【精英翻譯】的部落格

The Wonders of Machu Picchu

印加帝國的失落之城：馬丘比丘

精英翻譯社轉自https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0058/352067/web/

In 1911, American explorer Hiram Bingham III discovered an ancient Peruvian site that would later be named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Located high up in the Andes Mountains, the site is Machu Picchu.

一九一一年，美國探險家海勒姆．賓厄姆三世發現一處古秘魯遺址，後來被選為世界新七大奇景之一。這個遺址高聳在安地斯山脈上，它就是馬丘比丘。

Built in the mid-1400s as a royal retreat, Machu Picchu has some impressive features. Stone stairs, for instance, connect the various levels of its huge terraces. Equally remarkable are its buildings, such as the Temple of the Sun with its “Solstice Window” aligned perfectly with the rising sun of the summer solstice. In total, Machu Picchu has around 200 buildings, many of which were built using rocks weighing several tons. Since it would have been a difficult task to get the rocks up the mountain, it’s believed that some of the rocks were cut directly from the mountain itself. For others, hundreds of men would have been needed to push the heavy rocks up the steep mountainside.

作為皇家靜養場所的馬丘比丘建於十五世紀中葉，它有一些令人讚嘆的特色。舉例來說，石梯將廣大梯田各個不同的分層連接起來。同樣引人注目的還有它的建築，例如太陽神殿的「至日窗」與夏至時升起的太陽呈完美的一直線。馬丘比丘總共約有兩百棟建築物，其中許多都是用重達好幾噸的石塊建造而成。由於把岩石運上山是一件艱難的工作，有人就認為一些石頭是直接從山本身切鑿出來的。至於其他的則需要數百名男丁把沉甸甸的石頭推上陡峭的山坡。

In the 16th century, the Spanish appeared in South America, a development that signaled the beginning of the end for the Inca Empire. The collapse of the once-mighty empire from several factors (e.g., disease and war) led to Machu Picchu being abandoned for centuries.

十六世紀時，西班牙人出現在南美洲，這個發展象徵了印加帝國衰亡的開端。這個曾經盛極一時的帝國因為好幾個因素（例如疾病與戰爭）的瓦解導致了馬丘比丘被棄置了好幾個世紀。