Longtang, unique to Shanghai and Shanghainese, is a special form of residence that solved the conflict between a large population and limited houses in the past. The timeworn Longtangs record the stories of Shanghai, and reflect the traditions the life style and attitude of Shanghainese. They concentrate many different people from all over China who have brought with them diverse cultures . Examine Longtang and you will understand the society and the history of Shanghai.
弄堂是上海和上海人独具特色的居住形式，它解决了过去人多房少的冲突。历史悠久的弄堂记载了上海的故事，反映了上海的传统、生活方式以及上海人的态度。这里集聚了中国各地不同的人们，他们有着自己各种各样的文化。审视弄堂，你就会明白上海的社会生活及其历史。
Thousands upon thousands of Shanghai people are sentimentally attached to the Longtangs till now. The main reason is that a strong human relationship prevails in the Longtang.A good and close neighborhood relationship has taken shape there, which can hardly appear in other modern residences. Longtang is such a place that provided the residents more chances to communicate with each other. In the Longtangs, people always meet together, all the residents are closely associated and conglomerated, thus bringing forth a strong sense of localism, safety and family-likeness. The main social activities in Longtangs are those of the old people and children. In a Longtang they are never neglected as they are nowadays in other places. The special space arrangement in the Longtang can provide people places for the old people and children to carry on public activities. Some of the old people are keen on doing public welfare activities, for example, doing the cleaning work, taking care of each other and looking after the children. Such activities are carried on spontaneously, and have strong sense of humanity and life's pleasure.
成千上万的上海人直到现在都眷恋着弄堂。主要原因就是弄堂里邻里关系很融洽。那里已经形成了良好紧密的邻里关系，这在其他现代建筑中很难出现。弄堂给居民提供了很多交流的机会。在弄堂里，人们朝夕相处，所有的居民联系紧密，聚集在一起，这样就产生了一种归属感、安全感和家一样的感觉。弄堂里主要的社会活动是老人和孩子的。在弄堂里他们从来不会像他们现在在别的地方那样被忽视，弄堂的特殊布局让老人小孩有了活动的场所。一些老人很热衷于做好事，比如说：帮着打扫打扫，互相照顾，还有照看孩子们。这样的事都是自发的，更有人情味儿和生活的情趣。
The Longtang is also a diversified and complicated living space. The residents, with different professions, different backgrounds and different cultural levels have brought a diversified life here. People of different social status, have learned from each other and influenced each other, thus shaping a special civil culture. This kind of civil culture, due to the diversity and complexity of the living conditions here, can neither be degenerated, nor turn into an elegant culture. Thus the culture of Longtangs becomes secular as well as harmonious, constituting the main content of the civil culture in Shanghai.
弄堂也是一个多元化的、复杂的居住场所。不同职业的、不同背景、不同文化水平的人们带来了这里丰富多彩的生活。不同社会地位的人们互相学习、互相影响，这样形成了特殊的城市文化。这种城市文化，由于居住环境的多样性和复杂性，既不会变得很庸俗也不会太高雅。弄堂文化是一种世俗化的和谐市民文化，是上海市民文化的主体。
With the rapid growth of the urban population in Shanghai and due to some historical reasons, the housing problem in the city is becoming very serious. Each unit of the Longtang house, formerly occupied by one family, now has been shared by several families. The residents even built sheds in the places where buildings are not allowed to be built by law. There are too many houses built in a lane area that is overpopulated, thus causing the deteriorating of the quality of the residences. There has been the peculiar phenomenon of dozens of families living in a single house under such special condition. Some parts of the house, such as the kitchen and washroom, formerly were used only by one family and now are used by several families.
随着上海人口激增和一些历史原因，上海的住房问题日益严峻。弄堂里每个单元之前只住一户人家，现在是几户人家合住。居民们甚至在法律不允许的地方搭建小屋。在人口过剩的小巷子里建造许多房屋，这样就导致了居住环境的恶化。在这种特殊情况下，出现了几十户人家居住在同一栋房子里的特别现象。房子的个别地方，例如厨房和洗手间，之前本是一户使用，现在多户合用。
The life in the Longtangs is rich and full of vitality. People like to describe Longtangs as a kaleidoscope of the city life and as a museum of life and customs. It is in the Longtangs where you can notice the peculiar feelings of people there, you can know the origin of the personality of Shanghai people, and you can feel the pulse and life of the whole Shanghai.
弄堂生活丰富，充满了活力。人们喜欢把弄堂比喻成城市生活的万花筒，比喻成人们生活习俗的博物馆。在弄堂里，你会嗅到那里居民的特殊气息，你会知道上海人个性的起源，你还能感受整个上海的脉搏和生活。
1. unique [juːˈniːk] adj. 独特的；稀罕的；唯一的；独一无二的
例 She was a woman of unique talent and determination.
她是一个有独特天赋和决心的女人。
2. Shanghainese [ˌʃaŋhaiˈni:z] n. 上海话；，沪语；上海人；上海菜
例 The Shanghainese have a reputation for snobbery, and Chinese often complain that they feel shut out in Shanghai, perhaps because the dialect is incomprehensible to Mandarin speakers.
上海人以比较“势利”著称，中国人经常抱怨他们很排外，大概是因为说普通话的人很难听懂上海方言的原因吧。
3. residence [ˈrezidəns] n. 住宅，住处；居住
例 They have entered the country and have applied for permanent residence.
他们已进入了那个国家，并已经申请了永久居住权。
4. conflict [ˈkɔnflikt] n. 冲突，矛盾；斗争，争执
例 Try to keep any conflict between you and your ex-partner to a minimum.
尽量把你和前合伙人之间的争执控制到最少。
5. sentimentally [ˌsentiˈmentəli] v. 富情感地；多情地
例 "I miss the good old days," she added sentimentally.
“我怀念过去那些美好的日子。”她动情地补充道。
6. attach [əˈtætʃ] vt. 使依附；贴上；系上；使依恋
例 We attach labels to things before we file them away.
我们在把东西归档前先给它们贴上标签。
7. neighborhood [ˈneibəhud] n. 附近；街坊；接近
例 It really depends on what you're looking for. There's a lot of high-end stores in this neighborhood.
这得看你想买什么。这附近有很多高档商店。
8. associate [əˈsəuʃieit] v. 交往；结交 n. 同事，伙伴；关联的事物
例 I haven't been associated with the project over the last year.
我过去一年不曾跟这个项目有关联。
9. forth [fɔːθ] adv. 向前，向外；自…以后
例 Pilate ordered the prisoner to be brought forth.
彼拉多命令将犯人带上来。
10. neglect [niˈglekt] vt. 疏忽，忽视；忽略
例 The woman denied that she had neglected her child.
那位妇女否认疏于照管她的孩子。
11. welfare [ˈwelfɛə] n. 福利；幸福；福利事业；安宁
例 Child welfare services are well established and comprehensive.
儿童福利机构发展成熟、体系完善。
12. spontaneously [spɔnˈteiniəsli] adv. 自发地；自然地；不由自主地
例 So now, now that we've got all three of the major laws of thermodynamics, what I want to start in on is a discussion of what happens spontaneously.
现在既然我们已经得到了热力学的三个主要定理，我想开始讨论，什么过程会自发进行。
13. diversify [daiˈvəːsifai] vt. 使多样化，使变化
例 The company's troubles started when it diversified new products.
该公司的麻烦从实现产品多样化时才开始。
14. degenerate [diˈdʒenəreit] vt. 使退化；恶化 vi. 退化；堕落
例 Inactivity can make your joints stiff, and the bones may begin to degenerate.
不活动会使关节僵硬，骨骼因此可能会开始退化。
15. constitute [ˈkɔnstitjuːt] vt. 组成，构成；建立；任命
例 Testing patients without their consent would constitute a professional and legal offence.
未得病人同意即对其进行试验会构成职业和法律犯罪。
16. overpopulate [ˌəuvəˈpɔpjuˌleit] vt. 使人口过剩；使人口过密
例 The downtown is being overpopulated.
闹市区的人口越来越稠密了。
17. peculiar [piˈkjuːljə] adj. 特殊的；独特的；奇怪的；罕见的
例 Mr. Kennet has a rather peculiar sense of humour.
肯尼特先生有一种相当不寻常的幽默感。
18. vitality [vaiˈtæliti] n. 活力，生气；生命力，生动性
例 Changes will give renewed vitality to our democracy.
改变将给我们的民主带来新的活力。
19. kaleidoscope [kəˈlaidəskəup] n. 万花筒；千变万化
例 The search lights and the fireworks made the sky a kaleidoscope of colour.
探照灯和焰火使得天空的颜色千变万化。
A: Tom, I am so glad to meet you in Shanghai.
汤姆，很高兴在上海遇到你。
B: Me too, Mary. What a coincidence!
我也这么觉得。真巧啊！
A: Where have you visited these days?
这几天，你都游览了什么地方？
B: I visited the Bund and Nanjing Road. But I want to see the typical residence of Shanghai.
我去路口外滩和南京路。但是我想看看上海的典型民居。
A: You mean "Longtang"?
你是说弄堂吗？
B: Yes! This way of living is only in Shanghai. It can promote people's relations.
是的！只有上海有这种生活方式。它可以促进人们之间的关系。
A: I heard of this function for the first time. Why do not we go to visit it together?
我还是第一次听过这个功能。那我们为什么不一起去看看呢？
B: Okay. Let's go!
好的。我们走吧！
弄堂（Long tang），小巷，巷子（lane）的意思，是上海特有的民居（dwellings）形式，它是由连排的石库门建筑所构成的，并与石库门建筑有着密切的关系。它代表近代上海城市文化，创造了形形色色风情独具的弄堂文化。弄堂的行行种种、弄堂的性感、弄堂的感动，它已经成为上海城市的华丽的背景色。弄堂可作为休闲娱乐（entertainment）、儿童活动（children activitity）、交易等场所。弄堂分为广式里弄、新式石库门里弄、新式里弄、花园式里弄等。
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