英國語文第六冊(雙語):陸路(6)

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• "One of the first features of interest was a 'floating bridge,' thrown across the Canal by steam, at a point which, I was told, was in the track of the caravans. Now here was a most curious conjuncture of modern and ancient civilisation. This caravan track is one of the most ancient of all roads, leading from Egypt into Palestine and Syria, on the very line along which Jacob's sons may have gone down into Egypt to buy corn; and there we found one of the appliances of modem civilisation, in the shape of this 'floating bridge,' consisting of a large flat-bottomed boat which crosses and recrosses the Canal by means of chains wound and unwound upon large drums by a steam engine. This contact of ancient and modern civilization is one of the most remarkable features in Egypt.

  “第一個有趣的特征便是‘浮橋’，通過蒸汽橫跨在運河之上，在這一點上，我得知它是按照運河的軌跡設(shè)計的。這是現(xiàn)代文明和古老文明最奇特的一個結(jié)合點。這條運河之路是最古老的路線之一，它從埃及通往巴勒斯坦和敘利亞，這也正是雅各布的兒子們到埃及購買谷物的必經(jīng)之路。我們在那兒還發(fā)現(xiàn)了一種現(xiàn)代化的裝置，其形狀類似“浮橋”，由一種大型平底船組成，而這種平底船通過一些或纏繞或非纏繞在某種由蒸汽機(jī)助力的大型鼓輪上的鏈條在運河上來來回回，這種古代文明與現(xiàn)代文明的碰撞是埃及最顯著的特征之一。

  "But there was another noticeable feature. There are stations all along the Canal, at which the officers reside, as well as the men who keep watch over the Canal, and who are ready to give help if any vessel should run aground. At most of these stations I noticed that there was a garden, generally with a gay show of flowers, and great cultivation of edible vegetables. Now what was the meaning of this? How could these gardens be made out of this sand and mud? The secret is, that every one of these places is supplied with fresh water.

  埃及還有另外一種顯著的特征。整個運河沿線都設(shè)有駐地，駐地里住著一些官員以及在船只擱淺時可以隨時提供幫助的看守人員，而我注意到，在大多數(shù)的駐地里都有一個花園，花園里種植著一些鮮艷的花兒和許多可食用的蔬菜。這意味著什么呢？用這些沙子和淤泥又如何建成花園呢？秘密就在于，每一個駐地都有淡水供應(yīng)。

"That fresh water is brought all the way from the Nile; for there is no fresh water to be got between Port Said and Suez—nothing but brackish water, obtained by digging. A fresh-water canal was therefore cut from the Nile at Cairo to Ismalia, a sort of half-way house between Suez and Port Said. Pipes convey this water to the railway which runs from Cairo to Suez by way of Ismalia. By this means a supply of wholesome water is conveyed regularly to all parts of the Canal, and flowers of every kind can be grown, nothing being wanted for the soil in that sunny clime but water. At Ismalia the head engineer has a villa with the most beautiful plants of all kinds, those of tropical as well as of temperate climes growing luxuriantly in his garden."

“這些淡水是從尼羅河一路運過來的，因為塞得港和蘇伊士之間沒有淡水，只有能夠挖掘到的淡鹽水。因此，一條從開羅的尼羅河到伊斯馬莉婭的淡水運河被開鑿出來，它是一條介于蘇伊士和塞得港之間的中間航線，而那些淡水通過管道被輸送到從開羅經(jīng)伊斯馬莉婭到蘇伊士的鐵路上。通過這種方式，健康的水源被定期輸送到運河的各個部分，可以種植出各種各樣的花兒，因為那里陽光充足，土壤除了缺水之外什么都不缺。在伊斯梅利亞，這位總工程師擁有一座別墅，里面種植著各式各樣的美麗的植物，甚至一些熱帶和溫帶地區(qū)的植物也在他的花園里爭相綻放。