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1.The Middle Eastern Bazaar
第一課 中東的集市
The Middle Eastern bazaar takes you back hundreds-even thousands-of years. The one I am thinking of particularly is entered by a Gothic - arched gateway of aged brick and stone. You pass from the heat and glare of a big, open square into a cool, dark cavernwhich extends as far as the eye can see, losing itself in the shadowy distance. Little donkeys with harmoniously tinkling bells thread their way among the throngsof people entering and leaving the bazaar. The roadway is about twelve feet wide, but it is narrowed every few yards by little stalls where goods of every conceivable kind are sold. The din of the stall-holder; crying their wares, of donkey-boys and porters clearing a way for themselves by shouting vigorously, and of would-be purchasers arguing and bargaining is continuous and makes you dizzy.
中東的集市仿佛把你帶回到了幾百年、甚至幾千年前的時代。此時此刻顯現在我腦海中的這個中東集市，其入口處是一座古老的磚石結構的哥特式拱門。你首先要穿過一個赤日耀眼、灼熱逼人的大型露天廣場，然后走進一個涼爽、幽暗的洞穴。這市場一直向前延伸，一眼望不到盡頭，消失在遠處的陰影里。趕集的人們絡繹不絕地進出市場，一些掛著鈴鐺的小毛驢穿行于這熙熙攘攘的人群中，邊走邊發出和諧悅耳的叮當叮當的響聲。市場的路面約有十二英尺寬，但每隔幾碼遠就會因為設在路邊的小貨攤的擠占而變窄;那兒出售的貨物各種各樣，應有盡有。你一走進市場，就可以聽到攤販們的叫賣聲，趕毛驢的小伙計和腳夫們大著嗓門叫人讓道的吆喝聲，還有那些想買東西的人們與攤主討價還價的爭吵聲。各種各樣的噪聲此伏彼起，不絕于耳，簡直叫人頭暈。
Then as you penetrate deeper into the bazaar, the noise of the entrance fades away, and you come to the muted cloth-market. The earthen floor, beaten hard by countless feet, deadens the sound of footsteps, and the vaulted mud-brick walls and roof have hardly any sounds to echo. The shop-keepers speak in slow, measured tones, and the buyers, overwhelmed by the sepulchral atmosphere, follow suit.
隨后，當往市場深處走去時，人口處的喧鬧聲漸漸消失，眼前便是清靜的布市了。這里的泥土地面，被無數雙腳板踩踏得硬邦邦的，人走在上面幾乎聽不到腳步聲了，而拱形的泥磚屋頂和墻壁也難得產生什么回音效果。布店的店主們一個個都是輕聲輕氣、慢條斯理的樣子;買布的顧客們在這種沉悶壓抑的氣氛感染下，自然而然地也學著店主們的榜樣，變得低聲細語起來。
