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  劍橋雅思11Test3閱讀原文Passage1翻譯

  THE STORY OF SILK

  絲綢的故事

  The history of the world’s most luxurious fabric, from ancient China to the present day

  世上最昂貴奢華織物的歷史，從古代中國直到今天

  Silk is a fine, smooth material produced from the cocoons — soft protective shells — that are made by mulberry silkworms (insect larvae). Legend has it that it was Lei Tzu, wife of the Yellow Emperor, ruler of China in about 3000 BC, who discovered silkworms. One account of the story goes that as she was taking a walk in her husband’s gardens, she discovered that silkworms were responsible for the destruction of several mulberry trees. She collected a number of cocoons and sat down to have a rest. It just so happened that while she was sipping some tea, one of the cocoons that she had collected landed in the hot tea and started to unravel into a fine thread. Lei Tzu found that she could wind this thread around her fingers. Subsequently, she persuaded her husband to allow her to rear silkworms on a grove of mulberry trees. She also devised a special reel to draw the fibres from the cocoon into a single thread so that they would be strong enough to be woven into fabric. While it is unknown just how much of this is true, it is certainly known that silk cultivation has existed in China for several millennia.

  絲綢是種細(xì)軟、光滑的布料，產(chǎn)自桑蠶(該昆蟲的幼體形態(tài))制作出的蠶繭——即其柔軟的保護(hù)性外殼。傳說中是嫘祖，即大約公元前三千年時(shí)期的中國統(tǒng)治者黃帝的妻子，發(fā)現(xiàn)了蠶。其中一個(gè)故事是這樣描述的：當(dāng)她漫步于自己丈夫的花園之中時(shí)，她發(fā)現(xiàn)幾棵桑樹之所以生長遭受破壞正是由于樹上的蠶蟲。她收集了一些蠶繭并坐下來歇息。正巧在她啜飲著一杯茶時(shí)，這些蠶繭中的一粒掉進(jìn)了熱茶中并開始松散成為一根細(xì)絲。嫘祖發(fā)現(xiàn)她可以將這根絲線繞在自己的手指上。于是，她說服了丈夫允許她在一片桑樹林內(nèi)養(yǎng)蠶。她還設(shè)計(jì)發(fā)明了一種特殊的卷軸來將蠶繭中的纖維紡成絲線，這樣它們就能足夠強(qiáng)韌以編紡成織物。雖然這個(gè)故事中究竟有多少真實(shí)成分我們不得而知，但有一點(diǎn)是確定無疑的：絲綢的生產(chǎn)在中國早己存在了數(shù)千年之久。

  Originally, silkworm farming was solely restricted to women, and it was they who were responsible for the growing, harvesting and weaving. Silk quickly grew into a symbol of status, and originally, only royalty were entitled to have clothes made of silk. The rules were gradually relaxed over the years until finally during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 AD), even peasants, the lowest caste, were also entitled to wear silk. Sometime during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), silk was so prized that it was also used as a unit of currency. Government officials were paid their salary in silk, and farmers paid their taxes in grain and silk. Silk was also used as diplomatic gifts by the emperor. Fishing lines, bowstrings, musical instruments and paper were all made using silk. The earliest indication of silk paper being used was discovered in the tomb of a noble who is estimated to have died around 168 AD.

  起初，桑蠶業(yè)完全是只由女性來進(jìn)行的，她們要負(fù)責(zé)種植、收獲和紡織。絲綢很快成為了一種社會(huì)地位的象征，最早只有皇室成員才有資格穿著絲綢衣物。這些規(guī)矩在之后的年月里逐漸變得不那么嚴(yán)苛了，直到最終在清朝(公元1644~1911年)時(shí)期，即使是最低階層的農(nóng)民也有資格穿上絲綢了。在漢朝(公元前206~公元220年)的某個(gè)時(shí)期，絲綢的身價(jià)昂貴到被用作某種形式的流通貨幣。朝廷官員的俸祿是用絲綢來支付的，而農(nóng)夫則用谷物和絲綢來完稅。絲綢還被皇帝用作外交禮物。漁線、弓弦、樂器和紙皆由絲綢制作而來。人類最早使用絲質(zhì)紙的證據(jù)發(fā)現(xiàn)于一位貴族的墓中，據(jù)估計(jì)此人大約死于公元168年。

  Demand for this exotic fabric eventually created the lucrative trade route now known as the Silk Road, taking silk westward and bringing gold, silver and wool to the East. It was named the Silk Road after its most precious commodity, which was considered to be worth more than gold. The Silk Road stretched over 6,000 kilometres from Eastern China to the Mediterranean Sea, following the Great Wall of China, climbing the Pamir mountain range, crossing modern-day Afghanistan and going on to the Middle East, with a major trading market in Damascus. From there, the merchandise was shipped across the Mediterranean Sea. Few merchants travelled the entire route; goods were handled mostly by a series of middlemen.

  人們對(duì)這種異域織物的大量需求最終催生出了現(xiàn)在被稱為“絲綢之路”的這樣一條一本萬利的貿(mào)易路線，向西輸送絲綢而向東則運(yùn)來金、銀和毛料。之所以叫做“絲綢之路”，正是以其最珍貴的商品而得名，它被視為比黃金更貴重?！敖z綢之路”從中國東部一路綿亙6000多公里直達(dá)地中海，沿著中國長城的路線，攀越帕米爾山脊，穿過今日的阿富汗并延伸到了中東地區(qū)，在大馬士革有一個(gè)主要交易市場。各種貨物從那里再由船運(yùn)跨過地中海銷往各地。很少有商人會(huì)走遍整條路線;貨物大多是由一系列的中間經(jīng)手人交接傳遞的。

  With the mulberry silkworm being native to China, the country was the world’s sole producer of silk for many hundreds of years. The secret of silk-making eventually reached the rest of the world via the Byzantine Empire, which ruled over the Mediterranean region of southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East during the period 330-1453 AD. According to another legend, monks working for the Byzantine emperor Justinian smuggled silkworm eggs to Constantinople (Istanbul in modern-day Turkey) in 550 AD, concealed inside hollow bamboo walking canes. The Byzantines were as secretive as the Chinese, however, and for many centuries the weaving and trading of silk fabric was a strict imperial monopoly. Then in the seventh century, the Arabs conquered Persia, capturing their magnificent silks in the process. Silk production thus spread through Africa, Sicily and Spain as the Arabs swept through these lands. Andalusia in southern Spain was Europe’s main silk-producing centre in the tenth century. By the thirteenth century, however, Italy had become Europe’s leader in silk production and export. Venetian merchants traded extensively in silk and encouraged silk growers to settle in Italy. Even now, silk processed in the province of Como in northern Italy enjoys an esteemed reputation.

  由于桑蠶原產(chǎn)于中國，這個(gè)國家在許多個(gè)世紀(jì)里一直是全球唯一的絲綢產(chǎn)地。絲綢制作的秘密最終是經(jīng)由在公元330~1453年間統(tǒng)治著地跨南歐、北非和中東的地中海地區(qū)的拜占庭帝國傳到了世界上的其他國家。根據(jù)另一個(gè)傳說，為拜占庭皇帝查士丁尼(Justinian)服務(wù)的僧侶們?cè)诠?50年將蠶卵藏在空心的竹子手杖里，偷偷帶到了君士坦丁堡(即今日土耳其的伊斯坦布爾)。然而，拜占庭人和中國人一樣守秘不宣，在很多個(gè)世紀(jì)里絲綢料子的紡織和貿(mào)易都受到帝國的嚴(yán)格把控壟斷。然后在七世紀(jì)，阿拉伯人征服了波斯，在此過程中掠獲了它們的華貴絲綢。絲綢生產(chǎn)由此隨著阿拉伯人對(duì)非洲、西西里和西班牙的掃蕩而傳遍了這些地方。西班牙南部的安達(dá)盧西亞在十世紀(jì)里是歐洲的主要絲綢生產(chǎn)中心。不過到13世紀(jì)的時(shí)候，意大利則成為了歐洲絲綢生產(chǎn)和出口的領(lǐng)軍者。威尼斯商人們到處進(jìn)行絲綢貿(mào)易并鼓勵(lì)制絲者來意大利定居。甚至是到了如今，意大利北部科莫省加工的絲綢仍然享有盛譽(yù)。

  The nineteenth century and industrialisation saw the downfall of the European silk industry. Cheaper Japanese silk, trade in which was greatly facilitated by the opening of the Suez Canal, was one of the many factors driving the trend. Then in the twentieth century, new manmade fibres, such as nylon, started to be used in what had traditionally been silk products, such as stockings and parachutes. The two world wars, which interrupted the supply of raw material from Japan, also stifled the European silk industry. After the Second World War, Japan’s silk production was restored, with improved production and quality of raw silk. Japan was to remain the world’s biggest producer of raw silk, and practically the only major exporter of raw silk, until the 1970s. However, in more recent decades, China has gradually recaptured its position as the world’s biggest producer and exporter of raw silk and silk yarn. Today, around 125,000 metric tons of silk are produced in the world, and almost two thirds of that production takes place in China.

  19世紀(jì)和工業(yè)化目睹了歐洲絲綢產(chǎn)業(yè)的衰落。更為廉價(jià)的日本絲綢，這種貨物的貿(mào)易得到了蘇伊士運(yùn)河開通的極大推動(dòng)，是促成這ー衰落趨勢的許多因素之一。接下來在20世紀(jì)里，新型人造纖維材料，例如尼龍，開始應(yīng)用在傳統(tǒng)上一直使用絲綢的產(chǎn)品中，例如長筒襪和降落傘。兩次世界大戰(zhàn)切斷了來自日本的原材料供應(yīng)，也扼殺了歐洲絲綢產(chǎn)業(yè)。二戰(zhàn)過后，日本的絲綢生產(chǎn)再度復(fù)工，生絲的制作工藝和品質(zhì)都有所提升。直到20世紀(jì)70年代之前，日本始終是世界上最大的生絲生產(chǎn)者，實(shí)際上也是唯一的大規(guī)模生絲出口者。但是，在近幾十年里，中國逐漸重拾昔日地位，成為全球最大的生絲和絲線生產(chǎn)者和出口國。今天，全世界大約生產(chǎn)125,000公噸的絲綢，其中幾乎三分之二的產(chǎn)量出自中國。

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