学文网翻译：乐怡
The Place of Legends -Mont Saint Michel
Rising from a 1)hazy expanse of sand and waves, Mont Saint Michel appears like man’s 2)defiance of the elements and of time. A rock lost in a landscape is 3)smoothed by the wind. Mont Saint Michel is one of the most spectacular sights in the world. It is an island off the coast of Brittany and Normandy注 which holds a village and a large 4)monastery. Mont Saint Michel is home to the spectacular 5)Benedictine 6)Abbey and 7)steepled church.
In 708, a dream led Bishop Saint Aubert to create a8)shrine to Saint Michael at this site. Mont Saint Michel then became one of the major 9)pilgrimage destinations in medieval Christendom. In the 11th and 12th centuries, the monks built a 10)Romanesque monastery with a church on the top of the hill. A part of this abbey burned down in 1204. It was replaced by another building constructed north of the church in a few yearstime that included halls for the pilgrims and rooms strictly reserved for the monks. The abbey played an important role in the Hundred YearsWar between France and England, when it was an almost 11)impenetrable 12)stronghold. The heroic 13)resistance of Mont Saint Michel to the English made the abbey a national symbol.
No one can remain 14)unmoved by the praise of this place. 15)Suspended high on the rock, the abbey calls the visitors to discover the wild ambition of its builders and of those who had wanted to make this isolated spot a meeting place for all people since 708.
Mont Saint Michel is connected to the mainland via a thin, natural land bridge, which before modernization was covered at high tide and 16)revealed at low tide. Thus, the sight has gained a 17)mystical quality, being an island half the time and being attached to land the other. However, in 1879, the land bridge was fortified into a true 18)causeway. This prevented the tide from 19)scouring the silt around Mont Saint Michel. Now there are plans to remove the causeway and replace it with a bridge and 20)shuttle. In 2006, the French government announced a 150 million project to build a 21)hydraulic dam that will help remove the 22)accumulated 23)silt and make Mont Saint Michel an island again. It is expected to be completed by 2012.
Today there’s a road reaching Mont Saint Michel that is only flooded when the tide is very high. Most of the time now a sea of touring cars and campers is surrounding the medieval 24)fortress. The small streets are packed with tourists, but there are still special arrangements for real pilgrims. Mont Saint Michel attracts many visitors every day. It’s better to go early in the morning to avoid the crowds.
Mont Saint Michel is a must-see! From the top, everything looks surprising: the 25)prodigies of medieval architecture, the strength of nature, the light and much more. As a UNESCO world 26)heritage site, the abbey of Mont Saint Michel is a monument for everyone.
圣米歇尔山傲然耸立在广阔朦胧的沙与浪之中，俨然人类傲视自然与时间，它是消失在风景线中的一块被风抚平着的巨石。圣米歇尔山是世界上最壮观的景点之一。它是布列塔尼与诺曼底沿海的一个岛屿，岛上有一个村落和一个大修道院。引人瞩目的本笃会修道院和尖塔教堂就坐落于此。
公元708年，圣奥贝特主教受一个梦启示，在岛上为圣米歇尔建造了一座神殿。后来，圣米歇尔山成了中世纪基督教徒主要的朝圣地之一。在11至12世纪，僧侣在山顶修建了一个罗马式的修道院和一座教堂。这座修道院的一部分于1204年被烧毁。而另一个建于教堂北面的建筑取代了原修道院，该建筑花了几年时间建成，包括了供朝圣者用的大厅及只允许僧侣使用的房间。在英法百年战争中，这座修道院发挥着举足轻重的作用―当时它几乎是一座难以攻陷的要塞。圣米歇尔山抵抗英***的英雄事迹使修道院成为法国的国家标记。
圣米歇尔山的美丽让所有人心动。修道院高耸于巨石上，吸引着游客去发掘其建造者不寻常的雄心壮志，也让游人体会到自从公元708年以来，把这个孤岛变为大众聚会的场所，就成了某些人疯狂追逐的梦想。
圣米歇尔山与大陆的唯一连接是一条窄小天然的大陆桥，这条大陆桥在现代化实现之前曾被滚滚浪潮所淹没，只有潮退时才展露出来。因而，这个景点非常神秘―时而成岛孤立于海中，时而与大陆连接。然而，这条大陆桥于1879年被巩固为一个真正的堤道。这一举措使海潮不能把淤泥冲到圣米歇尔山周围。现在法国计划把堤道拆除，以一座桥和穿梭客车取而代之。2006年，法国***府宣布投入1亿5千万欧元来建造一个水力大坝，这将有利于移走堆积的淤泥，并使圣米歇尔山再次成为一个小岛。这项工程预计到2012年完成。
如今，有一条通往圣米歇尔山的路，只有当海潮非常高的时候才会把它淹没。如今，经常可以看到许多旅游车和露营者包围着这个中世纪的堡垒。窄小的街道上到处是游客，但还会有一些特别的安排是为真正的朝圣者而设的。圣米歇尔山每天都吸引了许多游客，你最好上午早点去游览，那就可以避开人群了。
圣米歇尔山是个必游之地！从山顶眺望，一切都是那么惊人：中世纪建筑奇观、自然的力量、光线，还有许多许多。作为联合国科教文组织的世界遗产，圣米歇尔山的修道院是属于每个人的历史遗迹。
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