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发表于 2016-7-12 22:32:51
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to compete with the City of London and hopefully, suck power and wealth away from it.
用它来与伦敦城竞争 希望能偷取它的权力和财富
This was the start of the second London.
这就是伦敦2.0的开始
As the centuries passed,
又过了几个世纪
Westminster grew and mergedwith nearby towns
威斯敏斯特不断扩张 合并周边城镇
eventually surrounding the walled-in, and still separate City of London.
最后把在城墙内独立出来的伦敦城包围在内
But, people began to call the whole urban collection "London"
人们开始把整个合并起来的市区称作“伦敦”
and the name became official
当议会把这些城镇都合并起来
when Parliament joined towns together under a single municipalgovernment with a mayor.
归于一个市政府管理的时候 “伦敦”这个名字就成为官方用语
But, the mayor of London still doesn't have power over the tiny City of London
但伦敦城长同样没有权力干涉伦敦城这个小小的城市
which has rules and traditions like nowhere else in the country and possibly the world.
它有自己的规则和传统 在全国甚至全世界是找不到一个这样的城市了
For example, the ruling monarchdoesn't just enter the City of London on a whim,
譬如 在位的英国女王如果为了一时的心血来潮想进入伦敦城
but instead asks for permission from the Lord Mayor at a ceremony.
也要在礼节上获得伦敦城市长的许可
While it's not required by law, the ceremony is, unusual to say the least.
尽管法律没有这样的规定 但礼节是必要的 至少可以说这样不太寻常
The City of London also has a representative in Parliament, The Remembrancer,
伦敦城在议会上有一名代表作为伦敦城议会代表
whose job it is to protects the City's special rights.
他的职责是保护该城的特殊权益
Because of this, laws passed by Parliament sometimes don't apply to the City of London:
因为国会通过的法律有时并不适用于伦敦城
most notably voting reforms, which we'll discuss next time.
尤其是投票改革 这个我们下次再讨论
But if you're curious for preview, unlike anywhere else in the UK,
如果你对以上内容感到好奇 它而不像英国其他地方那样
elections in the City of London involve Medieval Guilds and modern companies.
伦敦城的选举制度牵涉到中世纪的行会和现代企业
Finally, the City of London also owns and operates land and buildings far outside its border,
最后 伦敦城在境外拥有并管理很多土地和建筑
making it quite wealthy.
这让它十分富有
Once you start looking for The City's Crest you'll find it in lots of unexpected places,
如果你去寻找伦敦城的市徽 你会在很多意想不到的地方发现它
most notably on Tower Bridge which, while being in London is operated by City of London,
最著名的是塔桥 虽然地处伦敦却被伦敦城管辖
These crests everywhere when combined with the City of London's age and wealth and quasi-independent status
当无处不在的市徽和伦敦城的历史 财富 还有半独立状态联系在一起的时候
make it an irresistible temptation for conspiracy nuts.
他们就成了阴谋论者不可抗拒的诱惑
Add in the oldest Masonic temple
再加上最古老的共济会教堂
and it's not long before the crazy part of the Internet starts yelling about
不久前一些网络上的疯子叫嚣着
secret societies controlling the world via the finance industry from inside the City-state of London.
伦敦城里的秘密组织正通过金融产业控制着整个世界
And don't forget the reptilian alien Queen who's really behind it all.
而且别忘了是爬行动物怪伪装成的外星女王在操控着一切
But conspiracy theories aside,
但撇开阴谋论不说
the City of London is not an independent nation like the Vatican is,
伦敦城不像梵蒂冈那样是独立的国家
no matter how much you might read it on the Internet,
不管你从网上读到了什么
rather it's a unique place in the United Kingdom with a long and very complicated history.
这是一个在英国内有着相当漫长而且复杂历史的地方
The wall that began all this 2,000 years ago is now mostly gone,
那座2000年前筑起来的城墙现在已多半不复存在
so the border between London and its secret inner city isn't so obvious.
以致伦敦和伦敦城之间的界限并不是很明显
Though, next time you're in London,
不过若你下次来到伦敦
if you come across a small dragon on the street,
碰巧在街上看见一只小龙
he still guards the entrance to the city in a city in a country in a country.
它还在守卫着这个进入国中国里城中城的入口
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