今天的這段對話,在討論尼羅河,
尼羅河起源于哪里?對當?shù)氐膭游锖腿祟愑惺裁粗匾饔?/font>
來聽今天的講解:
A: The Nile. I know it begins in the south of Egypt and stretched about 4, 000 miles north to the Mediterranean Sea. It's the longest river on earth, right?
尼羅河,我知道它起源于埃及南部,一直向北延伸4000英里到地中海。它是地球上最長的一條河,是這樣吧?
B: That's right. It gets its name from a Greek word, "Neilos" which means "river valley". It gave water for growing food, drinking and for transportation. In fact, the Egyptian calendar of three seasons was based on the yearly cycle of the Nile.
是這樣。這條河的名字源于希臘詞Neilos,意思是“河谷”。它是糧食種植、飲用和交通的水源。事實上,埃及的三季歷法就是根據(jù)尼羅河的年周期制定的。
A: Really? I never knew the Egyptians only had three seasons. It says here that the Egyptian year began in July, when the floods came.
真的嗎?我從來不知道埃及人只有三個季節(jié)。歷法上說埃及年從七月開始,那時正是洪水泛濫之時。
B: It was also the main road of ancient Egypt, because roads couldn't be built on sandy desert or places that flooded each year.
尼羅河還是古埃及的交通要道,因為道路不能建在每年發(fā)洪水的沙漠或其他地方。
A: So it was like a river road?
尼羅河就是條水路了?
B: Exactly. Travelling was easy, going north, boats just drifted along with the flow of the river. And, because prevailing winds blew south, they helped travellers going in that direction, too.
一點不錯。向北行非常容易,船只只需順著河水的流向漂就行。同時,由于常年刮北風,所以對去南邊旅游的游客也非常有利。
A: That must be why there were so many traders in ancient Egypt. It must have been really easy to transport goods up and down the whole country.
古埃及的商人那么多一定跟這個有關。在整個埃及來回運送貨物肯定相當方便。
B: The Nile also helped the Egyptians co survive in another way: food. Every year, the Nile flooded, spreading rich sod across the land. Without this annual flooding, the Egyptians could not have grown so many crops.
尼羅河還幫助埃及人以另外一種方式生存,即種植糧食作物。每年尼羅河泛濫,給周圍帶來了肥沃的土壤。沒有每年一次的洪水,埃及人就不可能種植那么多的農作物。
A: We think of extreme weather destroying crops, not helping them!
我們認為惡劣的天氣會毀壞農作物而不是對農作物有利!
B: But, in the desert is very different. Water is of utmost importance, because there is so little of it.
但是在沙漠地區(qū)就不一樣了。水是至關重要的,因為那里的水太少了。
A: Yes, of course. How about the wildlife of the Nile?
當然,是這樣。那尼羅河地區(qū)的野生動物怎么樣?
B: There are many different types of animals living in or near the waters of the Nile, including crocodiles, birds, fish and many others.
在尼羅河水域或附近地區(qū)有很多種類各異的動物,包括鱷魚、鳥、魚和很多其他動物。
A: But not just the animals depend on the Nile for survival, but also even nowadays, people who live there need it for everyday use like washing, as a water supply. keeping crops watered and other jobs.
但是不只是動物要靠尼羅河生存,哪怕是現(xiàn)在生活在那里的人也需要把尼羅河作為日常生活的水源,如洗衣服,灌溉莊稼或干其他活。
B: Yes, and it's also a tourism resource. Many tourists come from all over the world and go on a Nile Cruise, perhaps a dream holiday for most people.
確實如此,尼羅河還是一種旅游資源。很多游客從世界各地來這里航游尼羅河,也許對大多數(shù)人來說,這是個夢寐以求的假日。
A: That's my plan for next summer, now that you've whet my appetite! Thanks for
既然你把我的胃口吊起來了,那我明年夏天的旅游計劃就安排去尼羅河!謝謝你給我講的一切。