關於七年級英語閱讀短文

　　英語現在已經發展成為一個在世界範圍內使用最廣泛的語言。英語作為英美文化資訊的載體和表現形式,一度深深地烙上了英美獨有的文化印記。小編精心收集了，供大家欣賞學習!

　　：Munich

　　慕尼黑

　　How would you like to sip a glass of cold beer while sitting in the shadow of a Chinese pagoda surrounded by English gardens in the middle of a southern German city? It may sound unlikely, but that is what millions of visitors from around the world experience in Munich in late September and early October every year. They come to celebrate Oktoberfest, probably the largest public festival in the world.

　　在德國南部城市中，坐在為英式花園懷抱的中國式寶塔的蔭涼下，啜飲一杯冰涼的啤酒，這樣的感覺，你有多心動?聽起來也許像天方夜譚，但這就是每年九、十月之交，來自世界各地的百萬遊客，群集慕尼黑的親身經歷。他們來慶祝“啤酒節”——可能是世界上最盛大的公眾節日。

　　There is much more to modern Munich than beer gardens. It is Germany's favorite city, insofar as surveys show a majority of Germans would prefer to live there. Some jokingly call it the only Italian city north of the Alps, a reference to Munich's easygoing spirit that contrasts with the staid impression many foreigners have of Germany.

　　現代慕尼黑可不只有啤酒園而已。它是德國的一座人們喜愛的城市。調查顯示，大多數德國人願意選擇在慕城定居。有些人戲稱她是阿爾卑斯山以北唯一的義大利式城市，意味著慕尼黑隨和親切的氣氛，這和許多外國人對德國嚴肅持重的印象形成天壤之別。

　　Despite the city's traditional image, many residents never set foot inside a beer hall or go anywhere near Oktoberfest, which is looked down on by some as a festival only for foreign touristis. These citizens see themselves as part of a thriving, modern metropolits which is the high-tech capital of Germany. Indeed, Munich plays host to a large concentration of communications and electronics firms.

　　儘管慕城具有這種傳統的形象，許多當地居民卻從未涉足啤酒廳和到舉辦“啤酒節”臨近的任何地方。有些人對這些地方不屑一顧，認為它只不過是外國遊客的節慶。這些市民認為自己是一個蒸蒸日上的現代大都會的一部分。它是德國高科技的首都，的確慕尼黑接納了雲積此地的眾多通訊及電子公司。

　　Munich, then, is a city of fascinating contrasts. It has terrific museums, architectural treasures, and open-air shopping as well as space-age factories and world-class markets. If you could visit only one city in Germany, the capital of Bavaris would be a worthy choice.

　　由此可見，慕尼黑是一個極迷人的有鮮明發差的城市。它有令人流連忘返的博物館、建築珍品、露天商場，也有太空時代的工廠和世界頂級的購物商場。假如你只能訪問德國的一座城市，那麼巴伐利亞的首府將是一個絕對值得一遊的城市!

　　：The Notre Dame de Paris

　　巴黎聖母院

　　As a testament to the correlation between glorious spaces and heavenly thoughts, the NotreDame de Paris has stood for 750 years as the apex of European religious architecture.

　　作為榮光之地與神聖思想互相關聯的證明——巴黎聖母院，至今已有750年的歷史了，它是歐洲宗教建築登峰造極之作。

　　Seeking to liberate their creation from the sepulchral atmosphere of the plague-riddenmedieval era, the Notre Dame architects conceived of a design more spacious than that oftheir predecessors.

　　尋求把他們的創作從世紀黑死病蔓延的死寂氣氛中擺脫出來，聖母院的建築師們構思出比他們的前人更寬闊的設計。

　　New developments in arched doorways and supports allowed for thinner outer walls and largerwindows, including the famous Rose Windows on the cathedral's north, south, and west sides.

　　而拱形門道和支柱的嶄新設計，為較薄的外牆和較大的窗戶，包括教堂北、南、西三面著名的“薔薇花瓣小圓窗”的建造做了準備。

　　The west window is 9.75 meters in diameter and depicts the infant Jesus surrounded by 16prophets, 32 Old Testament kings, and 32 high priests, in concentric circles. With the addedlight and color provided by these windows, the architects created an ethereal ambience withoutcompromising structural integrity.

　　西窗直徑長9.75米，上面描繪了16位先知、舊約全書裡的32位列王以及32位大祭司，呈同心圓圍繞著襁褓中的耶穌。藉著這些窗戶呈現的光線和色彩，建築師營造出了天鏡般的氛圍，同時也兼顧了結構上的完整性。

　　Since its fundamental completion in 1250, the cathedral has borne witness to many of thesignificant events of European history, as well as bearing the scars of its vilolent periods. It wasthe scene of the coronation of Henry VI of England in 1430, and later, that of Mary, Queen ofScots.

　　1250年基本竣工後，這座大教堂見證了歐洲歷史上的許多重大事件，也在動盪時代留下了累累傷痕。它也是1430年英王亨利六世和其後蘇格蘭瑪麗皇后加冕典禮舉行的地方。

　　It survived attempted destruction during the French Revolution to witness the crowning ofNapoleon and Josephine. Since then, the Notre Dame de Paris has survived two world wars, andit remains a symbol of European history and resilience.

　　它倖免遭受法國大革命時期試圖的破壞，得以為拿破崙和約瑟芬的加冕做見證。此後，巴黎聖母院在兩次世界大戰中儲存了下來，它依然是歐洲歷史與復原力的象徵。

　　：Jerusalem

　　耶路撒冷

　　Jerusalem is arguably the world's most revered city, it's the city of king David 1,000 B.C., theplace of Christ's last ministry and Crucifixion, and the site where the prophet Mohammad isbelieved to have ascended to heaven. Over a turbulent 3,000 year history, Jerualem has seenmore than its share of sieges, while Jews, Christians, and Muslims have all tried their hand atruling the city.

　　可以說，耶路撒冷是世界上最受尊敬的城市。這是大衛的王城公元前1,000年，是耶穌最後釘死於十字架的地方，先知穆罕默德認為是人們通往天堂的地方。在動盪的3,000年裡，耶路撒冷經歷了太多的圍攻戰亂。猶太人、基督徒和穆斯林都曾嘗試過統治這座城市。

　　During the centuries of the crusades, Jerusalem was the ethereal vision that moved the armiesof europe and Islam, but for almost 700 years after the crusades ended, the actual city ofJerusalem existed as a shadowy, forgotten backwater, slowly falling into ruin and decay. Notuntil the 19th century did the city again begin to come alive and reemerge from behind its walls.

　　在十字軍東征的幾個世紀，耶路撒冷飄渺的景象感動了歐洲和伊斯蘭的軍隊，但近700年的十字軍東征結束後，耶路撒冷市作為一個實際存在的影子，漸漸地被人們遺忘，慢慢地陷入破產和腐爛。直到19世紀該市又開始活躍起來，並從後面的牆壁重現。

　　During the years of the British mandate 1919 to 1948 the current incarnation of Jerusalemdeveloped as a quiet religious center, tourist attraction, and university town in a remarkablybeautiful mountain setting. Nineteen years of division by war, barbed wire, and minefields***1948-1967*** brought Jerusalem's gentle renaissance to a temporary halt.

　　在英國委任統治年1918年至1948年耶路撒冷化身為一個安靜的宗教中心、旅遊景點和大學城。這裡被開發為一個非常美麗的山區環境。在1948至1967年的19年，這裡因戰爭而分裂，這裡佈滿了鐵絲網和雷場。耶路撒冷的溫柔文藝復興不得不暫時停止。

　　Modern Jerusalem is a center of government, culture and tourism. Naturally, the old city is ofmost interest to visitors, given sacred landmarks like the church of the holy sepulcher, thedome of the rock, and the wailing wall. Numerous museums and other historic sites lend furtherappeal to one of the world's holiest cities.

　　耶路撒冷是一個現代政府、文化和旅遊中心。當然，遊客最感興趣的還是老城區的聖墓教堂、圓頂的岩石和哭牆的神聖地標。眾多的博物館和其他歷史遺址使耶路撒冷成為世上最神聖的城市之一。