巴比伦空中花园
2008-05-12 23:45:14
巴比伦空中花园
tier on tier...On all this, the earth had been piled...and was thickly planted with trees of every kind that, by their great size and other charm, gave pleasure to the beholder...The water machines(raised) the water in great abundance from the river, although no one outside could see it. ——Diodorus Siculus
ruits and flowers... Waterfalls... Gardens hanging from the palace terraces... Exotic animals...This is the picture of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon in most people's minds.It may be surprising to know that they might have never existed except in the minds of Greek poets and historians!
Location
On the east bank of the River Euphrates, about 50 km south of Baghdad, Iraq.
History
The Babylonian kingdom flourished under the rule of the famous King, Hammurabi[2] (1792-1750 BC[3]).It was not until[4] the reign of the Neo-Babylonian dynasty that the Mesopotamian [5] civilization reached its ultimate glory.Nebuchadnezzar II[6] (604-562 BC) is credited for building the legendary Hanging Gardens.It is said that the Gardens were built by Nebuchadnezzar to please his wife or concubinewho had been "brought up in Media[7] and had a passion for mountain surroundings".
While the most descrīptive accounts of the Gardens come from Greek historians such as Berossus and Diodorus Siculus,Babylonian records stay silent on the matter.Tablets from the time of Nebuchadnezzar do not have a single reference to the Hanging Gardens,although descrīptions of his palace, the city of Babylon, and the walls are found.Even the historians who give detailed descrīptions of the Hanging Gardens never saw them.Modern historians argue that when Alexander[8] 's soldiers reached the fertile land of Mesopotamia and saw Babylon, they were impressed.When they later returned to their rugged homeland, they had stories to tell about the amazing gardens and palm trees at Mesopotamia...About the palace of Nebuchadnezzar... About the Tower of Babel[9] and the ziggurats.And it was the imagination of poets and ancient historians that blended all these elements together to produce one of the World Wonders.
It wasn't until the twentieth century that some of the mysteries surrounding the Hanging Gardens were revealed.Archaeologists are still struggling to gather enough evidence before reaching the final conclusions about the location of the Gardens, their irrigation system, and their true appearance.
注释：
1．Babylon：古代西亚两河流域的最大城市，古巴比伦王国与新巴比伦王国的首都。位于幼发拉底河中游，距今巴格达南约89公里。“空中花园”位于新巴比伦王国的都城中。
2．Hammurabi：汉谟拉比（公元前1792~1750）古巴比伦王国第六代国王。他在位其间，重新统一了两河流域。实行中央集权统治，兴修水利，发展经济。颁布有名的《汉谟拉比法典》。
3．BC：BC是“公元前”、AD是“公元后”。你知道为什么有公元前和公元后之分吗？其实公元记年是由后来的一位知识渊博的大主教发明的，以基督（Christ）的出生为分界线来划分。BC 就是Before Christ；而AD来自拉丁文anno Domini(=Since Christ was born)。
4．It was not until...：这个句子看起来挺让人迷惑，其实这是...not ...unitil...（直到……才……）的强调句型。It is ...that...是英语的情调句型。比如：It's man that counts.（出自《实用英语语法》）起作用的是人。强调...not ...unitil...时，是把not和 until引导的从句放在that 前。
5．Mesopotamian：美索不达米亚，西亚一古地区，地处幼发拉底河和底格里斯河之间，是世界文明发祥地之一。公元前4000年苏美尔人在南美索不达尼亚建立起世界最早的文明，约公元前2340年，阿卡帝国首次兴起，此后巴比伦和亚述两帝国相继崛起。
6．NebuPage: 1 chadnezzar II：尼布甲尼撒二世（前605~前562），新巴比伦王国国王。即位后，大举进攻腓尼基和巴勒斯坦，与埃及争夺势力范围。公元前586年攻陷耶路撒冷，灭犹太王国，俘虏大批犹太居民。前567年远征埃及，并掠夺大量财富，是为新巴比伦王国鼎盛时期。
7．Media：米底，西亚古国，在今伊朗西部和阿塞拜疆东部地区。
8．lexander the Great：亚历山大大帝（前356~前323）马其顿国王。前334年以无敌之师大举东进，入小亚细亚，转埃及，建立亚历山大城，挺进两河流域，入侵中亚细亚，南下印度。后因气候不适，士兵厌战而退兵巴比伦。前324年，建立了以亚历山大城为中心的东起印度河、西至尼罗河与巴尔干半岛领域的古代大帝国——亚历山大帝国。
9．the Tower of Babel：巴别塔，据《圣经·旧约》，诺亚在巴比伦的子孙想建造一座“塔顶通天”的塔以扬名，同时反抗上帝。上帝便变乱他们原来统一的语言，使之互不相通，结果塔未能建成，而人类分散到世界各地。
巴比伦的空中花园
通往花园的道路象山坡一样倾斜着，建筑物的几个部分一层一层地向上交错排列着……泥土在这些上面堆积着……并且浓密地种植着各种各样的树木，它们以其巨大的身躯和其他一些魅力，令观赏者赏心悦目……抽水的机器把大量的水从河中（提升到）上面，尽管没有人从外面能看到它。 ——Diodorus Siculus
水果与鲜花……、瀑布……、花园高悬在宫殿的阳台上……、奇异的动物……，这是大多数人想象中的巴比伦空中花园。让人吃惊的是空中花园除了在希腊的诗人和历史学家的头脑中出现过外，可能从来就没有存在过。
位置：
位于幼发拉底河的东岸，距伊拉克的首都巴格达南约50公里。
历史：
古巴比伦王国在著名的国王汉谟拉比（公元前1792~1750）的统治下曾经繁荣一时。但是直到新巴比伦王朝，美索不达米亚文明才达到了它的鼎盛时期。人们相信传说中的空中花园是由尼布甲尼撒二世（公元前604年~562年）建造的。据传，尼布甲尼撒为了取悦于其在米底亚长大并对山景怀有深厚感情的王后或者是妃子而建造了空中花园。
虽然对花园最详尽的记述是出自Berossus 和 Diodorus Siculus等希腊历史学家笔下, 但巴比伦的历史记录却对此事只字未提。尽管在尼布甲尼撒时期存留下的各种书写板上发现了对他的宫殿、巴比伦城以及巴比伦的城墙的种种描述，但这些书写板上却没有一处提到过空中花园。甚至那些对空中花园进行过详细描述的历史学家们也从没有亲眼目睹过它们。现代历史学家争论说：当亚力山大的士兵们到达了富饶的美索不达米亚地区并看到了巴比伦时，他们深为（眼前的美景）所震撼。当他们后来回到崎岖不平的家乡时，带回了有关美索不达米亚的令人惊叹的花园和椰子树……、有关尼布甲尼撒的宫殿……以及有关巴别塔和金字型神塔的各种故事。是诗人和古代历史学家的想象力把这所有的元素混合在一起制造出了世界奇观之一。
直到二十世纪，围绕着空中花园的一些不解之迷才被揭示出来。在得到关于花园的地理位置、灌溉系统，和真正面目的最终结论之前，考古学家们仍在努力地收集足够的证据。
永远的维纳斯
Venus de Milos
The Aphrodite of Melos is made of[1] marble and represents vivdly the goddess Aphrodite. This statue had earned it's name the Venus de Milo or Venus de Melos, because in 1820, a peasant had found it on the Greek island of Melos and it was named afte The statue shows Aphrodite semi-nude and with a robe wrapped around her legs. For hundreds of years the statue had remained buried in an underground cavern. On account of[3] this, the statue had suffered significant damage and it was found in two parts. Later it was replaced together and sent to France, because the Marquis de Riviere had brought the statue and had given it to Louis XVIII of France[4]. Pieces of arms and a pedestal with an inscrīption, were also found in the cave, but these were later lost and never found again. No one knows who created the statue of the Aphrodite of Melos. It is probably the work of the Greek artist Alexandros of Antioch. This name was inscribed on the block of stone on the pedestal that was later lost, but this is doubted from scholars because it may not have been the corrected block with the Venus de Milo, so this had erased the attribution to Alexandros. Some scholars had attributed the work of the statue to Praxiteles[5]. It is said that it was sculpted around the second century B.C. 米洛的维纳斯 “米洛的阿芙洛狄特”是由大理石制成的，惟妙惟肖地刻画了女神阿芙洛狄特。在1820年，一位农民在希腊的米洛岛上发现了这尊雕像，此后它就以这个岛而得名，被称为“米洛的维纳斯”。 雕像展示了阿芙洛狄特半裸的形象，一条长袍遮住了她的双腿。数百年来，这尊雕像被深埋于一个地下洞穴中。因此，雕像严重受损，当它被发现时已经断为两截。后来它被修复在一起，并送往了法国，因为马尔凯斯·德里维尔已购买了这尊雕像，把它送给法国国王路易十八。在洞中也发现了雕像胳膊和刻有铭文的底座的残片，但是后来这些东西均被丢失，而且从此再未找到过。 没有人知道谁创作了雕像“米洛的维纳斯”。它可能是希腊雕刻家，安屈克亚的亚历山德罗斯的作品。因为在那块后来丢失的雕像底座上刻着这个名字，但是学者们对此表示怀疑，因为这可能不是真正的“米洛的维纳斯”的底座，这就使亚历山德罗斯是否是雕像的作者产生置疑。一些学者认为这尊雕像是普拉克西特利斯的作品。它据说是作于公元前2世纪左右。 注释： 1． be made of：made 后接不同的介词短语，表示不同的意思。比如：a. A Stew can be made with vegetables. 这句表示蔬菜只是焖菜中的一种成分。 b. A stew can be made of vegetable. 这里表示蔬菜是焖菜中的主要成分。c. The wine is made from graps. Made from 指用……加工制成，经过加工，成品已非原来的样子。 2． be named after：name 除了作名词，也可作动词，表示“命名；以……名字命名（after）”，例如：They named their son John. 他们给婴儿取名为约翰。She was named after her grandmother. 她是根据她祖母的名字命名的。 3． on account of：是“因为，为……的缘故”。例如：I was absent from school on account of illness. 另外有关account的词组还有：on all accounts （无论如何，不管怎样）；on no accont （不管什么理由，决不）。 4． Louis XVIII：路易十八（1755~1824），法国国王。1795年路易十七死后，自立为路易十八。1814年4月跟随反法联军回到法国，恢复波旁王朝的统治。拿破仑百日王朝时又逃亡到国外。1815年滑铁卢战役后再次回到巴黎，重登王位。 5． Praxiteles：普拉克西特利斯（？前四世纪中叶）雅典雕刻家。希腊最有创造性的艺术家之一。以其大理石雕像闻明。其作品将神话人物纳如平凡的日常生活而加以抒情描写，风格柔和细腻，确立了当时希腊雕塑的特征。其著名作品现仅存大理石雕像《赫尔墨斯》。 World Cup History 世界杯历史 The first World Cup Some 100,000 fans packed into the Centenario Stadium for the final on 30 July to see Argentina throw away a 2-1 half-time lead as Uruguay ran out 4-2 winners. Jules Rimet, the Fifa president and brains behind the World Cup, presented the trophy to winning captain Jose Nazassi and football's greatest tournament was born. After a pre-match row over which ball to use for the final, it is believed the Argentine ball was used in one half and the Uruguayan ball in the other. Rumour has it that this is how the phrase "a game of two halves" evolved. Fifa congress era hosting inaugural dominated did not disgrace themselves packed into brains behind row Rumour has it
r[2] the island where it was found.
On 26 May 1928, at a meeting in Amsterdam, the Fifa congress decided that a new tournament open to all its members should be played. A year later in Barcelona it was agreed that Uruguay, the Olympic champions and the era's footballing superpower, should celebrate 100 years of independence by hosting the first World Cup the following year.
Only 13 nations took part in the inaugural tournament, with a majority of nine coming from South America. All games were played in three stadiums in Montevideo and, as expected, the South American countries dominated, although the European teams did not disgrace themselves.
World Cup history - vocabulary
The international organisation that controls football is Fifa, which stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association. A congress is a meeting.
This word is used to talk about a period of time in the past when something or someone is important.
If a country hosts the World Cup, then the competition is being played in that country.
This adjective means the very first. It is mainly used when talking about special events and competitions.
If a team dominated it means that they were much stronger and they did much better than the others.
This expression is used to describe good performances by a team that isn't very strong. Although they are a weaker team and didn't win, they did play well.
This expression shows that the stadium was completely full, there was no extra space.
When someone is described as the brains behind something, then it is that person's idea or plan.
Another word for an argument or disagreement.
This expression means that what is being told is not a fact, but is what people believe to be true
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