【四六级翻译素材】天坛

Transcript

Emperors held annual ceremonies to pray to heaven for a good harvest at the Temple of Heaven, Tiāntán. It was built in Beijing in 1420. Emperors pray to heaven for good harvest. Ancient Chinese believed that Earth was Square and heaven was round. The altars and palaces were built into circles to represent heaven. The southern wall was rectangular to represent Earth Chinese show their respect to heaven in Tiāntán. The blue-glazed tiles of the imperial vault of heaven represent heaven. The circular mound altar is surrounded by a ring of nine plates, which are also surrounded by multiples of nine plates. It represents the supremacy of heaven. Tiāntán covers an area of 2.7 million square metres, with an orderly arrangement showing Chinese regality.

annual: /ˈænjuəl ; ˈænjuəl / adj. happening or done once every year 每年的；一年一次的；年度的

an annual meeting/event/report

年会；一年一度的大事；年度报告

rectangular: /rek'tæŋgjʊlə/ adj. 长方形的；矩形的

imperial: /ɪmˈpɪəriəl ; ɪmˈpɪriəl / adj. connected with an empire 帝国的；皇帝的

the imperial family/palace/army皇室家族；皇宫；皇家陆军

imperial power/expansion皇权；帝国的扩张

supremacy: /suːˈpreməsi ; sjuːˈpreməsi ; suːˈpreməsi / noun [U]

a position in which you have more power, authority or status than anyone else 至高无上；最大权力；最高权威；最高地位

the battle for supremacy in the region争夺地区霸权的较量

Translation

坐落于北京南部的天坛(the Temple of Heaven)是中国现存最大的古代祭祀建筑(sacrificial building)群。它占地约273公顷，面积是紫禁城的三倍。天坛建于1420年，为皇帝祭天所用。它被认为是北京皇家寺庙中最神圣的建筑物。人们形容它是“建筑和景观设计相结合的杰作'尽管在封建时代平民不允许进人这个巨大的公园，但现在只需很少的钱每个人都可以在这里玩一整天。

The Temple of Heaven in the southern part of Beijing is China's largest existing architectural complex of ancient sacrificial buildings. Occupying an area of about 273 hectares, it is three times the area of the Forbidden City. It was built in 1420 for emperors to worship the Heaven. The Temple of Heaven is considered the most holy of Beijing's imperial temples. It has been described as “a masterpiece of combining architecture and landscape design”. Although in feudal times common people were not allowed to enter this enormous park, now by paying only a small fee everyone can enjoy it all day long.