发布时间 : 星期一 文章牛津高中英语模块1-5课文及译文更新完毕开始阅读0344f11926d3240c844769eae009581b6bd9bdfc
paper. However, this is not always true. For example, blind people cannot see, but they can still read books.
The man who introduced blind people to reading was Louis Braille (1809–1852). Braille lost his eyesight at the age of three as a result of an injury. When he was ten, he went to a school for the blind in Paris. In those days, books for blind people used paper pressed against metal wire to form letters. Since the metal wire was heavy, each book weighed as much as 100 pounds. The whole system was not convenient for use. Indeed, the school library only had fourteen such books in it.
In 1821, a soldier visited the school and showed the students a system for passing messages at night during times of battle. His system used paper with small, raised dots that could be felt with the fingers. Each letter of the alphabet was represented by a different pattern which consisted of twelve dots. The soldiers would drag their fingers over the raised dots to read the message.
While the students found the soldier’s idea interesting, the system was too difficult to be of practical use. However, young Louis Braille took the idea and worked on it. At the age of fifteen, he created a system with patterns of six raised dots representing each letter. ‘Braille’, the system for reading used today by blind people around the world, was thus born.
The blind can easily recognize Braille with the fingers. They can also easily write in Braille with a special typewriter. Today, it is the most common system used by blind people for reading and writing, and nearly every language, including Chinese, has its own version of Braille for its people to use.
M3u3 readingLost civilizations
Day 1, 15 July I feel lucky to have won a place on this trip. We are in Italy now, and tomorrow we are visiting Pompeii. Next week we are flying to China, and going to Loulan, which is known as China’s Pompeii in the desert. Both Pompeii and Loulan became lost civilizations long ago.
失落的文明第一天，7月15日能获得这次旅行的机会我感到非常幸运。现在我们在意大利，明天我们将游览庞贝。下周我们会飞往中国去楼兰，那是沙漠中的一座被誉为“中国庞贝”的古城。庞贝和楼兰一样，都是很久以前失落了的文明。
Day 2, 16 July This morning we attended a lecture about Pompeii. The city was founded in the 8th century BC. In 89 BC, the Romans took over Pompeii. It then became a rich and busy city. Near the city was a volcano. On 24 August AD 79, the volcano erupted and lava, ash and rocks poured out of it onto the surrounding countryside. It continued to erupt for the next two days. Many people were buried alive, and so was the city. How unfortunate!
第二天，7月16日今天上午我们听了一场有关庞贝的讲座。这座城市建于公元前8世纪，公元前89年，罗马人占领了庞贝。后来庞贝成了座繁华的城市。离城市不远处有一座火山。公元79年的8月24日，这座火山喷发了，岩浆、火山灰以及岩石喷涌而出, 全部倾泻到四周的乡村。火山喷发持续了两天。很多人被活埋了，整个城市也被掩埋。真是太不幸了！
Day 3, 17 July Today I saw the ancient Roman city of Pompeii as it was 2,000years ago. How amazing! The city was forgotten for many years until the 18th century when a farmer discovered a stone with writing on it. People started to dig in the area for treasure, which caused much damage. Thus, in 1860, the area was put under government protection so it could be preserved and studied.
第三天，7月17日今天我见到了罗马古城庞贝，它就跟两千年前一模一样。多么奇妙啊！这座城市多年来一直被人们遗忘，直到18世纪时一个农民发现了一块刻有文字的石头。人们开始在这一区域挖掘寻宝，这造成了很大的破坏。因此在1860年，政府将这一区域保护了起来，便于保存和研究。
When I walked around the city, I saw streets just as they had been, with stepping stones along the road so you did not have to step in the mud on rainy days! I saw several houses which were decorated with wall paintings. I also saw the people who had been buried alive. It turns out that after the ash covered the people who failed to flee the city, their bodies nearly completely broke down and disappeared, leaving empty spaces in the ash.
当我在城中漫步时，我看到保持原样的街道，沿路都有垫脚石，这样下雨天你就不用在泥泞中行走了！我还看到了几处装饰着壁画的房子。我也看到了被活埋的人。原来，火山灰覆盖了没能逃离城市的人，他们的身体几乎全部烧化消失了，只留下火山灰里的人形空当。
Years later, researchers were able to use these empty spaces to produce true-to-life figures of the people who had died in the disaster. You can see them today in Pompeii, in the same places where the people fell. The volcano is still there, but looks very quiet now. It’s hard to imagine how this peaceful volcano destroyed the whole city!
多年之后，研究者们能够利用这些人形空当制作出逼真的遇难者轮廓。你现在可以在庞贝看到他们，就在原来他们倒下的同样地点。火山还在那里，但现在看起来非常平静。很难想象如此平静的火山如何摧毁了整座城市！
Day 10, 24 July Finally, we arrived in Loulan after several days of travelling. This commercial city was busy and wealthy about 2,000 years ago. It was a stopping point on the famous Silk Road between the East and the West. It is believed to have been gradually covered over by sandstorms from AD 200 to AD 400. I am so excited to be here!
第十天，7月24日经过好几天的旅程，我们终于抵达了楼兰。这座商业城市在大约两千年前也曾繁华过。它是连接东西方著名的丝绸之路上的停靠站。据信，从公元200年到公元400年，它已被沙尘暴逐渐吞没。能在这里我好兴奋！
Day 11, 25 July A scholar from the local cultural institute, Professor Zhang, told us that around the year 1900 the European explorer Sven Hedin discovered the ruins of the Loulan Kingdom. Sven found the remains of buildings buried beneath the sand, together with a lot of treasures, including
coins, painted pots, material such as silk, documents and wall paintings. When we went to the city, we saw the city walls, palaces, temples, workshops and towers. We found the ruins most interesting. There was an ancient water system that ran through the middle of the city. The desert was once a green land with huge trees, but they were cut down and that resulted in the city being buried by sand—what a pity!
第十一天，7月25日来自于当地文化研究所的一位学者张教授告诉我们，在1900年前后，来自欧洲的探险家斯文·赫定发现了楼兰王国的遗迹。斯文发现了埋藏于沙下的建筑遗迹以及许多宝藏，包括钱币、带有图画的壶、像丝绸这样的布料、文献以及壁画。当我们到这座城市时，我们看到了城墙、宫殿、庙宇、作坊及高塔。我们发现楼兰废墟非常有趣。有一条古老的供水系统贯穿市中心。这片沙漠曾经是大树成荫的绿洲，但这些树被砍倒了，那导致楼兰这座城市被沙尘埋葬—多遗憾啊！
失落的文明第一天，7月15日能获得这次旅行的机会我感到非常幸运。现在我们在意大利，明天我们将游览庞贝。
下周我们会飞往中国去楼兰，那是沙漠中的一座被誉为“中国庞贝”的古城。庞贝和楼兰一样，都是很久以前失落了的文明。
第二天，7月16日今天上午我们听了一场有关庞贝的讲座。这座城市建于公元前8世纪，公元前89年，罗马人占领了庞贝。后来庞贝成了座繁华的城市。离城市不远处有一座火山。公元79年的8月24日，这座火山喷发了，岩浆、火山灰以及岩石喷涌而出, 全部倾泻到四周的乡村。火山喷发持续了两天。很多人被活埋了，整个城市也被掩埋。真是太不幸了！
第三天，7月17日今天我见到了罗马古城庞贝，它就跟两千年前一模一样。多么奇妙啊！这座城市多年来一直被人们遗忘，直到18世纪时一个农民发现了一块刻有文字的石头。人们开始在这一区域挖掘寻宝，这造成了很大的破坏。因此在1860年，政府将这一区域保护了起来，便于保存和研究。
当我在城中漫步时，我看到保持原样的街道，沿路都有垫脚石，这样下雨天你就不用在泥泞中行走了！我还看到了几处装饰着壁画的房子。我也看到了被活埋的人。原来，火山灰覆盖了没能逃离城市的人，他们的身体几乎全部烧化消失了，只留下火山灰里的人形空当。
多年之后，研究者们能够利用这些人形空当制作出逼真的遇难者轮廓。你现在可以在庞贝看到他们，就在原来他们倒下的同样地点。火山还在那里，但现在看起来非常平静。很难想象如此平静的火山如何摧毁了整座城市！
第十天，7月24日经过好几天的旅程，我们终于抵达了楼兰。这座商业城市在大约两千年前也曾繁华过。它是连接东西方著名的丝绸之路上的停靠站。据信，从公元200年到公元400年，它已被沙尘暴逐渐吞没。能在这里我好兴奋！
第十一天，7月25日来自于当地文化研究所的一位学者张教授告诉我们，在1900年前后，来自欧洲的探险家斯文·赫定发现了楼兰王国的遗迹。斯文发现了埋藏于沙下的建筑遗迹以及许多宝藏，包括钱币、带有图画的壶、像丝绸这样的布料、文献以及壁画。当我们到这座城市时，我们看到了城墙、宫殿、庙宇、作坊及高塔。我们发现楼兰废墟非常有趣。有一条古老的供水系统贯穿市中心。这片沙漠曾经是大树成荫的绿洲，但这些树被砍倒了，那导致楼兰这座城市被沙尘埋葬—多遗憾啊！
M3u3project Ancient Greek statue found in Xinjiang
Researchers announced the discovery of a small statue in northern Xinjiang, China, recently. The metal statue is of a Greek soldier. When asked how a statue from distant Greece could have appeared in China, researchers explained that no doubt this was a result of Alexander the Great’s influence.
新疆发现古希腊塑像最近，研究人员宣布，在中国新疆北部地区发现了一尊小型塑像。这尊金属塑像是一名
希腊士兵的造型。当被问及来自遥远希腊的塑像怎么会出现在中国时，研究人员解释说，这无疑是亚历山大大帝的影响所致。
Alexander the Great (356–323 BC) was the son of a Greek king who defeated many Greek cities in battle. At the age of twenty, Alexander himself became king after his father died. However, many cities rose up against Alexander, so he led an army to take them back. Though his army had only 3,000 troops, he won every battle and many enemy soldiers joined him.
亚历山大大帝（公元前356—公元前323年）是一位在战斗中击溃了许多希腊城邦的希腊国王之子。20岁那年，父亲死后，亚历山大自己成了国王。然而，许多城邦趁势作乱，反对亚历山大，于是他便率领一支军队夺回这些城邦。尽管他的军队仅有三千人，但是他赢得了所有战役，许多敌方士兵投靠了他。
In 334 BC, he took his army, now with 42,000 men, into the Middle East and then Egypt, defeating every army that stood in his path. Then he turned his eyes east, and marched all the way to India, finding victory wherever he went. It seemed that nothing could stop him from taking control of the entire world. However, his own army grew tired of endless battles and refused to go any further, so he had to turn back. By the age of thirty, he had already occupied more land than anyone before, and it seemed that more glory was waiting ahead of him. Yet, in 323 BC, he came down with a fever and died. Since he had no son, his generals divided his vast kingdom among themselves.
公元前334年，他率领当时已达四万两千人的军队进入中东，接着是埃及，兵锋所至，所向披靡。然后，他又将目光转向东方，长驱直入印度，所到之处，攻无不克，战无不胜。似乎没有什么能够阻止他控制整个世界。然而，他自己的军队对无休止的战斗感到厌倦，拒绝再往前走，所以他不得不班师回朝。亚历山大30岁时便已占领了辽阔的疆域，前无古人，前面似乎还有更大的辉煌在等着他。可是，公元前323年，他发烧病倒，不治身亡。由于他没有儿子，他的将军们便瓜分了他庞大的王国。
Alexander the Great spread the Greek culture from Europeto Africa and Asia, influencing the world for centuries to come. The statue of the Greek soldier found in northern Xinjiang probably came to China in the 4th century BC as a result of trade. Like many other ancient objects that show a Greek influence, it can now be seen in a museum in Urumqi.
亚历山大大帝将希腊文化从欧洲传播到非洲和亚洲，在此后的数个世纪中影响了整个世界。在新疆北部发现的希腊士兵塑像也许是在公元前4世纪因贸易而来到中国的。像许多显示希腊影响力的其他古代文物一样，它现在乌鲁木齐的一家博物馆展出。
M3u3The father of Western philosophy西方哲学之父
The word ‘philosophy’ means ‘love of wisdom’. Philosophy can be thought of as a way of