尼羅河 the Nile

　　亞馬遜河 the Amazon

　　向東 eastward

　　東海 East China Sea

　　長江流域 the Yangtze River valley

　　農作物產區 agricultural base

　　產量 output

　　分別 respectively

　　長江三峽大壩 the Three Gorge Dam

　　水利樞紐工程 water control project

　　為…帶來便利 benefit

　　通航 navigation

　　發電 generate electricity

　　譯文內容

　　The Yangtze River or Chang Jiang is the longest river in China and the third longest in the world, after the Nile in Africa and the Amazon in South America. The river is about 6 300 km long and flows from its source in Qinghai Province, eastward into the East China Sea. The Yangtze River valley has always been an important agricultural base in China. Grain and cotton outputs make up 40 percent and 30 percent of China’s total respectively. As one of the largest water control project in the world, the Three Gorge Dam benefits for navigation, generating electricity and transportation.

　　泰山稱東岳，以“五岳獨尊”的盛名享譽古今。按照“五行學說”，東方屬木，主生發，有生命之源、萬物之本的含義。這就是古代帝王通常在自己登基或晚年時到泰山封禪祭拜的原因。泰山拔地通天，氣勢磅礴，漢語又有“穩如泰山”、“重于泰山”之說。1987年，聯合國教科文組織將泰山列為世界自然與文化遺產。

　　泰山 Mount Tai

　　東岳 East Yue

　　五岳獨尊 the most important mountain of the Five Holy Mountains

　　享譽 have a great reputation

　　五行學說 the theory of five elements

　　生發 liveliness

　　生命之源、萬物之本 a place where nature regulated and adjusted its procedures

　　登基 be crowned

　　封禪祭拜 make pilgrimages to

　　穩如泰山 as firm as Mount Tai

　　重于泰山 as weighty as Mount Tai

　　宣布 proclaim

　　譯文內容

　　Mount Tai, called “East Yue”, has a great reputation for the most important mountain of the Five Holy Mountains. According to the theory of five elements, the East belongs to mu, which means liveliness. Therefore, the East is a place where nature regulated and adjusted its procedures. This explains why important emperors made pilgrimages mostly to Mount Tai when they were crowned or in their later years. It is a symbol of loftiness and might, hence, there are the Chinese idioms: “as firm as Mount Tai” and “as weighty as Mount Tai”. Mount Tai was proclaimed world natural and cultural heritage by UNESCO in 1987.

　　趙州橋坐落在洨河上，距離趙縣南部約2.5公里。這座橋是在公元605年至公元616年建造的。趙州橋是由中國著名的匠師李春設計的，是用石頭建造的，長50.82米，寬10米，還有一個不可思議的弧形橋洞，高7.23米，跨度為37.35米。橋上的石頭欄桿和柱子上雕刻著美麗的龍鳳圖案。這座橋是一座空腹式的圓弧形石拱橋，兩邊有兩個小拱，這是中國最早的拱橋之一，在中國橋梁建筑史上占有重要的地位，讓游客和工程師們都很感興趣。

　　趙州橋 Zhaozhou Bridge

　　洨河 Jiao River

　　建造 construct

　　匠師 mason

　　不可思議的 unusual

　　弧形橋洞 arch

　　跨度 span

　　欄桿 railing

　　柱子 column

　　龍鳳 dragon and phoenix

　　空腹式的 open-spandrel

　　占有 occupy

　　譯文內容

　　Zhaozhou Bridge was built on the Jiao River about 2.5 kilometers away from the south of Zhaoxian county. The bridge was constructed in AD 605-616. Designed by a well-known Chinese mason, Li Chun, it’s made of stone, 50.82 meters long and 10 meters wide, with an unusual arch that is 7.23 meters high with a span of 37.35 meters. The stone railing and columns on the bridge were carved with beautiful dragon and phoenix designs. One of the earliest Chinese arch bridges with a long open-spandrel arch in the middle and two small arches on each side, this bridge occupies an important place in the history of Chinese bridge building and has been of interest to tourists and engineers alike.