巴黎的生日

杨舟

On July 08， 1951， Paris， the capital city of France， celebrated its 2，000th birthday. In fact， a few more candles wouldve technically1 been required on the birthday cake， as the City of Lights was most likely founded around 250 B.C.

1951年的7月8日这一天，法国的首都巴黎庆祝了它的2000岁的生日。事实上，生日蛋糕上严格来说还需要多加几支蜡烛，因为光明之城（巴黎的别称）很有可能是在公元前250年左右建立的。

The history of Paris can be traced back to a Gallic tribe known as the Parisii， who sometime around 250 B.C. settled an island （known today as Ile de la Cite） in the Seine River， which runs through present-day Paris. By 52 B.C.， Julius Caesar and the Romans had taken over the area， which eventually became Christianized2 and known as Lutetia， Latin for “midwater dwelling3”. The settlement later spread to both the left and right banks of the Seine and the name Lutetia was replaced with “Paris.” In 987 A.D.， Paris became the capital of France. As the city grew， the Left Bank earned a reputation4 as the intellectual district while the Right Bank became known for business.

巴黎的歷史可以追溯到一个叫做巴黎西人的高卢部落，大约在公元前250年左右，他们在贯穿了今天的巴黎的塞纳河中的一个岛屿（今天被称为西岱岛）上定居下来。到公元前52年前，尤利乌斯·凯撒和罗马人占领了这一地区，该地区最终被基督教化，并被称为卢泰西亚，拉丁语中意为“水中的居所”。后来，定居点扩展到了塞纳河的两岸，卢泰西亚的名字被“巴黎”所替代。公元987年，巴黎成为了法国的首都。随着城市的发展，塞纳河左岸赢得了“知识区”的美誉，而右岸则以商业闻名。

During the French Renaissance5 period， from the late 15th century to the early 17th century， Paris became a center of art， architecture and science. In the mid-1800s， Napoleon III hired civic planner Georges-Eugene Hausmann to modernize Paris. Hausmanns designs gave the city wide， tree-lined boulevards6， large public parks， a new sewer7 system and other public works projects. The city continued to develop as an important hub8 for the arts and culture. In the 1860s， an artistic movement known as French Impression emerged， featuring the work of a group of Paris-based artists that included Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

在法国文艺复兴时期，从15世纪末到17世纪初，巴黎成为了艺术、建筑和科学的中心。19世纪中期，拿破仑三世聘请了市政规划师乔治·尤金·豪斯曼，使巴黎现代化。豪斯曼的设计赋予了这座城市宽阔而绿树成荫的林荫大道、大型公共公园、新的下水道系统和其他公共工程项目。这座城市继续发展成为了重要的艺术和文化中心。19世纪60年代，兴起了一个被称为“法国印象派”的艺术运动，以一群巴黎艺术家，包括克劳德·莫奈和皮埃尔·奥古斯特·雷诺的作品为代表。

Today， Paris is home to some 2 million residents， with an additional 10 million people living in the surrounding metropolitan9 area. The city retains its reputation as a center for food， fashion， commerce and culture. Paris also continues to be one of the worlds most popular tourist destinations， renowned for such sights as the Eiffel Tower （built in 1889 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution）， the Arc de Triomphe， the Champs-Elysees， Notre Dame Cathedral （built in 1163）， Luxembourg Gardens and the Louvre Museum， home to Leonardo da Vincis painting “Mona Lisa.”

如今，巴黎有大约200万居民，另外还有1000万人居住在周边的大都市地区。这座城市保留了其作为食品、时尚、商业和文化中心的美誉。它仍然是世界上最受欢迎的旅游胜地之一，以埃菲尔铁塔（建于1889年以纪念法国大革命100周年）、凯旋门、香榭丽舍、巴黎圣母院（建于1163年）、卢森堡花园和拥有莱昂纳多·达·芬奇的作品《蒙娜丽莎》的卢浮宫博物馆等著名景点而闻名。