英國語文第六冊(雙語):溫帶地區(qū)(5)

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But very marked differences occur within the Temperate Zone itself—the result of differences of climate and configuration. Central Asia, for example—indeed, the whole of Asia north of the line of the Caucasus, the Himalaya, and the Chinese Wall—consists of barren steppes, which now, as much as six centuries ago, are the home of barbarism and rapine. And why is this? Because its inland deserts are far removed from the influences of the sea; because lofty mountains give most of its land a northern aspect; because its rivers flow either into salt lakes with no outlet, or into a frozen ocean which completely shuts out commerce.

然而，由于氣候和結(jié)構(gòu)的多樣化，溫帶地區(qū)自身便存在顯著的差異。例如，中亞地區(qū)——其實(shí)是高加索山脈、喜馬拉雅山脈和中國長城以北的整個(gè)亞洲地區(qū)——都是由貧瘠的大草原構(gòu)成，而如今那里和六個(gè)世紀(jì)之前沒什么變化，依然充滿了野蠻和掠奪。是什么原因造成的呢？因?yàn)槠鋬?nèi)陸沙漠受海洋影響較少；因?yàn)槲《氲纳矫}使其大部分土地呈北向；因?yàn)槠浜恿饕磪R入了沒有出口的鹽湖，要么流入了完全不通商業(yè)的冰凍海洋。

Look at Europe on the other hand. It is of all the continents the one which is most thoroughly broken up by inroads of the sea. Asia is four and a half times as large as Europe in superficial area; yet Europe has a coast-line five times as great as that of Asia. Excepting only the plains of Russia, no part of Europe is more than three hundred miles distant from the sea; while the number and the distribution of its navigable rivers bring the ocean within easy reach even of its remotest parts.

另外，我們再來看歐洲。在所有的大陸當(dāng)中，歐洲大陸是受海洋侵蝕最嚴(yán)重的大陸。從表面來看，亞洲的面積是歐洲的4.5倍，然而，歐洲海岸線的長度卻是亞洲海岸線長度的5倍。除了俄羅斯平原，歐洲的每寸土地離大海的距離都在三百英里以內(nèi)，而其通航河流的數(shù)量和分布則使得即使最遠(yuǎn)的地區(qū)都能和海洋觸手可及。

And what are the consequences of this? A glance at the map of Europe will tell us. It is evidently the continent most thickly covered with cities and towns; and with high-roads, canals, and railways, weaving the towns into a living and everbusy net-work. There civilization has struck its roots deepest, and stretched its branches widest. There the arts and sciences have reached their highest development. There the great mechanical inventions which have knit the world into one vast inter-dependent society, have had their birth; and commerce, manufactures, and agriculture have been brought to the greatest perfection.

那么，結(jié)果是什么呢？我們從歐洲的地圖中來找答案。從地圖上看，歐洲大陸顯然是城鎮(zhèn)最密集的地區(qū)，高速公路、運(yùn)河和鐵路將所有的城鎮(zhèn)編織成一張充滿活力且聯(lián)絡(luò)不斷的大網(wǎng)；在那里，文明的扎根最深，分支也最廣；在那里，藝術(shù)和科學(xué)達(dá)到了最高水平的發(fā)展；在那里，誕生了能將世界連接成一個(gè)巨大并相互依存的社會的偉大機(jī)械；在那里，商業(yè)、制造業(yè)和農(nóng)業(yè)的發(fā)展已經(jīng)登峰造極。

Europe has laid the whole world under contribution for the supply of her physical wants.

歐洲為滿足全世界的物質(zhì)需求作出了貢獻(xiàn)。