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The Seven Wonders of the Modern World: The Chunnel 现代文明奇观：英法隧道

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课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

England’s identity has long been tied to its separation from Continent Europe. Fears of invasion across the English Channel, like the one planned by Napoleon, have lingered in the British psyche. Today, however, peaceful invasions of shoppers and commuters using the Chunnel train are in full force.

英国长久以来就一直以隔绝于与欧陆之外自居。但是英国人心中始终萦绕着担忧，害怕英吉利海峡另岸侵犯领土，就像是拿破仑曾经计划入侵英国一样。不过，如今搭乘英法隧道列车的购物人潮与通勤族，早已势如破竹大举「入侵」了。

Connecting England to the Continent by means of a tunnel has long been a dream of engineers and politicians. Nevertheless, fearing an invasion route, the British government didn’t seriously consider the project until 1957. Construction began in earnest by an Anglo-French consortium in the late 1980s. Tunneling occurred simultaneously from both sides guided by laser surveying. When the teams met in 1990, they were only two centimeters off course.

以一条隧道连接起英国与欧洲大陆，长久以来一直是工程师和政治人物的梦想。不过，因为担心隧道变成被侵犯的路线，英国政府一直到1957年之后才认真考虑这项计划。整项建设在1980年代晚期由一家英法合资的大财团如火如荼地展开。在激光技术引导下，隧道开凿工作得以两头同时并进。当两队人马在1990年会合时，只偏离了原订路线二公分。

The Chunnel is three tunnels: one for each direction and a third for service and emergency evacuation. Ultra-wide trains traveling up to 160 kph accommodate freight, buses and passengers. Massive pistons in the tunnels dissipate the pressure that builds up before these speeding behemoths. Meanwhile, passengers travel in safety and comfort, oblivious to the icy waters overhead.

英法隧道共有三条隧道：来回方向各一条，第三条则提供服务与紧急撤离之用。超宽体列车每小时以高达160公里的速度穿行其间，载运货物、巴士车辆、旅客。这样体积大、速度快的大怪兽在隧道里所累积起来的压力，则以巨型活塞运作使之消散。在这同时，旅客安全又舒适地旅行于其间，可以完全无视于头顶上冰冷的海水。

A true engineering marvel, the Chunnel hasn’t received as much publicity as other more photogenic modern wonders. Ironically, today’s invaders arrive and depart from London’s Waterloo Station, which commemorates Napoleon’s famous defeat.

英法隧道的确是一项工程壮举，但并没有像其他很上镜头的现代文明建设一样受到很多关注。讽刺的是，如今「入侵者」的离到站竟然是伦敦的滑铁卢车站，就是做为纪念昔日拿破仑败北的著名地点。

Vocabulary

单词发音

be tied to 与…紧密联系在一起

linger [ˋlɪŋgɚ] v. 继续逗留，徘徊

psyche [ˋsaɪkɪ] n.【术语或正式】心灵; 灵魂; 心理

in earnest [ˋɝnɪst] 认真(地); 并非开玩笑(地) serious; determined

consortium [kənˋsɔrʃɪəm] n.〔公司﹑银行等为了进行购买或建筑而组成的〕财团﹐联合企业

accommodate [əˋkɑmə͵det] v. 能容纳

piston [ˋpɪstn] n.【机】活塞

dissipate [ˋdɪsə͵pet] v. 驱散（雾等），

behemoth [bɪˋhiməθ] n.【文】庞然大物

oblivious [əˋblɪvɪəs] adj. 不在意的﹐未觉察到的

publicity [pʌbˋlɪsətɪ] n.〔报纸﹑电视等对某人或某物的〕关注

photogenic [͵fotəˋdʒɛnɪk] adj. 上镜的﹐上照的

commemorate [kəˋmɛmə͵ret] v. 庆祝；纪念

Sentence of the Day

Government and industry had to dig deep to come up with the money for the Chunnel project.

政府与业者大费周章筹钱来建造英法隧道。

课文讲解

Ryan and Jenny, civil engineering students, are taking a lunch break in the University cafeteria:  雷恩和珍妮是土木工程学的学生，两人在大学的自助餐厅用午餐：

R: Mmmm. I love these jumbo subs. Speaking of submarine things, here’s a fun fact to get your mind off our thermodynamics homework: The last time it was possible to walk to England from France was 13,000 years ago during the last ice age until ---

嗯……我喜欢这种超大号潜艇堡。讲到水面下的东西，有一件好玩的事可让妳忘记热力学功课的烦恼：上一回人类能够由法国走到英国已经是一万三千年前上一次冰河时期的事了，一直到－

J: Until the completion of the Chunnel, of course. Digging that tunnel across the English Channel was an extraordinary engineering accomplishment.

一直到英法隧道建造完成为止，还用你说吗。能在英吉利海峡凿穿这个隧道的确是件惊人的工程成就。

R: They dug three tunnels, really. The central tunnel is much smaller, and it leads into several crossover halls for emergency use. Also, the middle tunnel helps accommodate the aerodynamic shock wave created by the trains.

实际上挖了三条隧道。中央那一条小得多，而且与两条主隧道间还有几个横向通道连接，供紧急状况时使用。中间这一条还能帮忙调节列车穿越所产生的空气动力震波。

J: Talk about thermodynamics! These giant trains generate so much heat from air friction that Chunnel needs hundreds of kilometers of cold water pipes to cool the tunnels off.

讲到热力学哦！这些大型列车摩擦所产生的大量热能，必须用几百公里长的冷水管才能把隧道冷却下来。

R: And the whole thing follows a single stratum of chalk for 39 km – 40 meters under the seabed.

而整个隧道在海床下面40公尺处，沿着一条39公里长白垩地层前进。

J: Have you seen the tunnel boring machines they used? They dig, remove soil, and shore up the walls simultaneously!

你看过工程人员用来开凿隧道的钻孔机器吗？这机器能同时进行挖掘打洞、移除土块以及支撑起侧壁的工作！

R: And the project removed enough chalk to reclaim 90 acres of sea off the British coast. That’s recycling!

而这项计划所移除的土块多到足够在英国海边回填90英亩的海埔新生地。真是废物利用！

J: Speaking of recycling, you gonna finish that sub?

讲到废物利用，你到底要不要解决那个潜艇堡？

－by Darshan Tyler

Vocabulary

单词发音

civil engineering 土木工程

sub [sʌb] n.【口】潜水艇

get one’s mind off 使某人不再想某人或某件事 to do something to help you forget about something else

thermodynamics [͵θɝmodaɪˋnæmɪks] n.（用作单）【物】热电学

crossover [ˋkrɔs͵ovɚ] n. 交叉；跨越

aerodynamic [͵ɛrodaɪˋnæmɪk] adj. 空气动力学的；航空动力学的

shock wave〔爆炸﹑地震等引起的〕冲击波

friction [ˋfrɪkʃən] n. 摩擦；摩擦力

stratum [ˋstretəm] n. 层；地层

chalk [tʃɔk] n. 白垩

boring [ˋborɪŋ] adj. 钻孔用的; 乏味的

shore up 支持, 支撑 support by placing against something solid or rigid

reclaim [rɪˋklem] v. 开垦，开拓; 回收再利用

Sentence of the Day

The slow progress of building the Chunnel can be chalked up to technological and financing limitations in the past.

过去英法隧道建造过程缓慢，可以归纳为受限于技术与经费两方面的缘故。

chalk something up to  把…归因于…

Super Structures- Eurotunnel Part 1