Inside the Kremlin Walls 克里姆林宮秘史\tFrom bbc.com

Overrun by Mongols， rattled1) by earthquakes， and beset2) by fires， the Kremlin's fortunes have waxed and waned3) with those of Mother Russia. For much of its lifetime， the Kremlin was home to the Romanov dynasty—the tsars4) who ruled Russia for three centuries from 1613.

歷盡蒙古鐵蹄的蹂躪、地震的撼動和烈火的圍攻，克里姆林宮的命運如同其祖國俄羅斯一樣跌宕起伏。從建成至今，克里姆林宮在大部分時間內都是羅曼諾夫王朝的皇宮。羅曼諾夫王朝始于1613年，其歷代沙皇統治俄國達三個世紀。Napoleon Dynamite

Arguably5) the Kremlin's greatest adversary was Napoleon Bonaparte， who used the 15th-century Assumption Cathedral6) as a stable7) for his horses after invading Moscow in 1812. Upon his subsequent retreat from the capital， he ordered the entire Kremlin be destroyed with explosives. Luckily， rain damaged the fuses8)， and much of the complex9) was saved from being blown apart.

Grave Matters

The Kremlin Wall Necropolis is a resting place for the good， the bad， and the ugly of Soviet times， including Yuri Gagarin10)， Joseph Stalin， and Lenin. Following the Russian Revolution11)， it briefly served as an all-purpose mass grave. Among those buried are the victims of the Aerowagon12)—a bizarre train propelled by an aircraft engine that crashed on its way to Moscow in 1921.拿破侖的破壞

克里姆林宮最大的冤家對頭可能要屬拿破侖·波拿巴。1812年拿破侖入侵莫斯科后，竟將克里姆林宮內建造于15世紀的圣母升天大教堂用作他的馬廄。隨后他從首都莫斯科撤軍時，又下令將整座克里姆林宮炸毀。幸運的是，炸藥的引信被雨水澆滅，克里姆林宮大部分建筑因此得以躲過灰飛煙滅的劫難。

墓地往事

克里姆林宮紅場墓園安葬著前蘇聯時期的善惡美丑各色人物，包括尤里·加加林、約瑟夫·斯大林和列寧。俄國革命之后，這個地方一度成為一個用于各種用途的萬人冢。埋葬在此的人中還包括“飛輪號”火車的遇難者——1921年，這列由飛機引擎驅動的古怪火車在駛往莫斯科途中撞毀了。 Your Egg-celency13)

Originally intended to store weapons， the Armoury now serves as a museum housing treasures from the days of the tsars. It's home to a collection of Fabergé eggs14)—lavish ornaments first commissioned by Tsar Alexander III as Easter presents for his wife. Each egg has its own distinctive theme and contains a small \"surprise\" inside—the most famous is the Trans-Siberian Railway egg， which includes a tiny wind-up train made of gold.

The Play's the Thing

The 17th-century Poteshny Palace was home to the very first Russian theatre—Tsar Aleksey Mikhailovich enjoyed watching comic plays here， attending church services soon after to atone15) for his sinful chuckles. Later， the palace became home to a markedly humourless leader， Joseph Stalin. Sightings of his ghost stomping the Kremlin corridors are regularly reported today—allegedly16) accompanied by a sharp drop in room temperature.

Saved by the Bell

Definitive evidence of the Russian imperial appetite for huge objects， the Tsar Bell weighs 202 tons， and as such is the largest bell in the world. It never rung and never had the happiest history—moulded17) from an earlier bell that smashed during a fire， the current bell is in two pieces having cracked in its foundry pit. Nonetheless， faithful Muscovites18) believe that the bell will be rung for the first time on Judgment Day19)， upon its ascent to Heaven.彩蛋“陛下”

克里姆林宮珍寶館原本計劃用于存放武器，現在卻成為一座博物館，存放著沙皇時期的各類珍寶。這里收藏著一組“法貝格彩蛋”，這些裝飾奢華的彩蛋起初是沙皇亞歷山大三世為妻子定做的復活節禮物。每一個彩蛋都有自己獨特的主題，里面還藏著小小的“驚喜”。其中最著名的莫過于“西伯利亞大鐵路彩蛋”，里面裝著一列由黃金打造的、裝有發條的微型火車。

戲劇是關鍵

17世紀修建的普列謝耶宮是俄羅斯歷史上名副其實的第一家劇院，沙皇阿列克謝·米哈伊洛維奇喜歡到這里看喜劇，戲一看完就去教堂為自己的失態竊笑祈禱懺悔。后來，這里住了一個明顯缺乏幽默感的元首——約瑟夫·斯大林。現在還常常有報道說人們看見他的陰魂邁著沉重的步伐走過克里姆林宮的走廊，據說宮內的溫度還會隨之驟降。

救世神鐘

俄羅斯帝國喜好龐然大物，克里姆林宮的沙皇鐘即為明證。沙皇鐘重達202噸，論重量是世界第一大鐘。沙皇鐘從來沒響過，還命途多舛——現在這座鐘是根據之前在大火中毀掉的那座鐘鑄造而成的，在鑄坑里就已出現裂痕，現在裂成了兩塊。盡管如此，虔誠的莫斯科人相信，沙皇鐘終會在審判日升天之際發出破天荒的一響。1.rattle [#712;r#230;tl] vt. 使發出嘎嘎聲

2.beset [b#618;#712;set] vt. 圍攻

3.wax and wane: 由盛而衰

4.tsar [zɑ#720;(r)] n. 沙皇

5.arguably [#712;ɑ#720;ɡju#601;bli] adv. 可能；可論證地；可證實地

6.Assumption Cathedral: 圣母升天大教堂，位于克里姆林宮中心，曾在沙皇俄國統治時期被奉為國教大教堂，歷代沙皇都在這里舉行加冕禮。

7.stable [#712;ste#618;bl] n. 馬廄

8.fuse [fju#720;z] n. 導火線；引信

9.complex [#712;k#594;mpleks] n. (建筑)群

10.Yuri Gagarin: 尤里·加加林(1934~1968)，前蘇聯人，是世界上第一個進入太空的宇航員。

11.Russian Revolution: 俄國革命，指1917年發生在俄國的一系列革命，主要包括二月革命和十月革命兩個階段。二月革命推翻了沙皇統治，而列寧領導的十月革命促成了蘇維埃政權的建立和世界上第一個社會主義國家的誕生。

12.Aerowagon: “飛輪號”火車，是前蘇聯工程師設計的一款試驗性高速列車，由飛機引擎和螺旋槳驅動，于1921年脫軌撞毀，車上22名乘客中有六人死亡。

13.Your Egg-celency: Your Excellency (陛下)的化用，這里指復活節彩蛋。

14.Fabergé eggs: 法貝格彩蛋，共69枚，風格各異，創意迭出，多由各種珍貴金屬、石頭、混合琺瑯與寶石制成，是珠寶藝術的經典之作。

15.atone [#601;#712;t#601;#650;n] vi. 補償，

彌補

16.allegedly [#601;#712;led#658;#618;dli] adv. 據稱

17.mould [m#601;#650;ld] vt. (逐漸)建造；改造

18.Muscovite [#712;m#652;sk#601;#716;va#618;t] n. 莫斯科人

19.Judgment Day: 審判日，在基督教神學中指世界末日時上帝決定人類命運的日子。