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  劍橋雅思11Test3閱讀原文Passage1翻譯

  THE STORY OF SILK

  絲綢的故事

  The history of the world’s most luxurious fabric, from ancient China to the present day

  世上最昂貴奢華織物的歷史，從古代中國直到今天

  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.

  絲綢是種細軟、光滑的布料，產自桑蠶(該昆蟲的幼體形態)制作出的蠶繭——即其柔軟的保護性外殼。傳說中是嫘祖，即大約公元前三千年時期的中國統治者黃帝的妻子，發現了蠶。其中一個故事是這樣描述的：當她漫步于自己丈夫的花園之中時，她發現幾棵桑樹之所以生長遭受破壞正是由于樹上的蠶蟲。她收集了一些蠶繭并坐下來歇息。正巧在她啜飲著一杯茶時，這些蠶繭中的一粒掉進了熱茶中并開始松散成為一根細絲。嫘祖發現她可以將這根絲線繞在自己的手指上。于是，她說服了丈夫允許她在一片桑樹林內養蠶。她還設計發明了一種特殊的卷軸來將蠶繭中的纖維紡成絲線，這樣它們就能足夠強韌以編紡成織物。雖然這個故事中究竟有多少真實成分我們不得而知，但有一點是確定無疑的：絲綢的生產在中國早己存在了數千年之久。

  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.

  起初，桑蠶業完全是只由女性來進行的，她們要負責種植、收獲和紡織。絲綢很快成為了一種社會地位的象征，最早只有皇室成員才有資格穿著絲綢衣物。這些規矩在之后的年月里逐漸變得不那么嚴苛了，直到最終在清朝(公元1644~1911年)時期，即使是最低階層的農民也有資格穿上絲綢了。在漢朝(公元前206~公元220年)的某個時期，絲綢的身價昂貴到被用作某種形式的流通貨幣。朝廷官員的俸祿是用絲綢來支付的，而農夫則用谷物和絲綢來完稅。絲綢還被皇帝用作外交禮物。漁線、弓弦、樂器和紙皆由絲綢制作而來。人類最早使用絲質紙的證據發現于一位貴族的墓中，據估計此人大約死于公元168年。

  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.

  人們對這種異域織物的大量需求最終催生出了現在被稱為“絲綢之路”的這樣一條一本萬利的貿易路線，向西輸送絲綢而向東則運來金、銀和毛料。之所以叫做“絲綢之路”，正是以其最珍貴的商品而得名，它被視為比黃金更貴重?！敖z綢之路”從中國東部一路綿亙6000多公里直達地中海，沿著中國長城的路線，攀越帕米爾山脊，穿過今日的阿富汗并延伸到了中東地區，在大馬士革有一個主要交易市場。各種貨物從那里再由船運跨過地中海銷往各地。很少有商人會走遍整條路線;貨物大多是由一系列的中間經手人交接傳遞的。

  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.

  由于桑蠶原產于中國，這個國家在許多個世紀里一直是全球唯一的絲綢產地。絲綢制作的秘密最終是經由在公元330~1453年間統治著地跨南歐、北非和中東的地中海地區的拜占庭帝國傳到了世界上的其他國家。根據另一個傳說，為拜占庭皇帝查士丁尼(Justinian)服務的僧侶們在公元550年將蠶卵藏在空心的竹子手杖里，偷偷帶到了君士坦丁堡(即今日土耳其的伊斯坦布爾)。然而，拜占庭人和中國人一樣守秘不宣，在很多個世紀里絲綢料子的紡織和貿易都受到帝國的嚴格把控壟斷。然后在七世紀，阿拉伯人征服了波斯，在此過程中掠獲了它們的華貴絲綢。絲綢生產由此隨著阿拉伯人對非洲、西西里和西班牙的掃蕩而傳遍了這些地方。西班牙南部的安達盧西亞在十世紀里是歐洲的主要絲綢生產中心。不過到13世紀的時候，意大利則成為了歐洲絲綢生產和出口的領軍者。威尼斯商人們到處進行絲綢貿易并鼓勵制絲者來意大利定居。甚至是到了如今，意大利北部科莫省加工的絲綢仍然享有盛譽。

  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.

  19世紀和工業化目睹了歐洲絲綢產業的衰落。更為廉價的日本絲綢，這種貨物的貿易得到了蘇伊士運河開通的極大推動，是促成這ー衰落趨勢的許多因素之一。接下來在20世紀里，新型人造纖維材料，例如尼龍，開始應用在傳統上一直使用絲綢的產品中，例如長筒襪和降落傘。兩次世界大戰切斷了來自日本的原材料供應，也扼殺了歐洲絲綢產業。二戰過后，日本的絲綢生產再度復工，生絲的制作工藝和品質都有所提升。直到20世紀70年代之前，日本始終是世界上最大的生絲生產者，實際上也是唯一的大規模生絲出口者。但是，在近幾十年里，中國逐漸重拾昔日地位，成為全球最大的生絲和絲線生產者和出口國。今天，全世界大約生產125,000公噸的絲綢，其中幾乎三分之二的產量出自中國。

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