圣邁克爾山：潮漲為島，潮落為山

番茄上的小星星

很多游客都聽說過圣米歇爾山，那是一個筑有防御工事的中世紀修道院，坐落在法國諾曼底地區的一座小島上，當潮水退去時，你可以走到這座小島上。更令人驚訝的是，英國也有這樣一處景點——圣邁克爾山，它位于康沃爾郡海岸以南半英里的地方。在退潮后，你可以從馬拉宰恩村的陸地走上島去，進入島上的中世紀城堡。

這兩個景點都因圣米迦勒而得名，圣米迦勒是中世紀最重要的圣徒之一。據說，他在公元708年顯靈，用自己的名字給圣米歇爾山命名。無獨有偶，傳說公元495年這位天使降臨在圣邁克爾山，讓許多漁民免于觸礁。

Many travellers have heard of Mont St-Michel， the fortified medieval monastery1） perched on an island in Normandy， France， that you can walk to when the tide is out. More surprising is that England has its own version： St Michael's Mount， located half a mile south off the Cornish2） coast. At low tide， you can walk from the mainland village of Marazion to the island and its medieval castle.

Both sites got their names from St Michael3）， one of the most important saints in the Middle Ages. Just as he was said to appear in 708 to give his name to Mont St-Michel， legend holds that the angel appeared in 495 at St Michael's Mount to save .shermen from crashing into the rocks.

Island Life

St Michael's Mount isn't just a visitors' attraction， it's a living community. There are 23 residents who live in the buildings at the base of the fortress. Many of them work for the St Michael's Mount estate， which is jointly run by the National Trust4） and St Aubyn Estates. The population includes eight children who cross the sea to the mainland for school each day.

Life on the island isn't always easy. In fact， storms were so bad in 2014 that the causeway5） was damaged. It has since been repaired， however.

Royal Residents

The island's best-known residents are James and Mary St Aubyn， also known as Lord and Lady St Levan， who moved to the castle with their four children in 2003. The estate has been in their family for more than 350 years， ever since Parliamentarian6） Colonel John St Aubyn was made Captain of St Michael's Mount during the English Civil War； after coming out7） on the winning side， he purchased the castle from its Royalist8） owners. In 1954， the family gave most of the island to the National Trust， receiving a 999-year lease9） in return.

島上生活

圣邁克爾山不只是一處游覽勝地，還是一個生活社區。這里有23位居民，他們住在城堡底部的建筑里。這些人大多是圣邁克爾山房產的工作人員，該房產由國民托管組織和圣奧賓房產公司共同管理。這些居民中還包括了八個每天漂洋過海去陸地上學的孩子。

島上的生活并非總是順風順水。事實上，在2014年，島上遭遇了非常猛烈的暴風雨，致使通往陸地的堤道遭到破壞。不過后來它又被修好了。

皇室居民

在這個島上的居民中，聲名最為顯赫的要數詹姆斯和瑪麗圣奧賓夫婦，他們也被稱為圣萊文勛爵和夫人。2003年，他們帶著他們的四個孩子一起搬進了城堡。自從議會黨人約翰圣奧賓上校在英國內戰期間成為圣邁克爾山的首領以來，這個產業在他們家族名下已有350多年的歷史。在宣布支持勝利方（編注：議會派）之后，他就從保皇黨人手里把這個城堡買了過來。1954年，這個家族把島上的大部分都交給了國民托管組織，為此得到了999年的租約作為回報。endprint

圣奧賓家族成員

1. monastery [.m.n.stri] n. 修道院；寺院

2. Cornish [.k..n..] adj. 康沃爾郡的；康沃爾郡人的

3. St Michael： 圣米迦勒，《圣經》中一個天使的名字，是上帝身邊的首席戰士、天使軍最高統帥。

4. National Trust： 國民托管組織，是英國一個保護名勝古跡的私人非營利組織。

5. causeway [.k..zwe.] n. （尤指穿越濕地的）堤道，砌道

6. Parliamentarian [.pɑ.l.m.n.te.ri.n] n. （反對查理一世的英國長期國會的）議會黨人

7. come out： 表明態度，發表意見

8. Royalist [.r...l.st] n. （英王查理一世時代的）保皇黨人

9. lease [li.s] n. 租約，租契

10. tuck [t.k] vt. 隱沒，隱藏

11. lithodora： [希臘語]石禮草屬

12. speak to： 證明；暗示

13. abseil [..bse.l] vi. 援繩爬下；繞繩下降

Cornish Tropics

Some visitors skip the castle gardens because they require a separate ticket. That's a mistake. Running up the terraces tucked10） under the castle walls， the gardens have a number of colourful， exotic plants that you'd normally see in warmer climates， such as the lithodora11） of the Mediterranean.

Serious Steeps

The survival of these warm-weather species speaks to12） Cornwall's climate—the Gulf Stream keeps this part of southwest England particularly mild—and to the sun-soaking terrace rocks that allow the gardens to heat up to 40℃. But that doesn't mean the gardens are easy to tend： The gardeners have to abseil13） in order to reach some of the steeper corners.

康沃爾熱帶花園

在來此游覽的觀光者中，有些人會略過城堡的那些花園不去，因為它們需要單獨購票。這種做法并非明智之舉。從隱沒于城墻下的梯田里拾級而上，會看見花園種著很多色彩艷麗的外來植物，你通常得在更暖和的氣候條件下才能看得到它們，比如地中海的石禮草屬植物。

花園峭壁

這些需要溫暖氣候的物種能夠活下來表明了兩點：一個是康沃爾郡的氣候條件適宜，墨西哥灣流讓位于英格蘭西南部的這一地區格外煦暖；另一個則是灑滿陽光的梯田巖石助力，它們可以使花園的氣溫上升到40℃。但這并不意味著這些花園容易打理：為了能到達一些頗為陡峭的角落，園藝師們必須沿著下降的繩索滑下去。

切維獵場

切維獵場這個名字來源于一首中世紀歌謠（編注：The Ballad of Chevy Chase），它向人們展示了這個城堡多年來歷經多少次修繕，卻如何依舊保持著原貌。這里曾是僧侶們的食堂，在《解散修道院法令》頒布后改成了大廳，成為城堡里用餐和娛樂的地方。雖然后來翻新過幾次，但直到20世紀50年代，這里一直作為主餐廳在使用。如今，圣奧賓家族仍會在一些特殊的場合使用這個大廳。

潮汐更迭

站在山頂，游客們可以看到對岸的馬拉宰恩村，也可以看到山腳下這個島自己的村莊。如今，那段歷史很容易被人忘記，但在19世紀初的鼎盛時期，這里曾有300多位居民定居，而且還有學校、奶牛場和酒吧。當然，你可以看到連接著島嶼和馬拉宰恩村的那條半英里長的堤道——不過它在漲潮時會被淹沒在海水中。

被淹沒的陸地

沿著鵝卵石鋪成的堤道走過去并非是上島的唯一方式；在漲潮期間，你還可以乘船往返，當地的引航員收兩英鎊（兒童一英鎊）就會把游客擺渡過海。自從大約4000年前圣邁克爾山海灣被海水淹沒以來，乘船過海就成了去島上的主要方式之一。有人認為，早在3000年前，那些海上航線也許就已經讓這座潮汐島變成了貿易中心。

Chevy Chase

Chevy Chase， named after a medieval ballad14）， shows how many iterations15） the castle has undergone over the years—and yet how it's remained true to its origins. Once the dining hall for the monks， after the Dissolution of the Monasteries16） it was converted to the Great Hall， the part of a castle where meals and entertainment would take place. Although there were later renovations， it continued to serve as the main dining room up until the 1950s and is still used for special occasions by the St Aubyn family.endprint

Tides of Change

From the top of the Mount， visitors can see across to Marazion as well as down onto the island's own village. It's easy to forget now， but at its peak in the early 19th century the settlement had more than 300 residents as well as a school， dairy and pub. And， of course， you can see the half-mile-long causeway that links the island to Marazion—but， at high tide， is buried by the sea.

Drowned Land

Walking the cobbled17） causeway isn't the only way to arrive at the island； during high tide you can get back and forth by boat， with local pilots ferrying18） visitors across for ￡2 （￡1 for children）. Ever since Mount's Bay was flooded by sea about 4，000 years ago， this has been one of the main methods of arriving here； it's thought that sea routes might have made the tidal island a centre of trade as long as 3，000 years ago.

14. ballad [.b.l.d] n. 歌謠，民謠

15. iteration [..t..re..n] n. 反復（通常為了做出改善而重復做某事或重復整個過程一次）

16. Dissolution of the Monasteries： 《解散修道院法令》，由英國亨利八世頒布，旨在遣散修道院，轉讓其財產。英國很多引人注目的古跡都屬于修道院一類，但在亨利八世解散修道院期間被士兵破壞摧殘。

17. cobbled [.k.bld] adj. 鋪鵝卵石的

18. ferry [.feri] vt. （尤指定期）渡運，擺渡endprint