Cairo 开罗

 Cairo, the cradle of civilization，the Melting Pot of Ancient and Modern Egyptian Civilizations. It is the largest city in the Middle East and lies at the center of all routes leading to and from the three continents: Asia, Africa and Europe.It is the city where past and present meet. On its west side lies the Ancient Egyptian city of Memphis[1], and the site of the Pyramids, the only wonder surviving of the Seven Wonders of the World. Indeed, a journey through Cairo is a journey through time……

　　In spite of a thousand years of history, Cairo is young by Egyptian standards, because modern Cairo emerged only with the Arab conquest of Egypt.

　　The most famous of Cairo's sights is the string of 60 pyramids that stretches along the western border of the desert. Contrary to[2] the common belief, only the Great Pyramid of Khufu, not all three Great Pyramids, is on the list of Wonders. The monument was built by the Egyptian pharaoh Khufu of the Fourth Dynasty around the year BC 2560 to serve as a tomb when he dies.When it was built, the Great pyramid was 145.75 m high. Over the years, it lost 10 m off its top. It ranked as the tallest structure on Earth for more than 43 centuries. Throughout their history, the pyramids have stimulated human imagination.When Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798, his pride was expressed through his famous quote: "Soldiers! From the top of these Pyramids, 40 centuries are looking at us."

　　Cairo has been the most important arts center in the Islamic world for a thousand years. Cairo's long history and rich heritage are revealed in its many museums. The famous sights in this area are the Entomological Society Museum, with an excellent collection of Egyptian insects and birds.Also in the area is the museum housing[3] the mysterious Sun Boat, only discovered[4] in 1954 near the south side of the pyramid. The boat is believed to have been used to carry the body of Khufu in his last journey on earth before being buried inside the pyramid.

　　This is Cairo-- radiant with a long and glorious past; adorned with the achievements of a distinguished present.

　　This is Cairo --a cradle of civilization, a wellspring of culture, and a meeting-place of the Asian, African, and European World.

　　This is Cairo - An international center for social economics, and political activity, which is making the noblest efforts aimed at peace among all nations and the benefits of all mankind.

　　注释：

　　1. Egyptian city of Memphis：埃及城市孟斐斯。(the) city of…… 是一个同谓语，用来告诉你Memphis是个城市，而不是小村庄什么的，可别小瞧了它呀！

　　2. contrary to：和……相反。关于contrary，经常用到的一个短语就是on the contrary，是个插入语，"相反，……"的意思。

　　3. housing：收藏。可不要先入为主地认为house就是"房子"的意思，在这里可不是。这里的house是动词，当然和房子也有关系啦。"提供地方"，还有个意思就是"收藏"。对于古董家和博物馆来说，"提供地方"当然就是要"收藏"了。

　　4. discovered：发现。Discovered以及其后的成分，在这个长句中做定语，修饰前面的Sun Boat。因为Sun Boat是被发现的，所以用discovered。

　　开罗，文明的摇篮，埃及古老文明和现代文明的大熔炉。作为中东地区最大的城市，它是亚洲、非洲和欧洲的交通枢纽。过去和现在在这里交汇碰撞。在它的西部，坐落着埃及古城孟斐斯和世界七大奇迹中唯一现存至今的--金字塔。实际上，穿越开罗的旅行是一次能穿越时空的经历。

　　尽管历史悠长，在埃及人眼中，开罗仍然是年轻的，因为仅仅是在阿拉伯人征服埃及之后，现代开罗才逐渐形成。

　　开罗最著名的景观是沿沙漠西部的边缘而排列的60座金字塔。和人们的普遍想法相反，并不是三座大金字塔，而是只有胡夫的大金字塔才被列入到世界奇迹中。这座金字塔是埃及第四王朝的法老胡夫大约在公元前2560年建造的，作为他死后的墓地。大金字塔在建成时的高度是145.75米。但随着岁月的流逝，它的高度已经降低了10米。世界最高建筑物的桂冠在它头上戴了有四千三百年之久。金字塔在历史上曾经激发了人们无尽的想象力。当拿破仑在1798年进军埃及时，他的骄傲之情不禁溢于言表："将士们，四千年的岁月在金字塔的顶端注视着我们啊！"

　　千年以来开罗一直是穆斯林国家最重要的艺术中心。开罗诸多的博物馆展示着它悠久的历史和丰富的文化遗产。这里的著名景观是昆虫世界博物馆，里面收藏了埃及丰富多采的昆虫和鸟类标本。这里的另外一座博物馆里收藏着神秘的太阳船，它于1954年在金字塔的南面被发现。人们认为它是在胡夫的尸体入葬前，被用来最后一次运送胡夫的。

　　这就是开罗，悠久而光荣的历史放射着迷人的光辉，现代卓越的成就更增添了这个城市的魅力。

　　这就是开罗，文明的摇篮，文化的源泉，亚洲，非洲以及欧洲的交融之地。

　　这就是开罗，一个社会经济，政治活动的国际化大都市，正在为世界各国的和平和全人类的利益而积极不懈地努力着。