Travel in Chinese Lesson 52 The Great Wall 2

小杰：爸爸，快点爬啊。

黄：小杰，你慢点儿啊。

小杰：爸爸，你看，这长城都修在山上，越来越高。

黄：漂亮吧，高低起伏，就像一条龙似的。

小杰：漂亮，比我在照片上看到的长城还要好看。

黄：来，咱们再继续往上爬吧，上边的风景更美丽。

小杰：爸爸，长城上边可真够宽的，我们可以在上边办个party。

刘：那可不行。小杰，我跟你说，长城是国家重点保护文物。这里同时可以走五匹马、十个士兵呢。 `

小杰：爸爸，你来看这长城的砖也真够大的。你说这些砖当时是怎么搬上来的？而且又没有汽车，搬这些砖得多费劲呀。

黄：别说汽车了，山上连条路都没有。要知道这儿的山最高可有1000多米呢，全是靠人一块一块搬上来的。

小杰：古代的中国人可真了不起，我都走累了。哎，你说有人走到过长城的头儿吗？

黄：有啊，有人从山海关一直走到嘉峪关。

小杰：那得走多长时间呢？

黄：至少得走两个月。

小杰：啊，这么长啊，要是我才走不动呢。爸爸，你刚才说的这两个关是长城的两头儿吧。

黄：对啊，你是怎么猜到的。

小杰：什么猜的，是我上网查的。网上还说长城的一头在海里呢。

黄：呦，这么认真啊。

小杰：那当然了。老师还要我们写一篇关于长城的作文呢。

黄：小杰，看，那么高的地方还有人呢，咱们也爬上去看看吧。我们来比赛，看谁能先到山顶？

小杰：那我赢定了！
 

Great Wall B

Xiaojie: Come on dad, hurry up!

Huang: Xiaojie, slow down a bit.

Xiaojie: Dad, look how the Great Wall is built on the mountain and goes higher and higher.

Huang: Isn’t it beautiful – rising and falling, like a dragon.

Xiaojie: It is beautiful, even better than the Great Wall I’ve seen in photographs.

Huang: Come on, let’s keep climbing up, the view’s even more beautiful up there.

Xiaojie: Dad, the top of the Great Wall is really wide, we could have a party up here.

Huang: I don’t think so. Xiaojie, the Great Wall is a protected National Heritage site. Up here five horses and ten soldiers could stand side by side.

Xiaojie: Dad, come and have a look at the huge bricks of the Great Wall. How do you think they moved these bricks up here? They didn ’t have any trucks, so it would have been so hard to move the bricks here.

Huang: There weren’t even roads up here on the mountain, not to mention trucks. The highest mountain here is over 1000 metres, all the bricks were carried up by man – one by one.

Xiaojie: The ancient Chinese were really something, I’m already tired. Hey, do you think anyone ’s ever walked to the end of the Great Wall？

Huang: Sure, some people have walked from Shanhai Guan all the way to Jiayu Guan.

Xiaojie: How long would that take？

Huang: You’d walk for at least two months.

Xiaojie: Oh, that long, I wouldn’t be able to walk that far. Dad, the two passes, or “guan”, you just mentioned are the two ends of the Great Wall, right?

Huang: That’s right, how did you guess?

Xiaojie: Guess? I looked it up on the internet. It also says on the internet that one end of the Great Wall is in the sea.

Huang: Well, aren’t we serious?

Xiaojie: Of course. Our teacher wants us to write an essay on the Great Wall.

Huang: Xiaojie, look, there are even people up there, let’s climb up and have a look. Let’s have a race to see who can get to the top first!

Xiaojie: I’ll win for sure！
 

Bookmarks

1）至少 at least

例）从这儿打车去机场，至少要80块钱。

To take a taxi from here to the airport, it needs at least 80 RMB.

例）他看上去至少有50多岁了。

It seems that he's at least 50 years old.

2）刚才 just now, just then

例）你刚才说什么来着，我没听清楚。

What did you say just now? I didn't hear clearly.

例）这件事儿你为什么刚才不说，现在才说？

Why didn't you mention this thing before? Why are you only saying it now?

3)了不起 extraordinary, amazing

例）他那么小就会说两门外语，了不起！

He's so small, yet he already speaks two foreign languages. It's really amazing.

例）2000年前就能修长城，这是一件很了不起的事情！

To build the Great Wall 2000 years ago is an amazing achievement.

Sign Posts

The Great Wall

The Great Wall of China extends more than 6000 kilometers. It was first built over 2000 years ago, then repaired and rebuilt several times at different stages in Chinese history up to the Ming Dynasty, around 600 years ago. So the wall is not one complete line, but a series of walls that follow the same general path. Some areas are easily visible, some have been restored to their former glory, and others are almost completely buried or destroyed.

The Wall was built for national defense, to keep invaders out of China on its northern boundary. There are high towers wher fires would be lit to send signals warning of invasion. Horses and men could then be moved quickly along the wall to counter the attack. Passes were also built through this artificial barrier. The Juyong Pass near Beijing is one among them. You drive past this on your way to Badaling, which is the most common site to visit. These parts of the wall date to the Ming Dynasty and have been restored to their original condition. While they are now maintained as a tourist destination, the authorities are eager to preserve the wall. For example, there is a pass through the wall which is only enough for one car lane, yet strict regulations will not allow this pass to be widened. There are several places wher you can see the wall in its unrestored state, for instance at Jiankou, one of the most secenic stretches of Great Wall around Beijing. It is known as the most photographed stretches of Great Wall. However, getting there is difficult, almost impossible without a car and an experienced guide. Because most of the wall here is in ruins, the climb itself is extremely dangerous. After all, the wall follows a path right over the mountains, not around them. But if you want to see the real thing, this is as real as it gets! #

There is a saying in China: 不到长城非好汉 implying that one is not a hero 好汉unless he has climbed the Great Wall. 非 means 不是. 非好汉 you’re not a hero unless you visit the Great Wall. Even for international tourists, this is a must-see location in China.

Substitution and Extension

1）像……一样/似的 just like, similar to

例)她笑起来很可爱，像个天使似的。

She looks really cute when she smiles, just like an angel.

例)他都30岁了，说起话来还像个孩子一样。

He's already 30 years old, but when he speaks, he is just like a child.