【走近兵馬俑】

40年前，兵馬俑的奇跡之門被打開，"世界第八大奇跡"出現在眾人眼前。為慶祝秦兵馬俑發現40周年，China Daily手機報推出口語特別策劃"走近兵馬俑"，在帶您穿越歷史長河、探索這些人類智慧與藝術結晶背后故事的同時，講述孕育這段歷史的神秘土壤——西安的前世今生，并向您介紹相關詞匯、句式的地道英語表達。

[第五期]

What's the backstory on the warriors?

兵馬俑背后有什么故事嗎？

口語君：秦始皇為什么要命工匠制造兵馬俑呢？是否與他迷信長生不老和死后世界之說有關呢？且看陶小德有什么結論。

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F: What's the backstory on the Terra-Cotta Warriors?

兵馬俑背后有什么故事嗎？

M: They say the intricate life-size figures were placed in the ground to protect Emperor Qin Shi Huang in the afterlife.

聽說錯綜復雜地擺在地宮里、真人大小的人像是為了在秦始皇死后保護他。

F: How many are there?

有多少個兵馬俑？

M: The museum officials say there are about 8,000 soldiers, including archers and cavalry. Many are still underground, waiting to be excavated.

博物館領導說，約有8000個兵馬俑士兵，其中包括弓箭手和騎兵。目前，很多兵馬俑仍沉睡于地下，有待挖掘。

F: But there are other sculptures too, right?

也還有其他雕塑吧？

M: Yes, the army is complete with horses as well as chariots for the generals. There are also supply wagons – though in some cases the wheels are all that remain.

是的，整個軍隊還有將軍用的馬匹和戰車。此外，還有補給車。雖然有時保留下的只有車輪而已。

[口語點睛]

Cavalry作名詞是指"騎兵"。在現代，cavalry除可表示騎兵外，還有裝甲兵的意思。 騎兵是陸軍(Army)士兵(soldier)的一種，步兵(infantry)、炮兵(artillery)和弓箭手(archers)也是陸軍的兵種。

[口語天天練之栩栩如生的陶俑]

口語君：走進陳列兵馬俑的博物館，細看這座考古遺跡會讓人不禁浮想聯翩，如果迷失在這寂靜、威嚴、已守候千年的俑像群中會是什么情形。

1. It really is an army, and even without their original coloring, they are vividly lifelike.

這是一只真正的軍隊，就算兵馬俑原本的色彩沒有了，他們還是生動逼真、栩栩如生。

2. Whether standing with their weight seemingly centered on the balls of their feet, as if ready to sprint forward at any moment, or crouching with their arrows primed, there is a directness to their gaze that suggests their sculptors intended whoever beheld them to feel beheld by them as well.

有的兵馬俑保持著直立的姿態，身體的重量似乎落于腳掌上，仿佛馬上就要躍向前方。另一些則蹲踞著，手中握著的弓箭蓄勢待發。但無論哪種姿態的兵馬俑，他們都有著筆直的目光。他們的塑造者也故意要讓看著陶俑的人有一種被陶俑注視著的感覺。

3. This makes sense, as the warriors had a more active purpose than simply to be admired.

這很容易理解，因為這些兵馬俑不是僅用來被人們敬畏的，而有著更為實際的用途。

4. Presumably anyone who made it past the rigged arrows and crossbows needed a good fright to deter them from the treasures within.

假如有人繞過了墓內設置的暗箭和弓弩，那么就需要來自兵馬俑有效的威懾，來阻止他們深入墓穴去探尋寶藏。

（中國日報網英語點津 丁一）