本集内容

How is Venice still standing on water after 1,600 years?

威尼斯为何能在水面上屹立 1600 年？

文字稿

How is Venice standing on water after 1,600 years – far longer than most modern buildings on dry land? It's down to some ingenious ancient engineering.

威尼斯为何能在水面上屹立 1600 年，远超大多数建在干燥土地上的现代建筑存在的时间？这得益于一些精巧绝伦的古代工程技术。

Venice's buildings are supported by logs one to three and a half metres long.

威尼斯的建筑由一到三米半的木桩支撑。

There are usually nine logs per square metre, hammered into the soil in a spiral pattern. Horizontal beams go on top, then stone, forming the base of houses, palaces and churches.

通常每平方米有九根木桩，这些木桩以螺旋形模式被锤打进土壤中。在这之上是水平的横梁，然后是石材，这些东西组成了房屋、宫殿和教堂的地基。

It's thought there are millions of stakes holding the city up. The landmark Rialto Bridge alone rests on 14,000 wooden posts, according to a recent study.

人们认为，支撑着这座城市的木桩数量高达数百万根。仅地标性建筑里亚尔托桥就建在 1.4 万根木桩之上，这一信息来自最近的一项研究。

These tightly packed logs compact the soil, which creates counter-pressure, gripping the stakes.

这些紧密排列在一起的木桩压实了土壤，从而产生了反压力，牢牢地固定住了木桩。

The weight of the buildings pushes down, anchoring the wood even deeper.

建筑物的重量向下压，进而让木头固定得更深。

But is Venice at risk of sinking?

不过，威尼斯有下沉的风险吗？

Some parts already are. This is the Frari Bell Tower, estimated to have sunk 60cm since 1440. But overall, studies say the foundations are in excellent condition.

城市的一部分已经出现了下沉。这是弗拉里钟楼，人们估计它自 1440 年至今已经下沉了 60 厘米。但从整体上讲，一些研究认为钟楼的地基情况良好。

Research from the universities of Padua and Venice found that the wood does break down under water, but a lot more slowly than it would on dry land.

来自帕多瓦和威尼斯大学的研究发现木头确实会在水下逐渐分解，但和在干燥的土壤环境中相比速度十分缓慢。

That's because there is no oxygen, so organisms like fungi and insects can't survive. Even when underwater bacteria do manage to 'eat' the wood, the tiny holes they create are filled with water so the wood holds its shape, keeping the city up for centuries.

这是因为水下环境中没有氧气，所以像真菌和昆虫这类生物无法生存。即使水中的细菌设法“吃”了这些木头，这些细菌制造出的小孔也会被水填满，这让木头得以保持自身的形状，从而让这座城市屹立了数个世纪。

重点词汇及表达

ingenious 精巧绝伦的，独具匠心的

spiral 螺旋形的

beam 横梁

anchor 固定，锚定

break down 分解