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Nara: A Journey to the Heart of Ancient Japan 奈良：鹿与大佛的奇妙物语

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For the visitor in search of Japan’s rich cultural heritage, the most frequently recommended destination is Kyoto. However, down the road from this city of a thousand temples lies another of Japan’s ancient capitals, Nara.

对于想探索日本丰富文化遗产的旅客来说，京都是最常被推荐的地点。不过在这座有上千间庙宇的城市不远处，则是另一座日本古京城：奈良。

Nara was briefly home to the Japanese Imperial Court between 710 and 782 A.D., and its Buddhist temples retained much of their power and influence even after the Emperor moved to Kyoto. Chief among these temples is the magnificent Todaiji. Its main claim to fame is that it is home to the world’s largest wooden structure, The Great Buddha Hall. Built to house a massive bronze Buddha statue, the hall measures 57m long by 50m wide. It used to be even bigger, but the previous version burnt down in the 16th century.

奈良在公元710至782年间曾短暂成为日本皇室的住地。当地的佛寺即使在天皇迁至京都之后，皆仍保有大部分的权威和影响力。而众多寺庙当中又以宏伟壮观的东大寺为首。使东大寺闻名于世的是坐落寺内的全世界最大木造建筑──大佛殿。大佛殿宽57公尺，深50公尺，用以供奉一尊巨大的铜造佛像。大佛殿曾于16世纪遭大火烧毁，当时的大佛殿比现在更具规模。

Todaiji is located in the grounds of Nara Park, along with a number of other temples and shrines. This picturesque area’s main attraction is the sika deer that freely roam around the grounds. These long-time residents of the park are considered sacred as they were said to be messengers of the gods. After centuries of living side-by-side with humans they are quite tame animals, and many visitors like to feed them deer crackers.

东大寺与其他多座庙宇坐落于奈良公园之中。这座如诗如画的公园最吸引人的地方是徜徉园内的梅花鹿。据说这些长期栖息在公园内的梅花鹿是神明的使者，因此被视为相当神圣的动物。这些鹿与人比邻而居数世纪之后变得相当温驯，许多游客都很喜欢喂牠们吃鹿仙贝。

While it may lag behind its more renowned neighbor Kyoto in terms of size and temple numbers, Nara still has a wealth of historical and natural treasures that makes it well worth a visit.

虽然在庙宇数量和都市规模上，奈良比不上有名的邻市京都，但丰富的历史与自然资产仍使它相当值得一游。

－by David Vickers

Vocabulary

单词发音

heritage [ˋhɛrətɪdʒ] n. 遗产

destination [͵dɛstəˋneʃən] n. 目的地

imperial [ɪmˋpɪrɪəl] adj. 皇帝（或女皇）的; 帝国的

court [kort] n. 宫廷

emperor [ˋɛmpərɚ] n. 皇帝

claim to fame 成名的原因 reason for being well-known or famous

Buddha [ˋbʊdə] n. 佛像; 佛

bronze [brɑnz] adj. 青铜制的

previous [ˋpriviəs] adj. 以前的; 先前的

shrine [ʃraɪn] n. 庙，圣堂; 神殿

picturesque [͵pɪktʃəˋrɛsk] adj. 图画般的，美丽的

sacred [ˋsekrɪd] adj. 神圣的

tame [tem] adj. 驯服的; 温顺的

cracker [ˋkrækɚ] n. 薄脆饼干

lag behind  落在后面 to fall behind someone or something

in terms of  就...方面来说

Reading Questions

1.  What type of traveler would Nara most likely appeal to?

A.  Someone who is looking to see the best of modern Japan.

B.  Someone who wants to study what life was like in prehistoric Japan.    

C.  Someone who wants to sample the best Japanese food available.

D.  Someone who is interested in seeing the spiritual side of Japan.

2.  Which of the following is NOT true about Nara?

A.  The city is mainly known for its collection of temples.

B.  The Japanese Imperial Court was once located in Nara.

C.  It is home to the largest wooden structure on Earth.

D.  Todaiji was a popular temple until it burned down.

3.  How does the author seem to feel about Nara?

A.  It’s not the top destination in Japan, but people should consider going there.

B.  It is a more interesting place to visit than Kyoto because of its temples.

C.  It is the most beautiful city that he has ever visited in Asia.

D.  Tourists should only visit Nara if they have seen everything else in Japan.

Todaiji Temple （东大寺）, Nara City

Feeding The Deer/ Nara Deer Park (Nara, Japan) 奈良公园の鹿

Answer