a train at one end; stay in your car and drive off Le Shuttle at the other 35 minutes later. ④Later this year [i. e. , 1994] Eurostar passenger trains will provide through service: London to Paris in three hours; London to Brussels in three hours, ten minutes.
①全长三十一英里的英吉利海峡隧道实际上有三条平行隧道：
两条用于通行火车，一条用作隧道的日常维护，及车辆和人员的疏散。
②隧道起自英国的Folkestone，一路蜿蜒曲折直到法国一侧的
Coquelles，平均位于海底之下一百五十英尺。③那些自驾车的人可以在隧道的一侧把车开到火车上，然后待在车内，三十五分钟以后当火车抵达隧道的另一端时再把车开下来，这样的火车被称作是区间班车（法语称作Le Shuttle）。④今年（即一九九四年）晚些时候，欧洲之星客运火车即将开通直达车：从伦敦到巴黎需要三个小时，从伦敦到布鲁塞尔需要三个小时又十分钟。
①The Chunnel rewrites geography, at least in the English psyche. ②The moat has been breached. ③Britain no longer is an island.
①英吉利海峡隧道改写了地理，至少在英国人看来是这样的。②
英国的护城河已经不复存在了，它不再是一个岛国了。
①It?s June 28, 1991, and I?m packed into a construction workers?
train along with several dozen other journalists. ②We?re headed out from the English side to the breakthrough ceremony for the south running tunnel — the last to be completed.
①一九九一年六月二十八日，我和其他几十位记者挤上一列运载
建筑工人的火车，从英国一侧出发，前去参加最后完工的南线隧道的贯通仪式。
①The Chunnel is a work in progress. ②The concrete walls await final
installation of the power, water, and communication lines that will turn it into a transport system. ③White dust fills the air. ④The train screeches painfully. ⑤ “Makes you appreciate British Rail,” someone jokes.
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①海峡隧道的施工仍在进行。②钢筋混凝土等待着最后安装水电
设施和通讯线路，然后就能形成完备的运输系统。③白色的灰尘弥漫着整个空气，火车发出刺耳的尖叫声，艰难地行驶着。④“这是要你感谢英国铁路公司，”有人开玩笑说。
①Finally we reach the breakthrough site. ②The two machines that
dug this tunnel started from opposite sides of the Channel and worked toward the middle. ③Now we?re staring at the 30-foot-diameter face of the French tunnel boring machine (TBM), “Catherine.”
①最后我们抵达了即将贯通的施工点。②两台隧道掘进机正从海
峡的两侧分别朝着中间掘进。③现在我们看到的是法国隧道掘进机（隧道掘进机的英文缩写为TBM）“凯瑟琳号”直径为三十英尺的掘进工作面。
①In one of those vive la difference quirks that color the project, the
French gave women?s names to their machines. ②On the British side, it?s by the numbers — like TBM No. 6. ③Another difference: French workers wear chic, well-cut, taupe jumpsuits with red and blue racing stripes down the sleeves. ④The British uniform is pure grunge: baggy, bright orange.
①作为共同施工方的英国方面和法国方面之间有不少差异，这为
工程本身添加了别样的色彩。②其中之一是，法国人为自己的机器取的是女性的名字，而英国方面用数字为机器编码，例如，“第六号隧道掘进机”。③另一个不同，法国工人穿着的是时尚考究的灰褐色连衫裤，袖子上还镶嵌着红蓝相间的赛车条纹，而英国工人穿的鲜橙色制服，宽松肥大，很不好看。
①Looking up, I imagine 180 feet of Channel above my head —
ferries, tankers, a Dover sole or two. ...
①向上望去，我想象着头顶上方一百八十英尺的英吉利海峡——
不断来往的渡轮、油轮，还有多佛尔比目鱼，一条、两条…
①The grating of the TBM interrupts my reverie. ②Its cutterhead — a
huge wheel with tungsten-tipped teeth — — chews into the last trace of rock separating England from France.
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①隧道掘进机磨碎岩石时所发出的巨响打断了我的思绪。②掘进
机的刀盘——这是一种巨大的带齿轮子，齿的头部由金属钨制成——不停地“咀嚼”着把英法两国隔开的最后一点岩石。
①Music blares, and lights glare. ②Several Frenchmen scramble
through. ③Thunderous applause erupts as dozens more follow.
④Strangely moving, this connecting of countries. ⑤Champagne corks
pop, and French workers hug British counterparts.
①突然音乐响了起来，灯光也更亮了，隧道正式贯通了。②有几
位法国工人爬了过来，接着又过来更多人，这时爆发出雷鸣般的掌声。
③这是两个国家的连接，场面壮观，激情澎湃。④到处都可以听见开
香槟发出的砰砰声，法国工人与他们的英国同行紧紧地拥抱在一起。
①“I might have opposed it 30 years ago, but now it?s my
tunnel, ”an Englishman says.
①“三十年前，我也许反对建造这条隧道，但是现在它也是我的
了，”一个英国工人说。
①French tunnelers are still climbing through. “So many,” I say,
turning to a French official.
①法国工人源源不断地爬过来。“这么多人，”我对在场的一位法
国官员说。
①“And there are 56 million more behind them,” he replies. ①“他们后边还有五千六百万人，”他回答说。
①Apres le tunnel, le deluge? ②Eurotunnel hopes so. ③It predicts
eight million passengers a year by 1996. ④The flow will be lopsided.
⑤Only 30 percent of the traffic will be headed to Britain. ⑥ “The French
don?t take holidays in England,” explains Jeanne Labrousse, a Eurotunnel executive.
①隧道完全建成之后，人们会像洪水一样涌过来吗？②英法两国
共同拥有和管理的欧洲隧道公司希望是这样。③该公司预计一九九六年之前每年会有八百万的游客，但是流量却很不平衡，因为其中只有百分之三十的人会前往英国。④“法国人通常不会在英国度假的，”欧洲隧道公司的管理人员Jeane Labrousse 解释说。
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①Hmmmm. ②Why do the French visit Britain? For the food? The
weather? Fashion? ③Mme. Labrousse seemed thoughtful.
①法国人为什么去英国呢？②为了美食，天气，还是时装？③Labrousse若有所思。
① “Of course,” she brightened, “we will work on selling the idea.” ①“当然，”她微笑着说，“我们会加大宣传推广，争取让更多的人
使用英吉利海峡隧道。
From National Geographic, May 1994 摘自1994年05月的《国家地理》杂志 结 束
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Unit 6 [见教材P65] Atomic Cars
原子能汽车
①Every motorist dreams of a car of the future that does not have to
be refuelled every few hundred miles, a car that will cost little to run because there is no outlay on petrol.
①每个开车的人都梦想有一台新型汽车，这种车不用每几百英里就
加一次油，而且因为无需汽油开支，所以养车的成本将会很低。
①“?Of course,” you hear it said by an optimistic motorist, “the
answer is the atom. ?Harness atomic power in a car, and you?ll have no more worries about petrol. ?The thing will run for years without a refill.”
①“当然可以，”有乐观的驾车者这样说，“解决的办法就是原子能。
只要让汽车使用原子能，那么我们就不用再担心汽油问题，而且原子能可以使用很多年，中间无须补充。”
①And, theoretically, he is right. ②The answer is the atom. ③If atomic
power could be used in a car, one small piece of uranium would keep the engine running for twenty or more years. ④Of course, this would cut the cost of running a car by quite a few hundred pounds, depending upon how much you spend on petrol.
①在理论上，他是对的。②解决的办法就是原子能。③如果让汽
车使用原子能，那么只要一点点的铀，就可以让引擎运转二十年，或者更久。④当然，可以把每台车的养护成本降低几百英镑，具体数字取决于你在汽油上的开支。
①But is this science-fiction-like picture of the atom exploding peacefully beneath the bonnet of a car possible? ②In theory it is, since already the atom has been harnessed to drive submarines, and an atomic engine is already in existence. ③But, say the experts, there are many problems still to be conquered before such an engine can in fact be fixed into a car.
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