伦敦塔桥：不列颠多元文化的象征

London's River Thames has twenty-seven bridges.Westminster Bridge，Waterloo Bridge，Vauxhall Bridge，London Bridge—they are all names from London's history.But Tower Bridge，the first bridge over the Thames as you travel to London by sea，is the most famous of them all.

伦敦泰晤士河上共有27座桥。它们都是以伦敦历史命名的桥，如威斯敏斯特桥、滑铁卢桥、沃克斯豪尔桥、伦敦桥等。但是塔桥，泰晤士河入海口处的第一座桥，是其中最为著名的一座桥。

The thing that is surprising about Tower Bridge is that it opens in the middle.It does this to let the big ships through to the pool of London.If you are lucky enough to see the bridge with its two opening arms high in the air，you will never forget it.There are wonderful things to see all round Tower Bridge too.On its south side there are many tall，old buildings—warehouses which hold things that have come to London by ship and are waiting to be sold.On its north side stands the Tower of London itself.

塔桥令人称奇之处在于它可从中间打开，呈“八字形”向两边升起，让大型船只驶进伦敦城区。若有幸目睹大桥的“双臂”立于空中之景，定会让你终身难忘。当然，塔桥周围的景色也美不胜收。大桥南侧有许多高大而古老的建筑群，这些是货品仓库，用来储藏航运到伦敦待销的货物。大桥北侧即为伦敦塔。

Although Tower Bridge and Tower look the same old，the Tower is almost a thousand years old and Tower Bridge is only about one hundred.It was built in the 1880s.By 1850，everyone agreed that a bridge across the Thames near the Tower was necessary.But the designers argued about the new bridge for another thirty years.They took so long because they had two big problems.The new bridge must look like the Tower everyone said so.It must not look like a modem bridge.But in fear of the ships it was necessary to have a modern bridge.At last two very clever designers had the way of an opening bridge.And they made it look like the old Tower，so everyone was happy.

尽管看起来塔桥与塔一样古老，但伦敦塔已有近千年的历史，而塔桥却仅有百年之余。该塔桥建于19世纪80年代。早在1850年，人们赞成有必要在伦敦塔附近的泰晤士河上修建一座桥。但设计师们就这座新桥的设计又争论了30年。因为他们面临着两大难题。首先，大家都认为此桥应与古塔交相辉映，不能有现代桥梁之感，但为了航运又必须将其筑为现代桥。最终，两位十分聪明的设计师想出了既可开合又能与古塔融为一体的设计方案，从而皆大欢喜。

Tower Bridge，built between 1886 and 1894，has two Gothic style towers and a central drawbridge; this design was governed by the navigational requirements of ships and barge trains that passed below and by the Gothic style that Parliament demanded in order to harmonize with the nearby Tower of London.

这座建于1886—l894年的大桥，由两座哥特式塔楼和一个中央吊桥组建而成。塔桥的设计既符合了从桥下通过的驳船队的航行要求，又是哥特式风格，满足了议会要求达到与毗邻的伦敦塔交相辉映的效果。

However in 1909，only 13 years after it opened，the upper walkway was closed when it was found that few pedestrians ever used it.In 1982 the walkway was reopened for the use of tourists.

然而在1909年，也就是在大桥仅开放了13年后，由于几乎没人在人行“天桥”上通行，政府部门便将其关闭了。直到1982年，为了让游客观光游览，这一人行通道才得以重新开放。

Tower Bridg：near the Tower of London，one of the city's principal landmarks.No tour of London is complete without a trip to the world's most famous attraction—it's a must for every visitor photo album.But Tower Bridge is more than just a photo opportunity，and you'll never forget the spectacular view s from the walkways.The spectacular outside is only part of the story—there's far more to see and do on the inside.(www.xing528.com)

伦敦塔附近的塔桥，是这个城市的地标性建筑之一。来伦敦旅游如果没有亲眼目睹这一世界最著名的景点那就不是一次完美的旅行——对每位来访者而言，塔桥是摄影留念的最佳场所。但塔桥不仅仅是个摄影的好地方，在人行道上看到的壮丽美景也必将久久萦绕于你的脑海。塔桥外在的壮美只是其中一部分，其内部景观更为引人入胜。

The stone turrets and high battlements of William the Conqueror's White Tower served for centuries as a model prison-cum-stronghold.Their grandeur testifies to the insecurity of despotic monarchs：in those days when the notion of democracy was something that even philosophers hesitated to tell their best friends about，the Tower was the regular destination of anyone questioning the might of the throne at the time.

征服者威廉所建的白塔中的石塔和高大城垛，在此后数百年，都一直是监狱和要塞的典范。如此壮观之景也表明了当时君主专制的不稳定性：当时，民主这一话题就算是哲学家对最好的朋友都不敢妄谈，任何对君主王权心有疑虑的人通常会被关进此塔。

The White Tower is the citadel of a complex that grew up around it as later monarchs sought to make it still more secure.In time it was enclosed by an inner curtain wall with twelve bastion towers，a moat and an outer wall.A lthough the Tower was primarily conceived as a military installation to guard the eastern approaches to London，its career as a place ofincarceration for State prisoners was certainly under way by 1305，when Sir William Wallace，the Scottish insurgent，was executed there by the gruesome method of hanging，drawing and quartering.　

白塔是周围综合建筑群的中心，此后历代君王都试图将该地变得更加安全。最终，它被建有12座塔楼的内城墙、护城河和外城墙团团包围起来。虽然该塔最初是一处军事设施用来守卫伦敦的东部入口，但在1305年，苏格兰起义军首领威廉·华莱士被施以绞刑以及肢解等残酷的刑罚之后，这里便逐渐成为了监禁重犯之地。

The last person to be beheaded in England，Lord Lovat，suffered his fate at the Tower in 1747.　Between those two dates，a long line of monarchs，their wives，ambitious courtiers，prisoners of war and traitors spent miserable years there awaiting release of one kind or another.Since then，too，numerous State prisoners have been kept in the Tower，the latest being Rudolf Hess，the Nazi who escaped to England in World War Ⅱ.

洛瓦特勋爵是最后一个在英格兰遭斩首的人，1747年在塔中殒命。1305—1747年，许多君王和他们的妻子、满怀抱负的王公大臣、战俘和卖国贼在塔中度过了无数个悲惨的日夜，苦等被释放的那天或早日死去，以摆脱痛苦。从那时起，许多政治犯也被关押在塔里，最后一个是“二战”中逃往英国的纳粹分子鲁道夫·赫斯。

The Tower has also served as a royal residence，a mint and a menagerie; the ravens are the sole survivors of the latter，which was incorporated with the Regent's Park Zoo in 1834.Two other important collections are still to be seen there：the Crown Jewels，including the Imperial State Crown and the Jeweled Sword of State，and the Armories，founded by Henry VIII and displaying many fine examples of equestrian armor，early mortars and cannon.

伦敦塔也曾被用作皇室府邸、造币厂和动物园。后来，动物园内仅剩下乌鸦，该动物园于1834年与皇家动物园合并。塔内还有另外两样重要的收藏：一是帝王皇冠和宝石利剑上的皇冠珠宝；二是亨利八世时期的军械库，陈列了许多骑士盔甲、早期迫击炮和加农炮等样品。