美加邊境毫無邏輯（但這是故意的）：英語精讀講義

Canada and the United States share the longest, straightest, possibly boringest border in the world. 用詞

加拿大和美國有著世界上最長、最直，可能也是最無聊的邊界線。

But look closer and there's plenty of bizarreness to be found.

但仔細觀察，你會發現這裡有許多奇特之處。

While these sister nations get along fairly well, 講解

雖然這兩個兄弟國家相處得相當融洽，

they both want to make it really clear whose side of the continent is whose.

但它們都想清楚地標明，這片大陸的哪一邊是誰的。

And they've done this by carving a 20 ft wide space along the border,

為此，它們沿著邊界開闢出一條20英尺寬的空地，

all 5 and 1/2 thousand mi of it.

綿延整整5500英里。

With the exception of the rare New England town that predates national borders 片語搭配

除了少數早於國界線建立的新英格蘭小鎮，

or the odd airport that needed expanding,

或是偶爾需要擴建的機場之外，

this space is the no touching zone between the countries.

這個空間就是兩國之間的「互不接觸區」。

And they're super serious about keeping it clear.

它們非常認真地保持這片區域的暢通。

It matters not if the no touching zone runs through hundreds of miles of virtually uninhabited Alaskan Yukon wilderness, 文法

無論這個「互不接觸區」是否穿過數百英里幾乎無人居住的阿拉斯加育空荒野，

those border trees will not stand.

邊界上的這些樹都不能留。

Which might make you think this must be the longest, straightest, deforested place in the world.

這可能會讓你覺得，這一定也是世界上最長、最直的砍伐區。

But it isn't.

但其實不然。

Deforested, yes, 表達脈絡

砍伐區是真的，

but straight, not at all.

但最直，一點也不。

Sure, it looks straight on a map

當然，它在地圖上看起來很直，

and the treaties establishing the line say it's straight.

而且確立這條邊界線的條約也說它是直的。

But in the real world,

但在現實世界中，

the official border is 900 lines that zigzag from the horizontal by as much as several hundred feet. 片語搭配

官方的邊界線是由900條呈鋸齒狀偏離水平線多達數百英尺的線組成的。

How did this happen?

怎麼會變成這樣？

Well, imagine you're back in North America in the 1800s. 表達脈絡

那麼，想像你回到了19世紀的北美。

The 49th parallel, one of those horizontal lines you see on a globe, 文化背景

北緯49度線，就是你在地球儀上看到的那些水平線之一，

has just been set as the national boundary.

剛剛被設定為國界。

And it's your job to make it real.

你的工作就是讓它在現實中落地。

You are handed a compass and a ball of string

給你一個指南針和一團細線，

and told to carefully mark off the next two thirds of a continent. 片語動詞

讓你小心翼翼地把這片大陸剩下的三分之二標出來。

Don't mind that uncharted wilderness in your way,

別管前方那些未知的荒野，

just keep the line straight.

只要保持直線就行。

Yeah, good luck with that. 語氣意圖

是的，祝你好運。

The men who surveyed the land did the best they could 片語搭配

當時勘測土地的人們盡力了，

and built over 900 monuments.

並建了900多個界碑。

They're in about as straight a line as you could expect a pre-GPS civilization to make, 文法

它們已經排成了GPS出現之前的文明所能排出的最直的線了，

but it's not the kind of spherical planar intersection that would bring a mathematician joy.

這絕不是那種會讓數學家感到欣慰的球面平面相交線。

Nonetheless, these monuments define the border

儘管如此，這些界碑定義了邊界，

and the no touching zone plays connect the dots with them. 慣用語

而「互不接觸區」就像是在玩連線遊戲。

Oh, and while there are about 900 markers along this section of the border,

哦，順便說一句，雖然邊界的這一段大約有900個界標，

there are about 8,000 in total that define the shape of the nations.

但定義這兩個國家輪廓的界標總共有大約8000個。

Despite this massive project,

儘管工程如此浩大，

Canada and the United States still have disputed territory.

加拿大和美國仍然存在領土爭議。

There's a series of islands in the Atlantic

大西洋上有個群島，

that the United States claims are part of Maine

美國聲稱它是緬因州的一部分，

and Canada claims are part of New Brunswick.

而加拿大則聲稱它是新不倫瑞克省的一部分。

Canada, assuming the islands are hers, 文法

加拿大理所當然地認為這些島嶼是自己的，

built a lighthouse on one of them.

在其中一個島上建了一座燈塔。

And the United States, assuming the islands are hers,

而美國也理所當然地認為這些島嶼是自己的，

pretends the lighthouse doesn't exist.

就假裝那座燈塔不存在。

It's not a huge problem

這不是什麼大問題，

as the argument is mostly over tourists who want to see puffins 用詞

因為爭議主要集中在想看海鸚的遊客

and fishermen who want to catch lobsters,

和想抓龍蝦的漁民身上，

but let's hope the disagreement gets resolved before someone finds oil under that lighthouse. 表達脈絡

但願這個分歧能在有人在那座燈塔下發現石油之前得到解決。

Even the non-disputed territory has a few notably weird spots,

即使是無爭議地區也有一些特別奇怪的地方，

such as this tick of the border upward into Canada.

比如邊界線向上凸進加拿大這一小塊。

Zoom in and it gets stranger as the border isn't over solid land,

放大來看，你會發現更奇怪的是，邊界不在堅固的陸地上，

but runs through a lake to cut off a bit of Canada before diving back down to the US. 片語動詞

而是穿過一個湖，切下了加拿大的一角，然後又回到美國。

This spot is home to about 100 Americans

這個地方住著大約100名美國人，

and is a perfect example of how border irregularities are born. 表達脈絡

它完美地展示了邊界不規則現象是如何產生的。

Back in 1783,

回到1783年，

when the victorious Americans were negotiating with the British who controlled what would one day be Canada, 文法

當時勝利的美國人正在與控制著後來成為加拿大的英國人進行談判，

they needed a map.

他們需要一張地圖。

And this map was the best available at the time.

而這張地圖是當時能找到的最好的。

While the east coast looks pretty good,

雖然東海岸看起來相當不錯，

the wester it goes, 文法

但越往西，

the sparser it gets.

細節就越稀疏。

Under negotiation was the edge of what would one day be Minnesota and Manitoba. 文法

正在談判的是未來明尼蘇達州和馬尼托巴省的邊界。

But unfortunately,

但不幸的是，

that area was hidden underneath an inset on the map.

那個區域被隱藏在地圖的插圖中。

So the Americans and the British were bordering blind. 慣用語

所以美國人和英國人是在盲目地劃定邊界。

Seriously.

說真的。

They guessed the border should start from the northwestern part of this lake

他們猜測邊界應該從這個湖的西北部開始，

and go in a horizontal line until it crossed the Mississippi somewhere.

呈水平線一直延伸，直到它在某處穿過密西西比河。

But somewhere turned out to be nowhere 表達脈絡

但這個「某處」變成了「無處」，

as the mighty Mississippi stops short of that line, 片語搭配

因為浩瀚的密西西比河根本沒有延伸到那條線，

which left the border vague until 35 years later

這使得邊界線變得模糊不清，直到35年後，

when a second round of negotiations established the aforementioned 49th parallel.

第二輪談判才確定了前面提到的北緯49度線。

But there was still a problem

但仍然存在一個問題，

as the lake mentioned earlier was both higher and less circular than first thought, 文法

因為前面提到的那個湖比最初想像的要高，也更不圓，

putting its northwesterly point here.

它的最西北點在這裡。

So the existing border had to jump up to meet it 慣用語

所以現有的邊界線必須向上跳躍與它相遇，

and then drop straight down to the 49th,

然後直線下跌到北緯49度線，

awkwardly cutting off a bit of Canada

尷尬地切下了加拿大的一角，

before heading west to the remainder of the continent.

然後向西延伸至大陸的剩餘部分。

And it turns out you can't just draw a straight-ish line for hundreds of miles

事實證明，你不能只是在幾百英里的範圍內畫一條近似直線的線，

without causing a few more problems,

而不引發更多問題，

one of which was luckily spotted in advance.

其中一個問題幸運地被提前發現了。

Vancouver Island,

溫哥華島，

which the 49th would have sliced through, 文法

北緯49度線本來會穿過它，

but both sides agreed that would be dumb.

但雙方一致認為這很蠢。

So the border swoops around the island.

所以邊界線繞過了這個島。

However,

然而，

next door to Vancouver Island is Point Roberts, 慣用語

在溫哥華島旁邊就是羅伯茨角，

which went unnoticed and thus today the border blithely cuts across. 講解

它被忽視了，因此如今邊界線漫不經心地從它中間切過。

It's a nice little town,

這是一個不錯的小鎮，

home to over a thousand Americans,

住著一千多名美國人，

but has only a primary school.

但只有一所小學。

So its older kids have to cross international borders four times a day

所以這裡的大孩子每天必須跨越四次國際邊界，

to go to school in their own state.

才能在自己國家的州上學。

In a pleasing symmetry, 表達脈絡

令人欣慰的是，東西海岸完美對稱，

the east coast has the exact opposite situation

東海岸有著完全相反的情況，

with a Canadian island whose only land route is a bridge from the United States.

有一個加拿大島嶼，其唯一的陸地路線是一座連接美國的橋樑。

And these two aren't the only places where each country contains a bit of the other.

這兩個地方並不是唯一一個國家包含另一個國家一部分的地方。

There are several more easily spotted in satellite photos by the no touching zone.

在衛星照片上，通過「互不接觸區」很容易發現還有好幾個。

Regardless of if the land in question is just an uninhabited strip in the middle of a lake 片語搭配

無論相關土地是不是僅僅是偏遠地區湖心的一條無人居住的地帶，

in the middle of nowhere, 慣用語

在人跡罕至的地方，

the border between these sister nations must remain clearly marked. 表達脈絡

這兩個兄弟國家之間的邊界都必須保持清晰的標記。