本篇文章共分 4 段，從洪水問題、季風帶來的農業影響、到遊牧民族邊境為患，說明中國之所以需要統一全境的發展脈絡。

本篇考題英文原文與對應之中文翻譯整理如下。練習作答解題時若有對語意不清楚之處，請仔細查閱對照，以提升閱讀理解能力。

The Development of Chinese Dynasties 中國各朝代的發展

1. 中國王朝與眾不同

   The centralized dynasties that ruled ancient China were a product of the terrain and climate of the Asian continent. China is isolated from the rest of the Eastern hemisphere by formidable natural barriers of mountains on the west and southwest as well as the Gobi Desert on the north. To the east lies the Pacific Ocean. Although China’s separation was not total–trade goods, people and ideas moved back and forth between China, India, and Central Asia–in many respects its development was distinctive.

   統治古代中國的中央集權王朝是亞洲大陸地形與氣候的產物。中國西部和西南部的山脈以及北部的戈壁沙漠構成了強大的自然屏障，將中國與東半球的其他地區隔離開來。東邊是太平洋。儘管中國的分離並不徹底—貿易貨物、人員和思想在中國、印度和中亞之間來回流動—但其發展在許多方面是與眾不同的。

2. 為處理洪水而須統一

   In its formative years, Chinese civilization had been influenced by the contributing factors of the Yellow River region – the land of the loess. It is generally understood that the river running through a vast area, where the fine and porous soil accounts for the large silt content in its current, has a constant tendency to clog its own course and cause dikes to break and enormous inundations to occur. The problem cannot be dealt with locally. This predicament has a historical origin that can be traced at least to the Spring and Autumn period (722-481 B.C.), when in 652 B.C., Duke Huan of Qi convened his league of states. A mutual pledge by all participants is recorded in various sources as “not to execute improper dikes and not to hinder the water flow.” The stone inscriptions of his own achievements erected by the first emperor of the Qin dynasty (221-207 B.C.) are reproduced in The Records of History. One of the meritorious deeds that he credited to himself was the neutralization of the barriers that obstructed water flows. These and other references are evidence that China’s political unification, achieved in the B.C. era, had come under the pressing demand for a coordinated effort in dealing with the flood problem which over and above technical considerations has remained in force for the past 2,000 years.

   在其形成時期，中國文明曾受到黃河地區—黃土之鄉—的貢獻因素的影響。人們普遍瞭解，流經廣大地區的河流，由於土壤細密多孔，導致其水流中含有大量的淤泥，因此，河流總是趨向於堵塞自己的河道，導致堤壩破裂，發生巨大的水災。這個問題無法在地方上得到解決。這種困境的歷史淵源至少可以追溯到春秋時期（公元前 722-481 年），在公元前 652 年，齊桓公召集了他的盟國。所有參與者的相互承諾在各種資料中都有記錄，即「不執行不當的堤防，不阻礙水流」。《史記》中轉載了秦始皇（公元前 221-207 年）為自己的功績所立的石刻。他歸功於自己的功績之一是化解了阻礙水流的障礙。這些和其他參考資料都證明，中國在公元前時代實現的政治統一，是在處理洪水問題上協調努力的迫切要求下實現的，在過去的 2,000 年裡，這個問題在技術考慮之上仍然如此。

3. 季風雨影響中央集權

   A second factor compelling China to proceed to an early national unification and to follow it with political centralization was the effect of monsoon rain on agriculture. The summer monsoon in China comes from the direction of the Philippine Sea. It by itself does not give rain. The moisture in the air current depends upon winds flowing from west to east and northeast, lifting it to an altitude to be cooled, only then does rain come down from condensation. This climatic arrangement subjects agricultural drops of the nation to the synchronization of two sets of variables. When the two kinds of currents miss each other, drought sets in. When they repeatedly converge over a specific area, flood and inundation are the inevitable result. It is not uncommon for lack of rain and too much rain simultaneously to victimize two or more parts of China. Only an enormous empire in control of vast resources can deal with the situation. The requirement imposed by the power of nature was felt too, during the B.C. era. In one ancient text we read many stories about wars between the principalities during times of natural disaster. The scholar Yao Shanyu, working from ancient summaries, calls attention to the fact that in the 2,117 years under study, 1,621 floods and 1,392 droughts caused damage serious enough to be reported by the imperial courts.

   迫使中國盡早實現國家統一併隨之實現政治集中的第二個因素是季風雨對農業的影響。中國的夏季季風來自於菲律賓海的方向。它本身並不能帶來雨水。氣流中的水分取決於從西向東和東北方向流動的風，將其提升到一個高度來冷卻，只有這樣，雨水才會從凝結中下來。這種氣候安排使全國的農業降雨受到兩組變量的同步影響。當這兩種氣流相互錯過時，乾旱就會發生。當它們在一個特定的地區反覆匯合時，洪水和氾濫是不可避免的結果。在中國的兩個或多個地區同時出現缺雨和多雨的情況並不少見。只有一個控制著大量資源的巨大帝國才能處理這種情況。在公元前的時代，人們也感受到了大自然的力量所帶來的要求。在一篇古文中，我們讀到了許多關於在自然災害時期各公國之間戰爭的故事。學者姚善玉根據古代的總結，提請注意這樣一個事實：在研究的 2,117 年中，有 1,621 次洪水和 1,392 次乾旱造成了足以被朝廷報告的嚴重的損失。

4. 遊牧民族對中國統一的影響

   Further ruling out the possibility of a decentralized China was the potential threat of nomads. The traditional line of defense that China erected in the north along the steppe – a vast grass-covered plain – customarily referred to as the Great Wall was by no means fixed. The territories north and west of the Great Wall, having an annual rainfall of less than fifteen inches and therefore inadequate for cultivation, remained a grazing ground for the nomads. In times of bad weather and in periods of China’s disunity, these nomads had a tendency to execute large-scale invasion. This was a problem whose cause was so deeply rooted in geography that the Chinese were not able to solve it merely through military offensives. Long-term experience taught them to put the regional and local government under a strong leader, allowing national defense to dictate a degree of homogeneity and uniformity in order to survive.

   遊牧民族的潛在威脅進一步排除了中國分權的可能性。中國在北方沿著大草原—一片廣袤的草地覆蓋的平原—所建立起來通常被稱為長城的傳統防線，絕非固定不動。長城以北和以西的地區，年降雨量不足 15 英吋，因此不適合耕種，仍然是遊牧民族的放牧地。在天氣不好的時候和中國不統一的時期，這些遊牧民族有實施大規模入侵的傾向。這是一個在地理上根深蒂固的問題，中國人無法僅僅通過軍事攻擊來解決這個問題。長期的經驗告訴他們，為了生存，要把地區和地方政府置於一個強有力的領導之下，讓國防決定一定程度的同質性和統一性以謀求生路。