2009年1月10日 星期六

Reference translations for your final examination

Paris is a city of romance, history, and fashion,
but is also known as a city of art.
There are more than a hundred and ten art museums here
but the most famous is this one, the Louvre.
Every year more than five and a half million people pass through here.
The Louvre is the largest museum in the world
and the largest building in Paris.
It started out in year 1200 as a modest palace
and it expanded over the next seven hundred years
to its current size.
In the 16th Century it began housing the royal art collection.

A few centuries ago two gentlemen with a dispute
could draw swords in a place like this.
By the 19th Century dueling was outlawed
but knowing how to use a sword was still an important part
of a young nobleman’s training.
Today we may not see the flash of swords in the streets of Paris,
but you can still take on an opponent the old-fashioned way.
Fencing Club of Paris
In France this is one of the best sports. So we want to be the top.

巴黎是一座愛情、歷史與時尚之都,
同時也以藝術聞名於世。
巴黎有110間以上的藝術博物館,
但是最有名的就是這一間 – 羅浮宮。
每年有超過550萬以上的遊客到這裡參觀,
羅浮宮不但是全世界最大的博物館,
也是巴黎最大的建築物。
它起建於西元1200年,當時只是座小宮殿,
但是在爾後的七百年間,不斷擴建,
成為今日的規模。
從16世紀起,它開始成為皇室收藏藝術品的所在。

幾世紀前,士紳之間如果發生解決不了的爭端,
常會在這種地方拔劍想向。
19世紀起,法律開始禁止這種決鬥,
但是,知道如何用劍,仍是年輕貴族們
養成教育中的重要一環。
今日,我們可能在巴黎街頭不再會看到刀光劍影,
但是,仍可以在某種場所用這古老的方式,挑戰對手 –
巴黎擊劍俱樂部
在法國,擊劍是最好的幾項運動之一,所以我們想成為此中翹楚。

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It was a bleak, rainy day, and I had no desire to drive up the winding mountain road to my daughter Carolyn’s house. But she had insisted that I come see something at the mountain. So here I was, reluctantly making the two-hour journey through fog that hung like veils.

By the time I saw how thick it was near the summit I’d gone too far to turn back. Nothing could be worth this, I thought as I inched along the perilous highway.

“I’ll stay for lunch but I’m heading back down as soon as the fog lifts “ I announced when I arrived.

But I need you to drive me to the garage to pick up my car, Carolyn said. “Could we at least do that?”

那是個下著雨又冷颼颼的日子,我完全提不起興趣開車爬上蜿蜒的山道,去女兒卡珞琳家。但她苦苦相邀,一定要我去山頂看些東西。
雖然老大的不願意,但我還是踏上了兩小時的旅途,這一路上白霧茫茫,如紗如帳。

到達山頂看到霧有多濃的時候,要折回已經晚了。「無論有什麼好看的東西,都不值得我走這遭」,我一面想,一面在險象環生的公路上磨蹭著前進。

一到女兒家門,就對她說:「我在這吃午飯,但是霧一散,我就要下山回去。」

卡珞琳央求地說:「但是,你至少得先載我到保養場取車,這個總沒問題吧?」

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