本帖最后由 vivicat 于 2009-7-28 21:37 编辑
【中文标题】历史和现实之间
【原文标题】History and current affairs
【登载媒体】The Age
【来源地址】http://www.theage.com.au/travel/history-and-current-affairs-20090401-9j1p.html?page=-1
【译者】孙无空 【翻译方式】人工
【声明】本翻译供Anti-CNN使用，未经AC或译者许可，不得转载。
【原文库链接】http://bbs.m4.cn/thread-184832-1-1.html
【译文】
China's life line ... mountains dwarf a boat on the Yangtze. Photo: Reuters
中国的 生命线。。。。。。群山环抱，长江中的一叶轻舟
April 4, 2009
Cruising the Yangtze, Daniel Scott sees ghosts, goddesses and the power of the Three Gorges Dam.
巡游长江，Daniel Scott看鬼城，女神和三峡大坝电厂。
On the second afternoon of my three-day Yangtze River cruise I make my way to the Victoria Queen's top deck. As the ship chugs east along the ancient waterway, the drizzle that has accompanied us all the way is sweeping across the deck. I sit down on a wet bench, pull my raincoat up to my chin and peer out at the misty mountains that form the river's northern banks.
在我三日游长江的第二天下午，我奔上了“维多利亚女王号Victoria Queen's”的顶层甲板，当轮船沿着远古的航道隆隆向东航行的时候，淅淅沥沥的小雨一直陪伴着我们的航行，也把甲板冲洗的干干净净。我穿上雨衣，坐在湿湿的长椅上，凝视着长江北岸薄雾笼罩的群山。
For the next 30 minutes I sit here alone, getting drenched, contemplating the notion of personal space. It's taken me a lifetime of travel to get to China and the cliches that deterred me - its geographical size, huge population, poor human rights, relentless modernisation and pollution - are all writ large along this river. But right now, it is the numbers of people that focus my mind.
在此后的30分钟里，我单独坐着，独自观望，独自沉思，慢慢雨丝湿透了我。我花了一生的时间向往中国去旅游，但是那些陈词滥调使我却步----她广博的地方，巨量的人群，糟糕的人权，无情的现代化和污染------都显而易见地描写着这条河流。但是现在，有些人在我脑海里涌现出来。
Yesterday we joined the cruise at the city of Chongqing and even the drive from the airport to the quay revealed an unfathomable megalopolis choked by traffic, scarred by construction and forested by high-rise buildings. The municipality is the world's biggest and fastest-growing, spread over an area of 84,000 square kilometres and home to 32 million people: 11 million more than the entire Australian population.
昨天，我们加入了重庆开始的旅行。在从机场到码头的路上，就显示出这是个令人费解的大都市，密不透风的交通，缝缝补补的建筑外观，高楼大厦的森林，散布在84000平方公里的面积上，有3200万居民：比整个澳大利亚多1100万。
As we set sail along the Yangtze towards Yichang, a journey of some 660 kilometres, the mind-boggling statistics keep coming. If you include its 700 tributaries, the river system we are travelling on is the planet's largest. At 6380 kilometres, the Yangtze is the world's third-longest river, after the Nile and Amazon. But most staggering is the fact that along this river's course through south-eastern China live more than a third of the country's enormous population, some 450 million people.
当我们沿着长江驶向宜昌的时候，那是一段660公里的旅程，随之而来的是难以置信的一些数据。如果包括700条支流，长江是世界上行程最长的。6380公里，长江是世界第三长的河流，在尼罗河和亚马孙和之后。但是最惊奇的是，长江穿越中国东南部地区两岸，生活着超过这个国家三分之一的人口，大约4.5亿。
Barely a kilometre goes by without signs of development on the river banks: a belching factory here, a fledgling city there. The Yangtze itself is a perpetually busy thoroughfare, as it has been for centuries, reaching all the way to Shanghai. On this cruise, we pass numerous cargo ships carrying up to a thousand cars. For a lad from a tiny coastal hamlet (population 26) it is pretty overwhelming.
仅仅过去几公里河的两岸没有开发的迹象：这里有排放冒泡废水的工厂，那里有刚落成的城市。长江本身就是一条永恒的繁忙交通水道，这已经延续了几个世纪，可以一路直达上海。在航行中，我们看到了无数装载上千辆汽车的货车经过。有个家伙从美奂美伦的小渔村来（只有26口人）
"Kinda beautiful, ain't it?"
“还真有点漂亮，是吧？”
The question comes from inside the hood of a vivid yellow windcheater, from a fellow passenger named Bert, a 72-year-old Texan.
询问来自72岁的得克萨斯人，一起的旅客，叫做ＢＥＲＴ，穿着亮黄色戴帽夹克。
"I mean," continues Bert, "it's just such a big, ol' river, longer than the Mississippi even. And so much history. Imagine what it's seen."
BERT接着说“我意思是，它是如此漫长，繁忙，甚至比密西西比河还长，还有漫长的历史，想象一下它看到了什么”
"Guess you're right," I concede.
我敷衍到“我想你是对的”
"Thousands of years it's been flowing, dynasty after dynasty coming and going. What was it they said in that talk this morning? 'Back then, if you controlled both banks of the Yangtze, you controlled China.' Incredible river, incredible."
“几千年的岁月流逝，一个接一个的来朝代来来去去，今天早上他们在解说里说的那样‘在那时候，如果控制了长江两岸，就控制了中国’，不可思议的河啊，不可思议”
With that Bert is gone, disappearing to a dumpling-making demonstration on a lower deck but having, in a moment, altered my perspective. After all, if somebody from one of the largest, most sparsely populated states in the US can put a positive spin on the Yangtze, then so can I.
当ＢＥＲＴ离开，消失在底层甲板时候，突然间，我改变了我的看法，毕竟，如果那些来自世界最大的国家之一，人口最稀少的美国州能把长江想象成如此力挽狂澜，那么我也能。
If I am feeling momentarily glum it has nothing to do with the cruise itself. From the moment we were greeted on board by a spirited band playing marching songs and a glass or three of Jacob's Creek, it has been both entertaining and informative. What's more, as you might expect with a cruise director named Christof von Zieten, it has run like clockwork. Meal times and excursions are sandwiched between lectures on the Yangtze and opportunities to learn, among other things, "perfect Mandarin in one easy lesson".
如果我有时感到不开心，那也于本次旅程安排没有任何关系。从踏上船那时起，我们就听英勇的乐队演奏进行曲，来一两杯Jacob's Creek酒，互致问候。我们不仅被殷勤款待，还增长知识。还有，你也许期待像Christof von Zieten, 那样的旅程领队，他就像钟一样跑前跑后。在吃饭和旅游时刻中间挤出时间讲讲长江的故事，也是一个学习的好机会。在所有这些事情中“完美的普通话是其中一个容易的课程”
To get the most from on-board activities it is best not to be a wilting flower. An early-morning tai chi practice, led by wiry Dr Liu, is held on deck four and is a popular pre-breakfast spectacle. Volunteering for Liu during his fascinating demonstration of traditional Chinese medicine is not for the faint-hearted, either.
参加船上的大多数活动，是使自己不会像花朵枯萎那样最好的办法。早起太极拳练习，有瘦长的刘师傅教练在４层甲板上举行，这已经成为了大受欢迎的早餐前的一道风景。自愿参加刘那神奇的中医治疗演示也不感到头昏脑胀。
Answering the doctor's call, Chad, a young 65-year-old colleague of Bert's, is asked to strip to the waist. In the next half hour he has acupuncture needles applied to various meridian points, a hot suction cup laid several times onto his back and is firmly scraped with an ox horn. Now covered in circular red welts, Chad pronounces his neck pain completely gone. Liu's on-board health clinic is promptly booked out for the remainder of the trip.
应医生的邀请，Chad，６５岁，ＢＥＲＴ的同事，要求光起膀子。在接下来的半小时，他身体的不同部位用来针灸，一个热的洗盘在他的背部放了好几次，然后用牛角用力刮擦。现在背上布满了红色的圆形痕迹。Chad断言，他的脖子疼痛完全好了。在剩余的旅程中，刘在船上的保健门诊迅速被一定而空。
The good doctor is not the only versatile crew member. At the Chinese Dynasties Show on the second night, featuring traditional costumes and customs, I spot our river guides, Cathy Huang and Gary Xiang, several waiters from the restaurant and my cabin attendant, Anna.
船上多才多艺的乘务员不仅仅只有那位优秀的医生。在第二天晚上的《中国皇朝表演》中，虽然穿着传统的古代服装，但我认出了我们的导游，Cathy Huang and Gary Xiang，有几个是餐厅和船舱房间的服务员，Anna。
When not busy dressing up in garb from ancient dynasties, the Chinese crew members are unfailingly friendly and efficient. Most speak good English. Meals on board, from buffet breakfasts and lunches to set dinners, are also of good quality, with Chinese and Western dishes prepared. The high standards continue with the spotless cabins, all with private balconies. Even the standard rooms are spacious, with two single beds, an ensuite, a desk and a television showing CNN. I mean it as a compliment when I say that cruising on the Victoria Queen sometimes feels like being inside a cocoon. It is an excellent introduction to the heart of China.
当那些中国乘务员没有穿上古代服装时候，他们无比友好和能干，大多数能讲流利的英语，船上的伙食，从自助早餐，午餐到宴会，都是非常高质量，准备了中式和西式。高标准延续到了整洁的房间，都有私人阳台。甚至标间也很大，有两张单人床，一套家具，一张桌子，和能看到ＣＮＮ的电视。当我认为乘维多利亚女皇号航行，有时感到生活在蚕茧里面一样，我是认真的，那是一种称赞。这是博得中国人心的完美介绍。
Daily excursions along the route do, however, allow us to break out of that cocoon. On our first afternoon, we dock at Fengdu, where the so-called "City of Ghosts" stands high above the river on a hill top. Dating back 2300 years, this enclave of temples, pagodas and walkways was designed as a sort of last stop for the human soul before it was assigned to heaven or hell. On entering you are invited to cross one of three bridges, with a choice of outcomes for your life: longevity and health, wealth or a happy marriage. Today, with the global financial crisis looming even in go-ahead China, most opt to traverse the wealth bridge.
每天的旅游都是按照规定的线路那样，不管怎样，起码使得我们脱离了那个蚕茧。在第一天下午，我们停靠丰都，那里号称“鬼城”，耸立在江边的一个山顶上。回到２３００年前，这里的庙宇，宝塔和行道有点设计成像是人类灵魂被分配去天堂还是地狱的最后一站，在进入后，你被邀请经过三座桥中的一个，寓意是健康长寿，大富大贵，美满婚姻。今天随着全球金融危机甚至尚未在前行中的中国显现，大多数旅客选择和走大富大贵桥。
Once inside the complex, however, it becomes clear that nobody can have their rice cake and eat it. Hideous statues, depicting a range of earthly sins, line one pathway while the gory punishment for indulging in them is shown in a display inside the temple. At least there is the chance elsewhere for virtuous male visitors to prove their fidelity by shifting an immovable round boulder. Failing all else, there is reincarnation. At Fengdu, you can enter a next-life lottery and, depending on the symbol on the pebble you pick from a box, your future status will rise or fall. Sadly, it appears I'm going straight to hell and, worse, will reappear as a cockroach.
一旦进入那个复杂地方，无论如何都变得清楚，就是没有人能拥有年糕和吃它，令人毛骨悚然的雕像，描述了一系列俗世的罪恶，沿路成列，同时血淋淋的惩罚在寺庙内部陈列出来，起码在其他地方对于有道德的男性来说，还可以通过移动一个固定的园石头来证明其忠诚，其他所有失败的，都重新投胎。在丰都，你可以进行下辈子的抽奖，依靠那些你自己从盒子里面取出来鹅卵石上面的符号，预测你未来的地位是上升还是下降。很悲哀，显示出我直接进入地狱，更糟糕的是，还是当一只蟑螂。
The next day we leave the ship again to visit some steep-sided canyons on a narrow offshoot of the Yangtze, the Madu River, transferring first to a ferry and then to traditional sampans. This brings us a more intimate feel for the river system and the way life has carried on around it for countless centuries. In one place we see coffins hanging high up on a misty cliff. Our guide assures us that they have been here at least 2000 years. How they got there remains a mystery.
第二天，我们又一次离开船，参观一个狭窄的长江支流的峡谷，Madu 河，先乘摆渡船，然后到传统的小帆板，这带给了我们关于这河流系统更直接感受，这样的生活延续了无数个世纪。在一个地方，我们看到了在薄雾笼罩的悬崖上面的高挂的棺材。我们的导游非常肯定告诉我们，它们在那里起码有２０００年的历史了。它们怎么放上去的还是个谜。
Back on the Victoria Queen, we sail on towards the Yangtze's iconic Three Gorges. We enter through Qutang, the narrowest and, at just eight kilometres long, the shortest gorge, and leave via Xiling, the longest. But it is Wu (or "witches") Gorge, in the middle, that leaves the biggest impression. Along its 45-kilometre length, six jagged forested mountains, shrouded in fog, line up on either bank. Among them, only intermittently visible in the swirl, the distinctive Goddess Peak juts up, resembling a kneeling maiden.
回到维多利亚女皇号，我们驶向长江标志性的三峡。我们驶进瞿塘峡，很狭窄，只有八公里长，最短的峡谷，离开是经过西陵峡，最长的峡谷。但是巫（或者是“巫婆”）峡，在中间，留下了最美好的印象。沿着其４５公里长的线路，六个高低不等，草木茂盛的山峰，笼罩的迷雾，在岸边排成一行，在他们中，只有透过迷雾偶尔得以一见，与众不同的神女峰比较突出，有点像跪着的圣女。
It is now the final night of our cruise and we are approaching the infamous Three Gorges Dam at Sandouping. Depending on whom you ask, this giant new structure is either: a) the most ambitious hydroelectric power project ever attempted, which, according to Chinese authorities, will end the terrible flooding that has killed more than 1 million people in the past 100 years while making the Yangtze more easily navigable and providing huge amounts of energy; or b) an environmental and social disaster that has engulfed 13 cities, 140 towns, more than 1300 villages and displaced, even according to official figures, 1.5 million people. To give it an Australian parallel, such a project would be like Kevin Rudd ordering the drowning of Cairns, Townsville and much of northern Queensland to save the state from future floods.
现在是我们航程的最后一晚了，我们将接近声名狼藉的三斗坪三峡大坝，你要问依据什么？这个巨大的新建筑，是Ａ）依照中国政府建设的最雄心勃勃的，前所未有的水电站，将结束骇人听闻的水灾，在过去１００年里面，水灾造成了超过１００万人的死亡，同时使得长江更适合航行，提供巨量的电力资源，还是Ｂ）一个环境和社会灾难，淹没了１３个城市，１４０个乡镇，超过１３００个村庄，需要重新安置。跟澳大利亚类比，如此庞大项目将像路克文要计划淹没Cairns, Townsville和昆士兰北部的大部分，以此来解决我们国家未来的洪水灾害。
On our final day we have the chance to make up our own minds by visiting the dam site, adding more impressive statistics: 2335 metres long, 185 metres high and 130 metres wide. Tonight the Victoria Queen must pass through the dam's vast lock, slowly descending 95 metres in five stages.
我们最后一天的行程由我们自己选择，通过参观大坝加深了影像：２３３５米长，１８５米高。１３０米宽，今晚维多利亚女皇号将通过大坝巨大的船闸，慢慢地在第五级递减９５米。
So, with typical insouciance, the ship's Australian contingent organises an all-night "lock-in" party on the top deck, celebrating our slow progress and the mighty old, "kinda beautiful" river we've been cruising down.
因此，典型的无忧无虑风格，船上的澳大利亚人临时在顶层甲板组织了通宵的“禁闭”晚会，庆祝我们缓慢的下降过程和也许有些古老，“有些美丽”的长江航行的结束。
Daniel Scott travelled courtesy of Helen Wong's Tours, Victoria Cruises and China Eastern Airlines.
Daniel Scott旅行感谢o Helen Wong's Tours, 维多利亚游船和中国东方航空。
FAST FACTS
快速指南
Getting there
到达那里
China Eastern flies non-stop to Shanghai, then to Chongqing (Melbourne passengers fly via Sydney) for $1078. Singapore Airlines has a fare for $1110, with an aircraft change in Singapore. Qantas has a fare for $1286 flying non-stop to Hong Kong and then a partner airline to Chongqing. For the same fare you can fly back from another Chinese city. (Fares are low-season return from Melbourne and Sydney, excluding tax.) Australians require a $40 visa for stays of up to 30 days.
中国东方航空不经停的飞上海，然后到重庆（墨尔本旅客经停悉尼）需要1078澳元。新加坡航空费用1110澳元，需要新加坡换机。Qantas航空直飞香港费用1286澳元。然后搭乘其他航空去重庆。同样费用你可以从其他的中国城市飞回（费用是从墨尔本和悉尼回来的淡季标价，包括税）。澳大利亚人停留中国30天的签证费用是40澳元。
（以下疑似广告，恕不翻译）
Cruising there
Victoria Cruises (victoriacruises.com) can be booked in Australia through Helen Wong's Tours. Itineraries include a nine-day Yangtze Downstream tour, from $2290 (excluding air fares) and a 13-day Yangtze Wonders tour from $4090 (including flights), both of which visit the Three Gorges. Phone 1300 788 328 or see helenwongstours.com. |
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发表于 2009-7-28 19:51
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