剑桥雅思11Test3Passage1阅读原文翻译 The story of silk

剑桥雅思11Test3Passage1阅读原文翻译 The story of silk

第1段

Silk is a fine, smooth material produced from the cocoons – soft protective shells – that are made by mulberry silkworms (insect larvae). Legend has it that it was Lei Tzu, wife of the Yellow Emperor, ruler of China in about 3000 BC, who discovered silkworms. One account of the story goes that as she was taking a walk in her husband’s gardens, she discovered that silkworms were responsible for the destruction of several mulberry trees. She collected a number of cocoons and sat down to have a rest. It just so happened that while she was sipping some tea, one of the cocoons that she had collected landed in the hot tea and started to unravel into a fine thread. Lei Tzu found that she could wind this thread around her fingers. Subsequently, she persuaded her husband to allow her to rear silkworms on a grove of mulberry trees. She also devised a special reel to draw the fibres from the cocoon into a single thread so that they would be strong enough to be woven into fabric. While it is unknown just how much of this is true, it is certainly known that silk cultivation has existed in China for several millennia.

丝绸是一种精致，柔顺的布料，产自桑蚕（昆虫幼体）制作出的蚕茧-即其柔软的起保护作用的外壳。根据传说，是公元前3000年左右统治中国的黄帝的妻子嫘祖发现了桑蚕。故事是这样讲述的：当她在她丈夫的公园里散步时，发现桑蚕破坏了几棵桑树。她收集了一些蚕茧，并坐下休息一会儿。当她在喝茶的时候，一粒收集到的蚕茧碰巧掉进了热茶中，开始松散成一根细丝。嫘祖发现她可以将这跟细线缠绕到自己手指上。于是，她说服丈夫让她在一片桑树林里养蚕。她还发明了一种特殊的卷盘来将蚕茧中的纤维纺成丝线，以便它们足够坚韧可以纺成织物。虽然不知道这个故事里有多少是真实可信的，但可以确定的是，丝绸的生产已经在中国存在了好几千年。

第2段

Originally, silkworm farming was solely restricted to women, and it was they who were responsible for the growing, harvesting and weaving. Silk quickly grew into a symbol of status, and originally, only royalty were entitled to have clothes made of silk. The rules were gradually relaxed over the years until finally during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 AD), even peasants, the lowest caste, were also entitled to wear silk. Sometime during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), silk was so prized that it was also used as a unit of currency. Government officials were paid their salary in silk, and farmers paid their taxes in grain and silk. Silk was also used as diplomatic gifts by the emperor. Fishing lines, bowstrings, musical instruments and paper were all made using silk. The earliest indication of silk paper being used was discovered in the tomb of a noble who is estimated to have died around 168 AD.

一开始，桑蚕养殖仅限女性。她们负责养育、收获和纺织。丝绸很快变成地位的象征。最初，只有皇家可以穿丝绸制成的衣服。这些规矩随着时间发展逐渐放松。最终，到了清朝（公元1644年-1911年），即便是农民这一最低阶层也可以穿丝绸了。汉朝（公元前206年到公元后220年）的某个时期，丝绸是如此宝贵，以至于它还被当作货币单位使用。朝廷官员的俸禄是用丝绸支付的，农民则用谷物和丝绸来纳税。丝绸还被皇帝当成外交礼物使用。渔线、弓弦、乐器和纸张均由丝绸制成。使用丝制纸张的最早证据发现于一名贵族的墓中。据估计，他大约死于公元168年左右。

第3段

Demand for this exotic fabric eventually created the lucrative trade route now known as the Silk Road, taking silk westward and bringing gold, silver and wool to the East. It was named the Silk Road after its most precious commodity, which was considered to be worth more than gold. The Silk Road stretched over 6,000 kilometres from Eastern China to the Mediterranean Sea, following the Great Wall of China, climbing the Pamir mountain range, crossing modern-day Afghanistan and going on to the Middle East, with a major trading market in Damascus. From there, the merchandise was shipped across the Mediterranean Sea. Few merchants travelled the entire route; goods were handled mostly by a series of middlemen.

对这一异国织物的需求最终催生出一条利润丰厚的贸易路线，即现在所谓的丝绸之路。它向西运送丝绸，并将黄金、白银和羊毛带回到东方。丝绸之路因其最宝贵的商品而得名。它被视为比黄金更贵重。丝绸之路绵延6000多公里，从东方的中国一直到地中海地区，沿着长城，攀越帕米尔山脊，穿过今日的阿富汗，并延伸到中东。在大马士革有一个主要的交易场所。从那里开始，商品被装上船穿过地中海。很少有商人走完整条路线。货物大多是由一系列中间商交接传递的。

第4段

With the mulberry silkworm being native to China, the country was the world’s sole producer of silk for many hundreds of years. The secret of silk-making eventually reached the rest of the world via the Byzantine Empire, which ruled over the Mediterranean region of southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East during the period 330-1453 AD. According to another legend, monks working for the Byzantine emperor Justinian smuggled silkworm eggs to Constantinople (Istanbul in modern-day Turkey) in 550 AD, concealed inside hollow bamboo walking canes. The Byzantines were as secretive as the Chinese, however, and for many centuries the weaving and trading of silk fabric was a strict imperial monopoly. Then in the seventh century, the Arabs conquered Persia, capturing their magnificent silks in the process. Silk production thus spread through Africa, Sicily and Spain as the Arabs swept through these lands. Andalusia in southern Spain was Europe’s main silk-producing centre in the tenth century. By the thirteenth century, however, Italy had become Europe’s leader in silk production and export. Venetian merchants traded extensively in silk and encouraged silk growers to settle in Italy. Even now, silk processed in the province of Como in northern Italy enjoys an esteemed reputation.

由于桑蚕是中国的本地物种，这个国家在好几百年的时间里都是世界上唯一的丝绸生产商。制造丝绸的秘密最终经由拜占庭帝国传播到世界其他地方。它于公元330年到1453年统治着南欧、北非和中东组成的地中海地区。根据另一个传说，为拜占庭皇帝Justinian服务的僧侣在公元550年将桑蚕卵藏在空心的竹子手杖里，偷偷带到了君士坦丁堡（今日土耳其的伊斯坦布尔）。然而，拜占庭人和中国人一样保守秘密。在很多世纪里，丝绸的纺织与贸易严格由国家垄断。然后在七世纪，阿拉伯人征服了波斯，并在此过程中劫掠了宝贵的丝绸。丝绸生产由此随着阿拉伯人对非洲、西西里和西班牙的扫荡而传播到这些地区。西班牙南部的安达卢西亚是十世纪欧洲的主要丝绸生产中心。然而，到了十三世纪，意大利成为欧洲丝绸生产和出口的领导者。威尼斯商人到处进行丝绸贸易，并鼓励丝绸生产者到意大利定居。即使是现在，意大利北部科莫省加工的丝绸仍然享有很高的声誉。

第5段

The nineteenth century and industrialisation saw the downfall of the European silk industry. Cheaper Japanese silk, trade in which was greatly facilitated by the opening of the Suez Canal, was one of the many factors driving the trend. Then in the twentieth century, new manmade fibres, such as nylon, started to be used in what had traditionally been silk products, such as stockings and parachutes. The two world wars, which interrupted the supply of raw material from Japan, also stifled the European silk industry. After the Second World War, Japan’s silk production was restored, with improved production and quality of raw silk. Japan was to remain the world’s biggest producer of raw silk, and practically the only major exporter of raw silk, until the 1970s. However, in more recent decades, China has gradually recaptured its position as the world’s biggest producer and exporter of raw silk and silk yarn. Today, around 125,000 metric tons of silk are produced in the world, and almost two thirds of that production takes place in China.

十九世纪和工业化见证了欧洲丝绸产业的衰落。更为廉价的日本丝绸是推动这一趋势的众多因素之一。苏伊士运河的开通极大地方便了这一贸易的进行。到了20世纪，尼龙这样的新型人造纤维开始被用于传统的丝绸制品中，例如袜子和降落伞。两次世界大战中断了日本的原材料供给，也扼杀了欧洲的丝绸产业。第二次世界大战结束后，日本的丝绸生产得以重建，生丝的制作工艺和品质都有所提升。直到20世纪70年代，日本仍然是世界上最大的生丝生产商，实际上也是唯一的主要生丝出口商。然而，到了近几十年，中国逐渐夺回它曾经的地位，成为世界上生丝和丝线的最大生厂商与出口者。今天，全世界大约生产125000吨的丝绸，几乎三分之二都来自中国。