走进剑桥大学 第5期:剑河的柔波

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剑河的柔波

Cambridge is famous as the home of one of the two oldest English universities, but the city has a long and eventful history of its own. The Roman may be the first to bridge the River Cam in 43 AD. In 875 the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle called it Grantabrycge - one of the earliest known uses of the word 'bridge' in the English Language, suggesting that the town was famous for its bridge.

剑桥以拥有两所英国最古老的大学之一剑桥大学而闻名于世，而这座城市本身就历史悠久、历经沧桑。人们认为，早在公元43年，罗马人就在剑河上筑桥了。公元 875年，盎格鲁-撒克逊编年史把在剑河上筑的桥称之为“格兰特桥”，这是英语语言中最早使用“桥”这一单词的用法，这暗示了这座城市是以桥而闻名的。

In the Middle Ages the River Cam was used for transporting corns as far as King’s Lynn, and stones into the centre of Cambridge. However, by the 17th century the River was badly silted¹ up, and it took almost another century before a Parliament Act saw improvements to its condition.

中世纪时期，剑河作为运输通道，可将玉米运至金斯林，将石头运至剑桥中心。 但是到了17世纪，剑河就被淤泥堵塞。差不多过了一个世纪，议会法案的实施才使情况好转。

The surrounding area of the Fens³ cover an area of some 800 square miles and are so low that the highest point is just 50m above sea level, with some parts having dropped below sea level entirely⁴. As the river makes its way to the North Sea it deposits huge amounts of silt² over time which accounts for the ever-decreasing nature of the waters，makes of which today is actually reclaimed⁵ marshland.

剑河的沼泽地带覆盖了约800平方英里流域，而且地势很低，最高点仅高于海平面50米，有些部分则完全低于海平面。由于入海口地势低，当剑河流入北海时，它会滞留大量淤泥。经年累月，河水不断减少，今天的大部分河段都变成沼泽地了。

This was not always the case, however. Records showed that during the 17th century the waters were plentiful⁶ here Despite the Romans，attempts at draining the land, the area remained swampland for many generations. From about 1500 until the mid-17th century, high ranking clergy⁷, members of the aristocracy and even royalty⁸ would attempt to drain the land, but it was only when the underlying⁹ peat shrank over time and the levels were gradually seeped¹⁰ off into new channels and waterways that the waters moved from being deep lakes into the myriad¹¹ of shallow channels as they are today.

但是只有当底层的泥炭随着时间推移而逐渐被侵蚀，河水流向新的渠道和航道，他们的目标才实现，因为这样一来，河水就不能聚积在一起形成深湖，而只能变成今天的无数浅水渠了。

Cambridge itself is steeped in history with an academic heritage dating back to as early as 1209. Some of the first colleges to be founded were built right on the banks of the river. On the riverside the colleges would benefit from the major trade route into the town of Cambridge. The result today is the “Backs”，a one mile stretch of river that supports some of finest examples of architecture in England. Altogether there are 8 colleges and 9 bridges. These include Queens1 College with the Mathematical Bridge, King’s College with its famous chapel¹², and the Bridge of Sighs at St. John’s College.

剑桥本身有着丰富的学术传统，它的学术传统可以追溯到公元1209年。最早的一批学院是在剑河的右岸建立起来的。通往剑桥镇的贸易航道都要通过剑河，建于河边的学院受益于此，结果形成了今天的“后园景观”。在一英里的水域内，游客们可以看到英格兰最漂亮的一些建筑。总共有8个学院和9座桥位于“后园景观”内，这其中包括拥有数学桥的女王学院，著名教堂的所在地国王学院和以叹息桥闻名的圣约翰学院。

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