【英文兒童科普】---80、​巨人之路

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巨人之路

The Giant's Causeway and its Legend for Kids

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On the northeast coast of Ireland lies an area

在愛爾蘭東北部的海灘上

filled with thousands of massive stone columns

有個地方堆砌著上千條巨大的石柱

The product of an ancient volcanic eruption,

這便是巨人之路 火山爆發留下的印記

the Giant’s Causeway is one of the greatest natural wonders in the United Kingdom.

這裡是英國最壯闊的自然奇觀之一

Early visitors to the site, however, noticed something suspicious.

以前的遊客曾在這兒注意到一些奇怪之處

The tops of the columns were near-perfect hexagons,

所有石柱的頂端都幾近正六邊形

and appeared to form huge stepping stones down from the cliffs into the sea.

層層堆疊 仿佛從懸崖通向大海的墊腳石

This observation sparked the legend

這引出了一個傳說

that gave the area its name.

也是此地名字的由來

According to the legend, the stones are the remains of a causeway,

傳說 這裡的石柱曾是堤道的一部分

or a raised pathway across the water,

或者曾是一條橫穿水面的道路

built by an ancient giant – Finn McCool.

這條道路由巨人芬·麥庫爾建造

Finn was challenged to a fight by a Scottish giant, Benandonner,

當時 蘇格蘭巨人貝南多南向他提出挑戰

and he grabbed chunks of the Irish coastline,

於是芬抄起海岸邊的大石塊

and threw them into the sea to bridge the gap to Scotland.

扔進海裡 建成了通向蘇格蘭的橋梁

As he approached and saw how huge Benandonner was,

但當他看清貝南多南的體格之龐大時

Finn became frightened and ran back home.

頓時被嚇破了膽 跑回家裡

On the way, he lost one of his boots,

半途中還弄丟了一隻靴子

which can still be seen today.

就像我們如今看到的這隻

Benandonner chased after him,

貝南多南對他窮追不捨

and Finn asked his wife, Oona, for help.

芬只好向妻子巫娜求救

Oona dressed Finn as a baby, and put him in a huge cradle.

巫娜把芬打扮成嬰兒 安置在巨大的搖籃裡

When Benandonner arrived and saw how big the sleeping 『baby』 was,

等貝南多南趕到 看到這沉睡「巨嬰」

he assumed the father must be even more gigantic

不禁認為嬰兒的父親一定更加巨大

and ran in terror,

於是便倉惶逃走了

ripping up the Causeway as he went so he couldn’t be followed.

路上還順手毀了堤道 讓人無法追上他

That is why you will find identical columns across the sea in Scotland

這就是為何遠隔蘇格蘭海也存在類似的石柱

– it’s the other end of the Causeway.

因為這裡就是巨人之路的另一端

Scientists have another explanation for the rock formations, however.

然而 科學家們對該巖層的形成另有說法

They say that the causeway formed 50 to 60 million years ago

他們認為堤道形成於5至6千萬年前

when molten rock was forced up through fissures in chalk beds,

是由白堊層的巖石裂縫中噴湧而出的巖漿

forming a plateau of lava.

形成的熔巖高原

As the lava cooled, it contracted, creating the splits.

熔巖冷卻收縮後就形成了裂縫

Today the Giant’s Causeway contains about 40,000 basalt columns.

如今的巨人之路約豎著4萬根玄武巖石柱

The tallest of the columns are 39 feet or 12 meters high,

最高的石柱有39英尺 也就是12米

and the cooled lava in the cliffs is 92 feet 

部分地區冷卻熔巖層厚達92英尺

or 28 meters thick in some places.

或者說28米厚

Today, the Giant’s Causeway is a World Heritage Site

如今的巨人之路是世界文化遺產之一

and the most popular tourist attraction in Northern Ireland.

也是北愛爾蘭最受歡迎的旅遊勝地

Whether visitors come for the legend of ancient giants,

無論遊客們心心念念的是古老的巨人傳說

or for massive age-old basalt columns,

還是歷史悠久的巨大玄武巖石柱

the Giant’s Causeway is an awe-inspiring sight.

巨人之路都贏得了他們的讚嘆

I hope you enjoyed learning about the Giant’s Causeway today.

希望你喜歡今天的巨人之路介紹

Goodbye till next time~

下次再見啦～

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