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A long time ago，when there were no trains or cars，there was a young man who loved to travel. His name was Marco Polo.
Marco lived in a small city in Italy. He loved to ride on big ships and go to far-off lands. At that time，few men had ever been to China，which they called Cathay. It was at the far end of the world.
很久以前，那时还没有火车和汽车，有一个热爱旅行的年轻人。他名叫马可·波罗。
马可住在意大利的一个小城。他喜欢乘坐大船，到遥远的国度去。那时几乎没有人去过中国，当时他们称为Cathay的一个地方。中国似乎在遥远的世界尽头。
The Silk Road was the main route to Cathay in those days. But the trip would be very dangerous. Bandits，wars，bad weather，and bad roads made it very difficult to reach.
Back then，no boys of his age would make such a long and dangerous trip. Marco was 17 years old. He was not afraid. He wanted to go to Cathay and see more of the world.
当时到达中国的主要通道是丝绸之路，但是旅途会非常危险。土匪、战争、恶劣的天气和糟糕的路况让通往中国的路危险重重。
那时候，与他同龄的少年不会进行这样危险的长途旅行。马可只有17岁。他并不害怕。他想去中国，看看外面的世界。
Soon，Marco，his father and his uncle started their long journey along the Silk Road.
They had to cross rivers. They had to hike up high mountains. They had to look for food and water. They had to watch out for lions and tigers. They had to watch out for bandits，too！
They faced problems all the time. It was a tough trip！
很快，马可和他的父亲以及叔父沿着丝绸之路踏上了漫漫征途。
他们要跨越河流，翻越高山。他们要寻找食物和水。他们要当心狮子和老虎，还要小心土匪！
他们随时都会遇到麻烦，旅途中历经了艰难险阻！
But there was something beautiful or interesting too. He saw beautiful snow mountains. He saw wild sheep with long curly horns. He saw rhinoceroses but he thought they were unicorns.
Marco visited many busy towns where merchants traded. He made many new friends there. Marco was a clever young man. Soon he learnt to speak their languages.
但也有美好或有趣的东西。他看到了美丽的雪山，看到了角儿又长又弯的野羊，看到了犀牛但还以为它们是独角兽。
马可去过许多繁忙的城镇，那些地方有很多贸易往来，他结交了不少新朋友。马可是个聪明的年轻人，很快就学会了说他们的语言。
Then，the Polos came to the most difficult part of their journey. They would have to cross the vast and dry desert.
The sun shone fiercely down. The days were too hot，so the Polos rode through the desert at night. Marco heard horrible sounds. The sounds were like people marching，talking and playing drums.
Marco was so frightened. According to legend，there lived an army of ghosts！No one had ever survived them！
Marco didn't know it then. The sounds were not ghosts. They were just sounds made by strong winds and moving sands.
接着，马可他们来到了旅途中最艰难的一段。他们要穿越广阔而干燥的沙漠。
太阳毒辣辣地照着，白天非常炎热，于是马可他们在晚上骑着骆驼穿越沙漠。他听到了可怕的声音。那声音就像人们在行进、说话、敲鼓。
马可害怕极了。传说中，那里生活着一大群鬼魂！还没有人能从他们的魔爪下逃生！
当时马可并不知道，那声音不是鬼魂发出来的。那不过是强风和移动的沙子在作怪罢了。
After four years，the Polos finally arrived in Cathay！They met the powerful Mongol leader，who was called the Great Khan.
The Great Khan liked Marco because he was clever and amusing. He wanted Marco to stay and work for him. He sent Marco to different places of Cathay. When he got back to the palace，he reported what he saw to the Great Khan.
One story was about a huge“snake”he saw in the South. It was four metres long and its jaws could swallow a person！This turned out to be a crocodile. The Great Khan always enjoyed his stories.
四年后，马可他们终于抵达了中国！他们见到了被称为大汗的强大的蒙古首领。
马可聪明、有趣，深得大汗喜爱。他想让马可留下来为他效力。他派马可到中国的许多地方去。回到宫殿后，马可把自己的所见所闻报告给大汗。
有一个故事是关于他在南方见到的一条巨大的“蛇”。那蛇有四米长，下颚张开的时候足可以吞下一个人！其实那是一条鳄鱼。大汗总是很喜欢他的故事。
After 17 years in Cathay，the Polos missed Italy and decided to go home. It took three years for them to get back to Europe. When Marco Polo returned home，no one could tell who he was！
He was 17 when he went off to Cathay. When he got back home again，he was 41. He spent 24 years on his journey！
He showed people what he brought back from Cathay：silk，medicines，bowls，spices and many other things. No merchants had ever brought back such valuable items before.
在中国待了17年，马可他们想念意大利，决定回家。他们花了三年时间才回到欧洲。马可·波罗回到家的时候，大家都认不出他来了！
他离开家去中国的时候只有17岁，再回到家时已经41岁了。他的旅行历时24年！
他把他从中国带回来的东西给人们看，有丝绸、药材、碗、香料，还有许多其他的东西。之前从没有商人带回过这么宝贵的东西。
Over the years，Marco Polo took notes about what he saw. He used these notes to write a book about his travels with the help of a writer.
Reading his book was the way many Europeans learnt about China. About 170 years after Marco Polo's death，Christopher Columbus read about his travels and wanted to go to China as well. In the end，however，Christopher Columbus discovered America，an entirely new world！
那些年中，马可·波罗记录下了他的所见所闻。在一名作家的帮助下，他根据这些笔记写成了一本游记。
很多欧洲人都是通过读他的书了解中国的。马可·波罗去世大约170年后，克里斯托弗·哥伦布读到了他的游记，也想到中国去。不过，最后克里斯托弗·哥伦布发现的是美洲，一个完全崭新的世界！
