英國語文第六冊(雙語):陸路(5)
It began at about a mile and a half north of Suez, and struck in a northwesterly direction, availing itself of a series of natural hollows, to a point on the eastern branch of the Nile. By-and-by it became silted up; and after having been several times restored, it was finally filled with the never-resting sands in 767 A. D.
蘇伊士運河從蘇伊士以北大約1.5英里的地方開始向西北方向延伸，其間利用了許許多多的天然洼地，之后到達了尼羅河?xùn)|部支流的某個位置。隨著時間的推移，淤泥逐漸將其堵塞，幾次修復(fù)也無事于補，最終它于公元767年被永不休止的沙子徹底填滿。
Upwards of ten centuries passed before any attempt was made to renew communication between the two seas. Then the idea occurred to the ingenious mind of Buonaparte; but as his engineers erroneously reported that there was a difference of level between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea to the extent of thirty feet, he suffered it to drop. In 1847 a scientific commission, appointed by England, France, and Austria, ascertained that the two seas had exactly the same mean level; and in 1854 Ferdinand de Lesseps, an ingenious and enterprising Frenchman, obtained permission from the Viceroy of Egypt to make a canal across the isthmus. It was not, however, until 1858 that De Lesseps found himself in a position to appeal to the public for support. A company was then formed, and the canal was proceeded with; a variety of ingenious machinery being invented by the French engineers to meet the exigencies of their novel and magnificent enterprise. On the 17th of November 1869 it was formally opened for navigation, in the presence of a host of illustrious personages, representing every European State.
十幾個世紀之后，人們才開始嘗試重新建立兩海之間的聯(lián)系。后來，聰明的波拿巴想到了一個主意，可惜的是，由于他的工程師將地中海和紅海之間的深度差誤報了30英尺，導(dǎo)致計劃未能成功。1847年，由英國、法國和奧地利委任的一個科學(xué)委員會明確了兩海之間的平均水平面的高度完全相同。到了1854年，一個具有獨創(chuàng)性和進取心的法國人費迪南德·德·雷賽普從埃及總督那里拿到了在地峽開鑿運河的許可。然而，直到1858年，德·雷賽普才意識到自己急需獲取公眾的支持，于是他們成立了一家公司，運河工程才得以繼續(xù)。同時，法國工程師為了滿足他們實現(xiàn)其新奇宏偉事業(yè)的需要而發(fā)明了各種精巧的機器。1869年11月17日，該運河在眾多杰出人士的見證下正式通航，成為了歐洲各國的代表。
"As we went along the Canal," says Dr. Carpenter, describing a visit to Egypt, "we passed between mounds or banks, higher than the ordinary level. These banks were composed of material which had been excavated from the Canal, and thrown up on either side. As we steamed along very slowly, I mounted the 'bridge' of the steamer, so as to be able to look over these banks; and there I saw the interminable barren waste on the Egyptian side covered with water, and on the eastern side a sandy desert extending to Palestine.
卡彭特博士在描述自己的一次埃及之行時說道：“我們沿著運河航行時穿過了一些過高的土丘和河岸，其是由運河中挖出的材料在兩岸堆積而形成的。在我們緩慢航行時，為了能夠俯瞰兩岸的景色，我站到了“船橋”上，之后我看到了被水覆蓋的埃及邊兒上那無邊無際的貧瘠荒地，東部則是一路延伸到巴勒斯坦的沙漠。
