Level 2 Reading 8A

Ch.15

第15章

Reading 8A AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY The Polos—Marco, his father, Niccolo, and his uncle, Maffeo—had been traveling for three and a half years when they finally achieved their objective—a long-awaited meeting with the powerful Mongol leader Kublai Khan. The historic event took place in 1275 at the Khan's luxurious summer capital in Shangdu, in what is now northern China. Kublai Khan was surprisingly informal as he greeted his tired guests: "Welcome, gentlemen! Please stand up. How've you been? How was the trip?" Marco Polo's trip had, in fact, started more than 9,000 kilometers away in Venice when he was just a teenager. His father and uncle already knew Kublai Khan from a previous visit nine years earlier, when they had spent a short time in Shangdu. On this second trip, the Polos stayed for 17 years before they returned home. They made themselves useful to the Khan, and undertook various missions and tasks for him. It is likely that the Khan considered it an honor that these Europeans—who were rare in China— had made this extremely difficult journey, and he took the opportunity to make good use of their skills and knowledge. While he was in the service of Kublai Khan, "the most powerful man in people and in lands and in treasure that ever was in the world," Marco Polo was able to learn and experience many things that were new to Europeans. In his travel journal, he wrote that Kublai Khan's palace was the greatest he had ever seen. He admired the Khan's recently completed new capital—Daidu—whose streets were "so straight and so broad." The city was located in what is now the center of Beijing, and Kublai Khan's city planning can still be perceived in the straight, broad streets of China's modern capital.

阅读8A 不可思议的旅程 波罗一家——马可、他的父亲尼科洛和他的叔叔马菲奥——已经旅行了三年半 当他们终于实现了他们的目标——与强大的蒙古领导人忽必烈汗期待已久的会面。 这一历史性事件发生在1275年，在汗的豪华夏都尚都，也就是现在的中国北方。 忽必烈汗在迎接疲惫的客人时，出奇地不拘小节： “欢迎，先生们！请站起来。你们过得怎么样？旅途怎么样？” 事实上，马可波罗的旅行始于9000多公里外的威尼斯，当时他还只是一个十几岁的孩子。 他的父亲和叔叔在九年前的一次访问中就认识忽必烈， 当他们在尚都度过了一段短暂的时光。 在第二次旅行中，波罗一家呆了17年才回家。 他们对可汗很有用，并为他承担了各种使命和任务。 可汗很可能认为这些欧洲人在中国很少见，这是一种荣誉-- 经历了这段极其艰难的旅程，他借此机会充分利用了他们的技能和知识。 当他为忽必烈汗服务时，忽必烈是“世界上人民、土地和财富中最强大的人” 马可波罗能够学习和体验许多对欧洲人来说是新的东西。 在他的旅行日记中，他写道忽必烈汗的宫殿是他见过的最伟大的宫殿。 他钦佩可汗最近建成的新首都戴都，那里的街道“如此笔直和宽阔” 这座城市位于现在的北京市中心， 忽必烈汗的城市规划仍然可以在中国现代首都笔直宽阔的街道上看到。

We learn from Marco Polo that, in the administration of his empire, Kublai Khan made use of a fast and simple message system. Horse riders spaced every 40 kilometers allowed messages to cover 500 kilometers a day. As soon as one horse had run 40 kilometers, the next horse would run the next 40 kilometers, and so on. Marco also learned the secret of asbestos cloth, which is made from a mineral and doesn't catch fire. Paper money also took him by surprise, since it was not yet used in the West at that time. Homes were heated with "black stones ... which burn like logs." Those stones were coal—unknown in most of Europe—and were so plentiful that many people had a hot bath three times a week. Although the Khan did not want his visitors to leave, the Polos finally received permission to return home in 1292. Marco continued his observations while on the ocean voyage by way of Sumatra and India. After he returned home, Marco completed a book about his trip, full of details about his amazing cultural experiences. It was probably the single greatest contribution to geographical knowledge ever made to the West about the East.

我们从马可波罗那里了解到，忽必烈汗在管理他的帝国时，使用了一种快速简单的信息系统。 骑马者每40公里间隔一次，每天可以发送500公里的信息。 一匹马跑完40公里，下一匹马就会跑完接下来的40公里，以此类推。 马可还了解了石棉布的秘密，石棉布是由一种矿物制成的，不会着火。 纸币也让他大吃一惊，因为当时西方还没有使用纸币。 房屋被“黑石头…像木头一样燃烧”供暖 这些石头是煤，在欧洲大部分地区都是未知的，而且数量如此之多，以至于许多人每周洗三次热水澡。 虽然可汗不想让他的客人离开，但波罗一家最终在1292年获得了回家的许可。 马可在途经苏门答腊岛和印度的海上航行中继续他的观察。 回到家后，马可完成了一本关于他的旅行的书，里面充满了关于他惊人的文化经历的细节。 这可能是西方对东方地理知识做出的最大贡献。

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