11轻盈的城市一

Thin Cities 1.

轻盈的城市1

Isaura, city of the thousand wells井, is said to rise over a deep,subterranean[ˌsʌbtəˈreɪniən]地下的 lake. On all sides, wherever theinhabitants[ɪnˈhæbətənts]居民 dig long vertical [ˈvɜːrtɪkl]垂直的 holes in the ground, they succeedin drawing up water, as far as the city extends, and no farther. Its green border repeats thedark outline轮廓 of the buried [ˈberid] 埋葬 lake; an invisible landscapeconditions[kənˈdɪʃnz]影响 the visible one; everything thatmoves in the sunlight is driven by the lapping [ˈlæpɪŋ]拍打 wave enclosed[ɪnˈkloʊzd]封闭的beneath [bɪˈniːθ]在下方 the rock's calcareous [kælˈkeərɪəs]石灰质的 sky.

伊苏拉，千井之城，据说矗立在一个很深的地下湖泊之上。在城市范围之内的 各个地方，居民只要挖一个垂直的深地洞就可以抽到水，可是不能越过这范围。城市的绿色边界正是暗处的地下湖轮廓；看不见的风景影响着看得见的风景；在岩层之下的 拍岸水波，是阳光下 一切的动力。

Consequently, two forms ofreligion[rɪˈlɪdʒən]宗教 exist in Isaura.

因此，伊苏拉有两种宗教形式。

The city's gods, according to somepeople, live in the depths, in the black lake that feeds the undergroundstreams溪流. According to others, the gods livein the buckets[ˈbʌkɪts]水桶 that rise, suspended from a cable[ˈkeɪbl]绳索, as they appear over the edge ofthe wells, in the revolving pulleys [ˈpʊliz]滑车, in the windlasses [ˈwɪndləsɪz]辘轳 of the norias水车, in the pump泵 handles, in the blades [bleɪdz]桨叶 of the windmills[ˈwɪndˌmɪlz]风车 that draw the water up from thedrillings [ˈdrɪlɪŋ]钻孔, in the trestles[ˈtrɛsəlz]支架 that support the twisting[ˈtwɪstɪŋ]转动 probes[proʊbz]探头, in the reservoirs [ˈrɛzərˌvwɑrz] 蓄水池 perched置于 on stilts[stɪlts]高跷 over the roofs, in the slenderarches of the aqueducts [ˈækwəˌdʌkts]高架渠, in all the columns[ˈkɑləmz]圆柱状物 of water, the vertical pipes, theplungers [ˈplʌndʒərz]活塞, the drains[dreɪnz]排水管, all the way up to theweathercocks[ˈwɛðəkɒks]风向标 that surmount[sərˈmaʊnt]置于顶端 the airy [ˈeri]通风的 scaffoldings脚手架 of Isaura, a city that movesentirely upward.....

一些人认为，这个城市的神灵住在地下深处，在给地下溪流供水的 黑色湖泊里。另一些人则说，神灵住在系着绳索 升上井口的水桶里，在转动着的滑车上、在水车的辘轳里、在水泵的手柄上、在从钻孔中抽水的风车叶片上、在支撑钻机的支架上，在屋顶高跷上的水池里，在高架渠细长的拱门里，在所有的水柱、垂直的管道、活塞、排水管里，一路向上到伊萨拉通风高架上的风向标上，这是一座完全向上运动的城市……