So what about historic buildings - could the Great Pyramid of Giza put Hinkley C in the shade? Working out the cost of something built more than 4,500 years ago presents numerous challenges, but in 2012 the Turner Construction Company estimated it could build the pyramid for between £750m ($1.1bn) and £900m ($1.3bn). Using the current Egyptian minimum wage of £3.93 ($5.73) a day, that gives a labour cost of £305m ($445m). In any case, a £500m stone bill plus £305m in wages are nowhere near Hinkley C.

　　那么历史建筑物情况如何呢?吉萨金字塔能把欣克利核电站比下去吗?要计算出4500多年前建筑物的成本，着实有些困难，但是，2012年，特纳建筑公司估计建造金字塔的费用在7.5亿英镑(11亿美元)到9亿英镑(13亿美元)之间。如果用埃及目前的最低工资一天3.93英镑(5.73美元)来核算，金字塔的人工成本是3.05亿英镑(4.45亿美元)。不论如何，5亿英镑的石料费加上3.05亿英镑的工资根本无法和欣克利核电站相提并论。

　　The Great Wall of China was an even bigger project than the pyramid. At 5,500 miles long, its mass is almost certainly greater. But it is actually a large number of walls, pieced together over two millennia, stretching the definition of "object".

　　中国的长城是比金字塔规模更大的建筑项目，长达5500英里，体量当然更大。但是，它其实是用2000多年时间砌成的一大片砖墙，已经超过了“物体”这一定义的范畴。

　　One current project, at first glance, does appear to be in the same ballpark as the power station. The royal family of Saudi Arabia is refurbishing the Grand Mosque in Mecca at a reported cost of about £16bn ($23bn). But this includes a new road and train line, among other things, so, once again, it stretches the definition of "object".

　　还有一项当代工程一眼看去好像和核电站是一个量级的。沙特阿拉伯王室正在整修麦加大清真寺，据报道花销为160亿英镑(230亿美元)。但是，这项工程里包含一条新修的道路和铁路线，还有其它附属建筑，所以，它也是已经超出了“物体”这一定义的范畴。

　　And whatever the most expensive object on Earth is, up in the sky is something that eclipses all of these things. The International Space Station. Price tag: 100bn euros (£77.6bn, or $110bn).

　　不论地球上最昂贵的物体是什么，苍穹中有一样东西可以让所有这一切黯然失色，那就是国际空间站，标价：1000亿欧元(776亿英镑，或者1100亿美元)。

（编辑：何莹莹）