《中英對照讀新聞》Germany to Link Key Points of Berlin Wall 德國將串聯柏林圍牆的關鍵哨點

◎胡立宗

Berlin's government has agreed on a plan linking together existing commemorations of the wall that divided the city during the Cold War-and those who were its victims.

柏林市政府已經同意一項計畫，把柏林圍牆現有紀念景點串聯在一起。柏林圍牆在冷戰期間，分隔了市區以及那些圍牆的受害者。

Seventeen years after the hated Berlin Wall was torn down, the project envisions making use of technology to help link the key points where it once stood, some of which are barely recognizable today. The project is scheduled for completion by Aug. 13, 2011, the 50th anniversary of the erection of the Berlin Wall.

令人痛恨的柏林圍牆拆除後17年，這項計畫希望利用科技協助連起過去圍牆矗立時的重要哨點，其中一些現今已經幾乎難以辨識。這項計畫預計在2011年8月13日完成，亦即柏林圍牆設立的50週年紀念日。

The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 by communist East Germany to stop a westward exodus of East Germans. Today, only a few sections remain standing in their original location as a reminder of the barrier, which snaked around the 166-kilometer perimeter of West Berlin-an island deep within East Germany occupied by the French, British and Americans-with about 43 kilometers running through the center of the city.

柏林圍牆在1961年由共產東德建造，用來阻止向西逃亡的東德人出走潮。現在，只有一些段落還矗立在原址，以紀念這道圍牆。柏林圍牆蜿蜒166公里包圍西柏林─當時由法、英及美國在東德境內佔領的一處孤島─其中有43公里穿過市區中心。

Some 230 people died at the wall, many killed by East German soldiers following shoot-to-kill orders. Overall, more than 1,000 East Germans were killed during the Cold War while trying to slip through the wall and other points of the heavily fortified border to West Germany or trying to flee through other communist countries such as Poland or Hungary.

大約230人死在圍牆附近，多數是被奉行格殺令的東德士兵所射殺。總計超過1,000名東德人在冷戰期間被殺，當時他們有的試圖溜過柏林圍牆及其他有重兵看守的邊界進入西德，有的則試圖穿過波蘭或匈牙利等共產國家逃脫。

新聞辭典

envision：動詞，想像、展望。His work envisions a good future.（他的作品展現出美好未來。）

exodus：名詞，移居、出亡，大寫的Exodus指耶穌帶領信眾逃出埃及，聖經當中的Exodus（出埃及記）就是記載這段歷史。