英语口语畅谈世界文化之埃及24:The Pyramids 金字塔

英语口语畅谈世界文化

之埃及 24 The Pyramids 金字塔

T: Traveller      G:Tour guide
T：游客           G：导游

T: Could you tell me about these pictures?
T:你能给我讲解一下这些照片吗？

G: The pyramids were built at around 3000-2500 BC and are one of the most impressive monuments of the ancient world.  They were built as tombs for the Pharaohs, the rulers of Egypt. The first Pharaohs built simpler tombs, called mastabas. These mastabas were square buildings with a room inside for the coffin and the mummy and some things to take with you to the afterlife.
G:金字塔建于公元前3000年至公元前2500年左右，是远古世界最宏伟的历史建筑之一。它们是为埃及的统治者法老们修建的陵墓。最初法老们的陵墓‘比较简单，叫玛斯塔巴陵墓。这些陵墓是方形的建筑，里面有一个房间用来放棺材、木乃伊和一些来世所需要的随身物品。

T: Like this over here in the picture?
T:就像照片中的这一个吗？

G: Yes. Then they began to build mounds of earth on top of their mastabas, to make them grander.  Ordinary princes and other aristocrats went on being buried in mastabas. The Step Pyramid is one of the first of these new fancy tombs.
G:是的。陵墓建成之后，他们开始往墓顶上堆很多土，以便使这些墓看起来更壮观些。普通的王子和其他贵族就一直埋在这样的陵墓中。第一批奇特的新陵墓之一就是阶梯式金字塔。

T: But, the pyramids we know all have filled in steps.
T:可是我们知道的金字塔都建有台阶。

G: Yes, a short time after these were built, the Egyptians decided to fill in the steps, and then made them more pointed on top.
G:是的，这些金字塔建起来不久，埃及人就决定加上阶梯，然后使它们的顶部看起来更尖。

T: The ones in Giza arc this style, right? I think they are the most well-known, everyone in the world must have seen a picture of them
T:吉萨的那些金字塔就都是这种风格，对吧？我想这些金字塔是最有名的，全球的人都一定见过它们的照片。

G: Yes, the ones in Giza were built following this design. Khufu's Great Pyramid was the tallest building on earth for almost 6vc thousand years, until the Eiffel Tower was built in 1889.
G:没错，吉萨的金字塔是按照这种风格建造的。在1889年埃菲尔铁塔建成之前的5000年里，胡大大金字塔足地球上最高的建筑物。

T: That's amazing! How did they build them exactly? I've heard many stories about using slaves and even aliens helping them!
T:真是了不起！他们究竟是怎么建起来的？我听说过很多关于使用奴隶甚至是靠外星人帮助建成的传说！

G: Yes, I've heard the ones about the aliens too! A pyramid is not hard to build, if you have plenty of cheap workers available. First they built a small mastaba-style tomb on the ground, in the ordinary way. Then one theory is that they heaped up tons and tons of dirt over the tomb, leaving a tunnel Co the outside. Then they began placing huge stones all over the outside of the pyramid. To raise the stones to the top of the pyramid, they built long ramps of dirt and then rolled the stones up them. They kept making the ramps higher and longer. When it was done, they took the earth ramps away again.
G:是的，我也听说过外星人的说法！如果有大量廉价的劳动力，建一座金字塔并不难。首先，他们先在地上建一个水方形墓，很普通的样子。然后，有一种说法是，他们接着在坟墓上堆上很多很多的土，留出一个通向外面的通道。再接下来他们开始在整个金字塔的周围放上大石头。为了把石头抬到金字塔的顶部，他们修建了长长的土坡，然后沿着坡把石头往上滚。他们不断把土坡加高、加长。等一切完成之后，他们再把土坡清理掉。

T: Still, it is unbelievable how they built such massive itructurei without machinery.
T:在没有机器的情况下他们建起这么庞大的建筑物，还是很令人难以置信。

【单词词组讲解】
impressive monument宏伟的历史建筑
heap up堆积
ancient world远古世界
massive structures庞大的建筑

【背景介绍】
法老的陵墓：金字塔的建造从公元前27世纪延续到17世纪，但陵寝大都避受了盗墓人的侵害。从托特来斯一世（前1545-前1515）开始，为保障遗体的安全，法老们不再修建金字塔作为自己的陵基。在此后500年的时问里，各代法老都葬于底比斯山西麓峭壁下的帝王谷。然而盗窃团伙仍旧猖毁，守卫们不断地转移国王的木乃伊，以免遭受褒渎。在岱尔•埃尔巴里盆地的山崖上有集中开凿的安葬国王干尸的巨大莲莽群 

金字塔（Pyramid），在建筑学上是指锥体建筑物，一般来说基座为正三角形或四方形等的正多边形，也可能是其他的多边形，侧面由多个三角形或接近三角形的面相接而成，顶部面积非常小，甚至成尖顶状。古文明的先民们把金字塔视为重要的纪念性建筑，如陵墓、祭祀地等。20世纪70年代开始，随着建筑技术的发展，有些建筑师会从几何学选取元素，建造出现代金字塔式的建筑。