“非公莫入”一词在一些地方体现得可谓淋漓尽致——除却寥寥数人外,对于这些神秘之地,世人皆“可远观而不得入内焉”。也正是因为这些禁忌,人们的好奇心更加泛滥。如果有一天,你有幸进入以下地区之一,务必要保守秘密,以防性命不保哦!
The world is full of secret and exclusive1) places that we either don't know about, or simply cannot visit even if we want to. This list takes a look at five of the most significant places around the world that are closed to the general public or are virtually impossible for the general public to visit.
世界上充满了神秘排外之地,我们要么闻所未闻,要么即使有心参观也无法入内。下文介绍了五个全球最为神秘的重地,它们全都对公众紧闭大门,或者说,公众几乎不可能造访这些地方。
1.Vatican Secret Archives
1. 梵蒂冈秘密档案馆
The archives are not secret despite their names. You can view any document you wish. But you cannot enter the archive. You must submit your request for a document and it will be supplied to you. Despite the foolishness of the recent junk2) from Ron Howard3) and Dan Brown4) (Angels and Demons5)) the documents are all available and there are no copies of suppressed6) scientific theories or great works that were banned. The only documents you can't access are those which are not yet 75 years old (in order to protect diplomatic and governmental information). Indexes7) are available for people who want to see if a document exists in the archives. The Vatican Secret Archives have been estimated to contain 52 miles (84 km) of shelving.
这个档案馆并不是机密的,尽管它拥有这样的名字。你可以查看你想要的任何档案,但却不能进入档案馆。你必须先提交对某个文件的申请,档案馆才会将该文件提供给你。虽然最近朗·霍华德和丹·布朗的垃圾作品(《天使与魔鬼》)对于此地的描述非常荒诞可笑,但实际上,这里的文件是全部可供阅览的,并不存在什么被查禁的科学理论或被封杀的伟大作品。你唯一不能获取的是那些还未存够75年的文件(这是为了保护外交和政治信息)。人们如果想要知道馆中是否有某份文件,档案馆提供了索引以备查询。据估计,梵蒂冈秘密档案馆拥有52英里(84公里)长的书架。
2.Area 51
2. 51区
I have put this so high on the list because it is the one place most readers are likely to expect to see. Area 51 is a nickname for a military base that is located in the southern portion of Nevada in the western United States, 83 miles (133 km) north-northwest of downtown Las Vegas. Situated at its center, on the southern shore of Groom Lake8), is a large secretive military airfield. The base's primary purpose is to support development and testing of experimental aircraft and weapon systems. The intense secrecy surrounding the base, the very existence of which the U.S. government barely acknowledges, has made it the frequent subject of conspiracy9) theories and a central component to unidentified flying object (UFO) folklore10). The sign on the right states that deadly force can be used if people enter the Area 51 zone.
我之所以把51区放在如此靠前的位置,是因为它可能是大多数读者最想看到的地方。51区是一处军事基地的别称,位于美国西部内华达州的南边,即拉斯维加斯市区西北偏北方向83英里(133公里)处。在它的中心,也就是马夫湖南岸,坐落着一个大型秘密军用飞机场。这一基地主要是为实验飞机和武器系统的研发及测试提供支持。整个基地笼罩在浓郁的神秘气氛中,美国政府几乎不承认它的存在,这使得它成了各种阴谋论的“常客”,也成了不明飞行物(UFO)传说的中心元素。右边图片上的标志警告说:擅闯51区者,格杀勿论。
3.Ise Grand Shrine
3.伊势神宫
The Ise Grand Shrine (which is actually a series of over 100 shrines) is the most sacred shrine in Japan. It is dedicated to Amaterasu11) (the Sun goddess) and has been in existence since 4 BC. The main shrine is alleged12) to hold the most important item in Japan's imperial13) history: the Naikū (the mirror from Japanese mythology which eventually ended up in the hands of the first emperors). The shrine is demolished14) and rebuilt every 20 years in keeping with the Shinto15) idea of death and rebirth (the next rebuilding will be in 2013). This ranks very high on the list of places you will never go because the only person who can enter is the priest or priestess and he or she must be a member of the Japanese imperial family. So unless we have a Japanese prince or princess reading this article, no one here will ever see anything more than the thatched16) roof of the Ise Grand Shrine.
伊势神宫(实际上是一百多座庙堂的统称)是日本最为神圣的庙宇。它专为供奉天照大御神(太阳神)而建,从公元前4世纪起就一直存在。据说,伊势神宫的主殿存放着日本帝国史上最重要的物品:八咫镜(日本神话传说中的神镜,最后落到了第一批天皇手中)。每隔20年,伊势神宫都要拆掉重建,用以迎合日本神道教关于死亡和重生的教义(下一次重建将在2013年)。此地在你永远不能进去的地方名单里排名之所以如此靠前,是因为唯一可以进去的人是祭司或女祭司,而他/她必须是日本皇族的成员。所以,除非我们中有一个日本皇子或公主正在读这篇文章,否则除了伊势神宫的茅草屋顶外,没有人可以看到该宫殿的其他任何地方。
4.Moscow Metro-2
4.莫斯科地铁2号线
Metro-2 in Moscow, Russia is a purported17) secret underground metro system which parallels the public Moscow Metro. The system was built supposedly18) during (or from) the time of Stalin and code-named19) D-6 by the KGB20). Russian journalists have reported that the existence of Metro-2 is neither confirmed nor denied by the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) or the Moscow Metro administration. The length of Metro-2 is rumored to exceed even that of the "civil" (i.e. public) Metro. It is said to have 4 lines and lie 50 to 200m deep. It is said to connect the Kremlin with the FSB headquarters, the government airport at Vnukovo-221), and an underground town at Ramenki22), in addition to other locations of national importance. Needless to say, the fact that no one confirms its existence makes it pretty difficult to visit.
传说俄罗斯莫斯科地铁2号线是一套秘密的地铁系统,与公用的莫斯科地铁线路平行。据推测,该系统建于斯大林时期(或从这一时期开始动工),当时的克格勃为它赋予了代号D-6。根据俄罗斯记者的报道,俄罗斯联邦安全局或莫斯科地铁局并未肯定但也未否定地铁2号线的存在。谣传地铁2号线的长度甚至比“民用”(即公用)地铁线还要长。据说它有四条线,位于地下50～200米深处。据传,它连接着克里姆林宫、联邦安全局总部、俄罗斯领导人专用的伏努科沃二号机场以及莫斯科拉缅基区的地下城,还和另外一些国家重地相通。不用说,连它的存在也没人能够肯定,想要造访就更是难上加难了。
5.Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center
5.气象山应急作业中心
This is a place that is not only closed to the public, but it is a place that the public hope to never have to enter! In most "end of the world" films we see these days, there is always a highly classified23) area where US government officials and a chosen few get to go in the hopes that they can escape the impending24) doom. The Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center is the real thing. It was set up in the 1950s due to the cold war but continues to operate today. It is a "last hope" area. For obvious reasons its operations are highly classified. It is run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The center is still functioning, and even in small local disasters in the US, much of the telecommunication traffic is routed25) through it.
这不仅是一个不对公众开放的地方,更是一个公众希望永不踏入的地方!在我们现如今看到的大多数有关“世界末日”的电影中,总是有供美国政府官员和少数精英人士躲藏的秘密基地,他们希望能够借此逃脱即将来临的灾难。气象山应急作业中心正是这样一个真实存在的地方。它建立于20世纪50年代,是冷战时期的产物,但直到今天仍在运作。它是“最后的希望”之地,其运作是高度保密的,原因显而易见。这个地方由联邦应急管理署(FEMA)负责管辖。现在,该中心一直在运行中,甚至在美国发生一些小规模的局部灾难时,很多电信传输也都会经由此地完成转发。
1. exclusive [Ik5sklu:sIv] adj. (团体、学校等)限制慎严的;排外的
2. junk [dVQNk] n. 胡说八道
3. Ron Howard: 朗·霍华德,著名好莱坞导演,曾执导《美丽心灵》《圣诞怪杰》《达芬奇密码》《天使与魔鬼》等多部影片。
4. Dan Brown: 丹·布朗,《数字城堡》《天使与魔鬼》及《圈套》的作者,堪称今日美国最著名畅销书作家,其小说《达·芬奇密码》自问世以来,一直高居《纽约时报》畅销书排行榜榜首。
5. Angels and Demons: 《天使与魔鬼》,丹·布朗的代表作之一,2009年改编成同名电影,由朗·霍华德执导,汤姆·汉克斯领衔主演。
6. suppress [sE5pres] vt. 禁止发表,禁止披露;查禁
7. index [5Indeks] n. 索引;文献索引
8. Groom Lake: 马夫湖,一条干涸的湖泊,其河床现为美国的航空基地。
9. conspiracy [kEn5spIrEsI] n. 阴谋(活动);密谋策划
10. folklore [5fEJklC:(r)] n. 民间传说
11. Amaterasu: 天照大御神,日本神话中高天原的统治者与太阳神,被奉为当今日本天皇的始祖,是神道教最高神祗。
12. allege [E5ledV] vt. 断言;宣称,声称
13. imperial [Im5pIErIEl] adj. 帝国的
14. demolish [dI5mClIF] vt. 拆毁;毁坏
15. Shinto [5FIntEu] n. (日本的)神道教
16. thatched [WAtFt] adj. 茅草盖的;茅草屋顶的
17. purported [p\:5pR:tId] adj. 传说的;谣传的
18. supposedly [sE5pEuzIdlI] adv. 根据推测;据称
19. code-name [kEJd5neIm] vt. 给……规定代号
20. KGB: 克格勃,苏联情报和国家安全委员会的简称
21. Vnukovo-2: 伏努科沃二号机场,俄国领导人专用机场
22. Ramenki: 拉缅基,指俄罗斯莫斯科市的拉缅基区(Ramenki District)
23. classified [5klAsIfaId] adj. 归入密级的,保密的
24. impending [Im5pendIN] adj. 即将发生的;逼近的
25. route [ru:t] vt. 按特定路线运送(或寄发);按特定方向转移