雙語閱讀：我為廷巴克圖哭泣

　　以下是學(xué)習(xí)啦小編整理的哲理類英語美文欣賞：我為廷巴克圖哭泣 ， 希望對你有所啟發(fā)。

　　When I was a child in the late 1960s and early 1970s I lived in Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, and Accraand travelled across Africa, from east to west, marvelling at the range and splendour of thecontinent's architecture. It was not the easiest time to experience Africa's architectural glories.But I was left with an enduring desire to understand the nature of African buildings and theirorigins and whether they came into being through expedience, their relationship to colonialpower, economics, self-belief or self-identity.

　　上世紀(jì)60年代末70年代初，當(dāng)我還是個孩子時，我先后居住在達累斯薩拉姆、內(nèi)羅畢和阿克拉。從東到西，我的足跡遍及整個非洲大陸，我為非洲建筑的豐富多樣和絢麗恢宏所折服。當(dāng)時并不是易于感受非洲建筑之輝煌的時期，但后來我一直希望了解非洲建筑的本質(zhì)及其起源，以及在它們的發(fā)展形成過程中，方便性、它們與殖民勢力的關(guān)系、經(jīng)濟學(xué)、自信、自我認(rèn)同等因素是否起到了重要作用。

　　It is a passion that has never left me. In the past decade I have documented the 53 capitalsof the continent in a bid to understand how regional geography and tradition transcend stateboundaries. In that time I have researched the great pyramids of Giza, the temples of Luxor,Libya's Roman ruins at Leptis Magna, the stone walls of great Zimbabwe, the Buganda shrineof Uganda, the medieval Islamic architecture of Fes and Marrakech in Morocco, Ethiopia'schurches carved into the rock in Lalibela and much more.

　　這種激情從未離開過我。過去十年間，我記述了非洲大陸53個國家的首都，以圖理解區(qū)域地理和傳統(tǒng)是如何超越國家邊界的。在這段時期，我研究了吉薩的大金字塔、盧克索的神廟、利比亞大萊普提斯(leptis magna)的古羅馬遺址、大津巴布韋的石墻、烏干達的布干達陵墓、摩洛哥菲斯和馬拉喀什的中世紀(jì)伊斯蘭建筑，埃塞俄比亞的拉利貝拉巖石教堂，等等。

　　Yet of all these places and more, few if any can rival the shrines and mosques of Timbuktu.Among the more famous are the 15th-century Sidi Yahya mosque and the ancient tombs ofSufi saints. Their desecration over the past week by al-Qaeda-linked militants wielding picks,hoes and, of course, guns is much more than an act of vandalism. It is, as the InternationalCriminal Court's prosecutor says, a war crime.

　　然而，上述所有建筑以及其它建筑，鮮有能與廷巴克圖(Timbuktu)的陵墓和清真寺相媲美的。其中比較出名的是15世紀(jì)建造的西迪葉海亞(Sidi Yahya)清真寺和蘇菲派圣徒陵墓。近期，與"基地"有關(guān)聯(lián)的武裝分子用鎬頭、鋤頭，當(dāng)然還有槍支褻瀆這些古跡，這絕不僅僅是蓄意毀壞公物行為。正如國際刑事法庭(InternationalCriminal Court)的檢察官所言，他們犯下了戰(zhàn)爭罪。

　　The structures in Timbuktu are the remnants of the city's incarnation as one of the world'sgreat commercial and intellectual centres. Known as the "city of 333 saints", Timbuktu wasnot just a desert commercial crossroads; it was also a centre of learning. Its ancient shrinesand mosques include the Djinguereber mosque built from mud in 1327. It is a horizontal city;the shrines and mosques are the punctuation that articulate the skyline. The mudarchitecture was developed at the high point of the history of Timbuktu. It is unique to theregion and represents a distinctive marriage of Islamic and desert architecture – an inimitableSahel desert aesthetic – not to be found anywhere else in the world.

　　廷巴克圖曾是世界重要商業(yè)和文化中心之一，這些建筑就是那個時期遺留下來的古跡。以"333位圣徒的城市"聞名于世的廷巴克圖，在當(dāng)時不僅是沙漠中的一個商業(yè)樞紐，還是一個學(xué)術(shù)中心。此地的古跡包括1327年以泥土建成的津加里貝爾(Djinguereber)清真寺。廷巴克圖是一座呈"水平"走向的城市，陵墓和清真寺成了連接天際的符號。津加里貝爾清真寺建于廷巴克圖鼎盛時期。它在這個地區(qū)是獨一無二的，融合了伊斯蘭藝術(shù)和沙漠建筑的特點——一種不可模仿的薩赫勒(Sahel)沙漠美學(xué)——一在全世界都是獨具一格的。

　　In the Sahel cities, the architecture of Islam, with its domes and minarets, is breathtaking. Manytimes I have stood before them and marvelled at their glory. But also the fact that thesecivilisations chose to create their monuments out of the mud beneath their feet was animmensely powerful gesture that has resonance today. We live in an age of scarce resources,where ecology and the environment should play an increasingly fundamental role in the waywe design our cities.

　　在薩赫勒地帶的城市，帶著圓屋頂和尖塔的伊斯蘭建筑令人嘆為觀止。很多次我站在它們面前都會驚嘆其壯麗。同樣令我感到驚嘆的是，這些文明選擇用腳底下的泥土建造他們的豐碑，蘊含其中的強大力量在今天依然能夠激蕩人心。我們生活在一個資源匱乏的時代，因而在我們的城市規(guī)劃中，生態(tài)和環(huán)境應(yīng)該發(fā)揮越來越重要的作用。

　　Inevitably history's sharp chisel has long been chipping away at these treasures. Themonuments of Timbuktu offer a compelling model embracing both the means to build and thevery point of building. Mud structures are not only sustainable, but also inherently rebuildable.The Great Mosque of Djenne, further south in Mali, for example, "returns to the earth" every sixmonths when the local population "re-mud" it after the rainy season.

　　歷史這把鋒利的鑿子不可避免地侵蝕著這些寶藏。廷巴克圖古跡提供了一個令人嘆服的兼重建筑方法與建筑意義的模式。泥土結(jié)構(gòu)不僅具有可持續(xù)性，而且便于重建。比如說，在馬里廷巴克圖以南的杰內(nèi)大清真寺(GreatMosque of Djenne)，每當(dāng)雨季過后，當(dāng)?shù)厝藭右?quot;重新泥砌"，讓這座大清真寺每半年都"重生"一次。

　　So there is the faint possibility that the monuments of Timbuktu might with time be repairedand renewed. But what is happening in Mali is a stark warning that we need more than UnescoWorld Heritage titles to preserve our story and ensure its retelling for future generations. Thelatest destruction follows the attack in May on the tomb of Sidi Mahamoud Ben Amer, also inTimbuktu. Now I fear that other sites, not just in Timbuktu but in other Malian cities, are at risk.

　　因此，廷巴克圖古跡沒準(zhǔn)兒會隨著時間的推移不斷得到修復(fù)和翻新。但在馬里發(fā)生的事情卻警示，為了保護我們的歷史，讓后世子孫也能夠懂得歷史，僅僅是聯(lián)合國教科文組織世界遺產(chǎn)(Unesco World Heritage)的頭銜是遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)不夠的。最近的這次破壞事件之前，西迪•馬哈茂德陵墓在5月份也遭到了破壞，這座陵墓也在廷巴克圖?，F(xiàn)在我擔(dān)心的是其他古跡也會有危險——不只是廷巴克圖，還有馬里其他城市。

　　Even if in time these splendours are rebuilt, their mythology will have died. They are artefactsof an ancient civilisation, not just buildings. So what could and should be done? What about theGulf states, for example? They spend billions of dollars buying up Islamic art for their newmuseums, but they don't say anything when some of Islam's finest buildings are destroyed.

　　即使這些輝煌的建筑及時得到重建，但它們的神秘感將會消失。它們是古代文明的工藝品，而不僅僅是建筑。那么，我們能夠、也應(yīng)該做些什么呢?比如說海灣國家?他們花費數(shù)十億美元購買伊斯蘭藝術(shù)品，用以充實各個新建的博物館，但當(dāng)一些最精美的伊斯蘭建筑遭到破壞的時候，他們卻默不作聲。

　　Making a case for the physical protection of buildings when we are unable to protect thecitizens of Mali might sound precious. We must make the case for both. If we do not protectthe legacies of previous generations, how can we hope that future generations will respectours?

　　當(dāng)我們無法保護馬里居民的時候，談?wù)摓榻ㄖ峁┣袑嵉谋Ｗo聽上去或許有點矯揉造作。兩個方面我們都應(yīng)該考慮到。如果我們不保護前輩的遺產(chǎn)，又如何能"奢望"后代人尊重我們將來留下的遺產(chǎn)呢?

　　The writer is the author of "Adjaye Africa Architecture" and is the principal of Adjaye Associates

　　本文作者是阿德迦耶建筑事務(wù)所(Adjaye Associates)所長，著有《阿德迦耶非洲建筑》(Adjaye AfricaArchitecture)一書。