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Averaging 23 feet high and 21 feet wide, the walls 5500 miles were punctuated by watchtowers.
長城平均高7米，寬6米，5500英里的城墻中間隔著瞭望臺。
When raiders were sighted, fire and smoke signals traveled between towers until reinforcements arrived.
一旦看到有侵入者，瞭望臺之間便會用升起的狼煙與風(fēng)火傳遞信號，直到援兵抵達。
Small openings along the wall let archers fire on invaders, while larger ones were used to drop stones and more.
城墻上的小孔讓弓箭手能夠射擊侵入者，而大孔則用于投擲石頭或者其它東西。
But even this new and improved wall was not enough.
但即便是這種全新改進的城墻仍然不夠好。
In 1644, northern Manchu clans overthrew the Ming to establish the Qing dynasty, incorporating Mongolia as well,
1644年，北方滿族推翻明朝建立清朝，同時合并了蒙古。
Thus, for the second time, China was ruled by the very people the wall had tried to keep out.
因此，這是中國第二次被城墻抵御的外族統(tǒng)治。
With the empire's borders now extending beyond the Great Wall, the fortifications lost their purpose.
隨著帝國邊界擴展到長城以外，這些工事失去了原本的目的。
And without regular reinforcement, the wall fell into disrepair, rammed earth eroded, while brick and stone were plundered for building materials. But its job wasn't finished.
沒有了定期加固，城墻失修破損，夯土被侵蝕，磚和石頭則被盜竊用作建筑材料，但是長城的使命仍未結(jié)束。
During World War II, China used sections for defense against Japanese invasion, and some parts are still rumored to be used for military training.
第二次世界大戰(zhàn)期間，中國用部分城墻來抵御日本侵略，一部分城墻仍然被盛傳用于軍事訓(xùn)練。
But the Wall's main purpose today is cultural.
然而今日，文化才是長城的主要目的。
As one of the largest man-made structures on Earth, it was granted UNESCO World Heritage Status in 1987.
作為地球上大型人工建筑之一，長城于1987年被聯(lián)合國教科文組織列為世界文化遺產(chǎn)。
Originally built to keep people out of China, the Great Wall now welcomes millions of visitors each year.
長城起初建造用于防御外人進入中國，如今每年都會迎接數(shù)百萬游客。
In fact, the influx of tourists has caused the wall to deteriorate, leading the Chinese government to launch preservation initiatives.
實際上，大量涌入的游客已導(dǎo)致長城日益損壞，致使中國政府啟動保護措施。
It's also often acclaimed as the only man-made structure visible from space.
它也經(jīng)常被宣稱為唯一一處可自太空看見的人造建筑。
Unfortunately, that's not at all true.
不幸的是，這種說法不完全正確。
In low Earth orbit, all sorts of structures, like bridges, highways and airports are visible, and the Great Wall is only barely discernible.
在地球低軌道上，各種建筑物如橋梁、高速公路以及機場均可看見，而長城卻若隱若現(xiàn)。
From the moon, it doesn't stand a chance.
從月球上，它則一點也看不到。
But regardless, it's the Earth we should be studying it from because new sections are still discovered every few years, branching off from the main body and expanding this remarkable monument to human achievement.
但無論如何，地球才是我們應(yīng)該好好研究長城的地方，因為每隔幾年都會有新的部分被發(fā)現(xiàn)，它們從主體部分擴展開去，不斷延伸著這見證人類成就的偉大奇跡。
