2016-07-11

【Aiden in English】

        Notice how I'm calling it "Northern" Ireland. It technically is a different country, since it uses a separate government and leadership, but is still considered a part of the UK. Ireland was divided when the nation declared independence from Great Britain, with a fourth of the people saying they were against farmers being the dominating power. So Northern Ireland was formed. There isn't much difference between the two countries, except the large factor of Giant's Causeway outside of Belfast. 

        The world is a very huge place. When events with extreme rarity don't occur, many people believe that they will never happen. Think about it again. This world has a lot of areas, which allows many chances for an event to happen. In addition, with a few billion years that the earth has been around, the probability that an event has happened from the beginning must be somewhat guaranteed, especially if it has anything to do with nature. I mean, it's not like anyone was rushing nature. Obviously, it isn't everywhere that an event such as this would pop up, so the sight would still be stunning to see. What exactly is what the Giant's Causeway is. 

        The Giant's Causeway is a small piece of land made up of approximately 40,000 interlacing basalt columns, jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean. Why do we come to see the rocks? This reoccurring theme of viewing the different internationally famous rocks has become quite a ritual to this trip now. From watching enigmatic mountains to magical stones to mythical ... rock columns, its special hard material seems to be in the wrong league. But, I was incorrect. It is a natural event that's rarity quite distinguishes itself from the others. About 60 million years ago, the area was on the Ring of Fire, and lava was always covering and recovering the grounds. Towards the top, the cooled lava becomes cracked and broken, but down lower in the earth's crust, the lava cracks in shapes, making five, six, seven-sided figures. That is why the Giant's Causeway is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since the stones on the bottom have pushed their way up using uplift and erosion on the surface. Now, people can see the natural pier of hexagonal rocks stretching out into the waters. They actually are pillars, rising to nearly forty meters in height. Examples of this can be found on the hillsides, where the dirt has been eroded, which exposed the huge pillars. They seem to be the doings of God, which is not far off. Of course, when there is a scientific theory, there must be a myth... 

        Once upon a time, Fionn MacCool, an Irish giant, lived on this island. He was the greatest, tallest, strongest of them all, except one. On the island of Scotland lived Benandonner who was the largest of the giants. Fionn wanted to find out who the best was, and threw down these rocks to form a bridge, now known as the Causeway. There is proof of a bridge since in Scotland laid the other end of this bridge, although nowhere near as grand. Benandonner's size surprised Fionn who ran back to his wife Oonagh in Ireland, asking for help. He was then dressed as a baby, and when Benandonner arrived, he saw the child. Benandonner, seeing how large a baby was, wondered at the height of the father, and fled. On his way back to Scotland, he let the bridge collapsed. And now, we just witness the remains. Believe what you want.

【红霞译文】

        请注意我开始称呼“北”爱尔兰了，实际上它属于另外一个国家，有着独立的政体和领导班子，但仍归英国管辖。爱尔兰脱离大不列颠统治之后又分成两个部分，由于四分之一的人口主张反对农民当权，于是北爱尔兰应运而生。除了贝尔法斯特城外的巨人堤道独放异彩，爱尔兰与北爱尔兰之间说来并无根本区别。

        茫茫宇宙气象万千，寒来暑往四季交替，三九天罕见桃花盛开，正因如此，许多人才以为这种稀奇古怪的事情从不会发生。再仔细考虑一下，大千世界偶然事件时有发生，况且地球已运转了上亿年，该发生的事情迟早都要发生，尤其那些顺应自然的东西，换句话说这是不以人的意志为转移的。当然并非每个地方都有大自然打造的撼世杰作，一旦闪现在眼前，无不令人叹为观止，这正是巨人堤道给我留下的印象。

        巨人堤道是大西洋上一小片大约由四万根连锁状玄武岩石柱组成的海岸，为什么要来看这些玩意呢？原来参观形状迥异国际知名的岩石现已成为旅游时尚，从莫测的山脉至离奇的石头再到神秘的……岩柱，其特殊硬质构造看来不过是巧合而已，但我错了，自然造化的奥秘无异于与众不同。大约60万年前，该地区恰好处在火环之中，火山喷发的熔岩几经冷却凝固，与之接触的岩石出现裂缝甚至破碎，稍微深层的岩石则形成五边形、六边形、七边形等不同形状，凭借内力向上隆起，暴露在外的表面日久风化，这就是为什么巨人堤道被列为联合国教科文组织世界遗产。现在人们可以登上这些海边由六边形岩石形成的自然码头进行察访，它们实际上都是石柱，足有四十米高，饱经风化的山崖也能发现类似的结构，大自然鬼斧神工，真是人间胜景。当然了，哪里有科学理论，哪里就有神话传说……

        从前有一位名叫芬·麦库尔的爱尔兰巨人生活在该岛上，魁梧高大，强悍无比，天底下只有一人敢跟他较劲，那就是住在对面苏格兰岛的巨人之最贝南德纳。芬想要弄清谁是最厉害的巨人，于是就顺手捡起这里的石头搭成一座被后人称为堤道的桥梁。事实胜于雄辩，苏格兰境内确有另一端堤道，只是规模大小远不及爱尔兰这头。贝南德纳的个子让芬惊奇万分，芬火速跑回爱尔兰告诉太太乌娜，然后按照吩咐打扮成婴儿模样，等贝南德纳来到爱尔兰时，眼前出现的竟是满脸稚气的小屁娃，心想既然孩子都长这么大，要是真到孩他爹那把年纪，块头不定得大出多少倍，随即逃之夭夭。在赶回苏格兰途中，贝南德纳故意拆断堤道，因此我们现在看到的不过是剩下的那段而已，信不信由你。