱讀材料：第二篇Passage 2

所屬教程:簡明英語口譯教程

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2020年06月29日

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第二篇Passage 2

Touring the Palace Museum

(A Canadian guest is taken to the Palace Museum by the Chinese host. They walk towards the Golden River Bridges and tour the museum.)

H: This is the Imperial Palace we call the Palace Museum. Before the 1911 revolution the palace was off-limits to ordinary citizens, hence the Forbidden City. It was constructed in1420 during the reign of Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty and has a history of nearly 600 years. Twenty-four emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties resided and ruled here. Though it was rebuilt and expanded many times during the two dynasties, it still retains its original layout. This former imperial palace has been turned into a museum, housing more than 900,000 pieces of treasures and imperial court relics of various dynasties. The museum receives thousands of tourists every day.

G: Oh, it’s huge! There’s an inner and outer wall, moats, gates and it looks as if it’s the largest fortress in the world.

H: The moat is called the Golden River and the five white marble bridges the Golden River Bridges. There are three gates leading to the palace. The central one was for the emperor only, while the two side ones were for the civil and military officials as well as imperial clansmen. Thewall is 10 meters high and encloses nearly 800,000 square meters.

G: Those watch towers at each corner, are those what are called ‘the grasshopper cages’?

H: Yes. It is said one of the emperors admired a particularly intricate grasshopper cage one of his craftsmen had constructed and asked that the idea be built into the watch towers.

G: The scale of the museum is almost beyond the ability of the mind to understand.

H: There are 9,999 buildings inside the museum, which is said to be a number symbolizing the long life of the emperor.

G: There’s a symbolism as well to the internal structure of the Imperial City.

H: The main buildings are built on a central axis running from north to south, and the less important buildings are on a line from east to west. The Imperial Palace is composed of two parts: the outer court and the inner court. The front part facing Tian’anmen, is the outer court dominated by three grand halls. It is where the emperor conducted his business: issuing proclamations, meeting visitors, beheading his enemies, etc. and performed his public ceremonies. Behind the outer court is the inner court lined up by three other halls along the central axis. It is the living area of the emperor and the empress. Now we are in the outer court.

G: And this is the major building you see in all the pictures of the museum. Beautiful!

H: Yes, this is Taihedian or the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the most magnificent and the best example of ancient Chinese architecture in the country. You’ll be surprised to learn that it is made of wood. According to decree, it had to be the tallest building in Beijing; no other one could build higher.

G: This is actually the ancient throne, isn’t it?

H: Yes, this is where the emperor received his most important officials.

G: He must have impressed them very much. After all this time, standing here, I’d have to say I’m overawed by it all.

H: This one is the Hall of Central Harmony. It was the emperor’s resting place, when he was on his way to Taihedian. He also met members of his inner cabinet here. And the last building is the place, where the emperor entertained his ministers and high-ranking officials on the lunar New Year.

G: These lesser halls and chambers ranged on both sides of the central buildings must have been the living quarters.

H: Yes, there are 12 courtyards in all, six on each side, here in the inner court. It is where the emperor and the empress, imperial concubines, princes, princesses and all their attendants lived and amused themselves.

G: What a beautiful garden!

H: Yes, we’re at the back of the Palace Museum now. It is called Yuhuayuan or the Imperial Garden. All these trees are very ancient, and this hill is man-made. At the rear gate there is a gate tower that used to contain drums and bells. At nightfall the bells would toll 108 times.

G: The museum is remarkably well preserved.

H: Yes, the entire museum is a national treasure and it is placed on the U.N. list of World Cultural Heritage. The government has given high priority to its restoration.

G: It is the largest and the most wonderful palace museum I’ve ever seen in the world. Thank you for taking the time to show it to me.