音频中的美音原版音频片段，来自“中国读本”系列丛书

这套书由人民教育出版社与美国国家地理学习联合出版

旨在弘扬与传播中华优秀文化的英语读本

讲到苏州园林，经常会提及里面的怪石，今天我们就去了解一下为什么在苏州园林里会放怪石

Strangely shaped rocks are an important physical and symbolic element in Chinese gardens. The pores, holes and strange forms of these limestone rocks were naturally molded through erosion by flowing water and acidic soil. These rocks are called Taihu because those produced at the foot of Dongting Mountain in Suzhou near the Taihu Lake are the most well-known. The Taihu rock became an important component of Chinese gardens since the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127). 

怪石是中国园林中重要的实物和象征元素。这些石灰岩的孔洞和奇形怪状的外形是由流水和酸性土壤的侵蚀自然形成的。这些怪石之所以被称为太湖石，是因为它们产自苏州靠近太湖的洞庭山脚下。自北宋以来，太湖石就成为中国园林的重要组成部分。

physical /[ˈfɪzɪk(ə)l/

adj. 物质的，有形的

symbolic/sɪmˈbɒlɪk/

adj. 用作象征的，被认为是象征的；有象征意义的

erosion /[ɪˈrəʊʒ(ə)n/

n. 侵蚀，腐蚀

例：

The erosion of confidence in world financial markets.

对世界金融市场信心的削弱。

The landscapes have been sculpted by surface erosion. 

这个地形是由地表侵蚀形成的。

Their primary use were as garden stones, often large signature pieces occupying key locations in classical gardens. Taihu became a major stone used in traditional gardens in the Tang dynasty and in other classical gardens built in later dynasties. 

它们的主要用途是作为园林石，通常大的太湖石占据古典园林中重要的位置。太湖石成为唐代传统园林和之后古典园林的主要用石。

primary/ˈpraɪməri/

adj. 主要的，首要的；初级的，原发性的

例：

That"s the primary reason the company"s share price has held up so well.

这就是那家公司的股票价格一直保持得这么好的首要原因。

The content of primary education should be the same for everyone.

初级教育的内容对每个人都应该是相同的。

Medium- to smaller-sized pieces of Taihu stone were used to build rockeries in gardens and for use in key locations along the edges and in small ponds or lakes within gardens. The supply of choice stones was limited and some scholars think that the supply was exhausted during the late Tang dynasty. 

中到小的太湖石被用来建造假山和摆放在花园中池塘或湖的周围。上乘的太湖石的数量是有限的，有学者认为在唐朝的末期已经用完。

scholar/ˈskɒlə(r)/

n. 学者；有学问的人

exhausted/ɪɡˈzɔːstɪd/

adj. 筋疲力尽的；耗尽的，枯竭的

v. 耗尽

The more eccentric the rock, the more it was prized. The Chinese fascination with the strange, the bizarre, and the extraordinary shape of such rocks came not only from the qualities denoting individuality and originality, but also from the resemblance of their forms to the sacred mountains in people’s imagination. One of the major elements of Chinese culture has always been the reverence of great mountains as the embodiment of mysterious power.

怪石越是外形奇怪，就越是珍贵。中国人对奇形怪状岩石的喜爱，不仅是因为它们具有个性和独创性，而且还因为它们的形状与人们想象中的神山相似。中国文化的主要元素之一就是对高山峻岭的敬畏，因为它象征着神秘的力量。

eccentric/[ɪkˈsentrɪk/

adj. 古怪的，异乎寻常的

extraordinary /ɪkˈstrɔːdnri/

adj. 异乎寻常的，令人惊奇的；非凡的，卓越的

resemblance/rɪˈzembləns/

n. 相似，相像；相似点，相似之处