【英语趣味课堂】玛雅遗址-Mayan Ruins

Silvia: Hi, my name is Silvia. I'm from Guatemala.

 

Diego: And I'm Diego and I'm from Mexico. And today we're going to talk about ruins in our countries.

 

Silvia: Actually, Guatemala is quite famous for it's Mayan ruins. We have a lot of them all over the country but especially up in the north near Mexico, and the most famous one is Tikal.

 

Diego: Oh, wow, have you been there?

 

Silvia: Yeah, I've been there and now apparently¹ they're discovering more ruins around that area so every year you can go and just go visit a new ruin. So it's quite interesting.

 

Diego: The people in Guatemala often go to see these places or is it usually tourists?

 

Silvia: It's mainly tourists, but yeah, I've known a lot of people that just like to go, especially with my parents. They love archeology so they're taking us every time and seeing different places. They also discovered a new one that's getting a lot attention from the media lately. Apparently it's the biggest temple in the world, so it's getting a lot of media attention and now they even made a kind of like a replica² at the Shiang Hai Expo.

 

Diego: Oh, wow.

 

Silvia: Yeah. But the only way you can go there right now is by helicopter.

 

Diego: So it's a bit expensive to get there?

 

Silvia: Yeah, it is, so a lot of celebrities³ apparently have flown there but for Guatemalans, I don't think many Guatemalans have been there yet.

 

Diego: Yeah, maybe because it's difficult to be able to afford that. We also have Mayan ruins in Mexico. Have you ever been to Cancun?

 

Silvia: Yeah, I went to TuTulmas around there.

 

Diego: Yes, Tulumas is a very nice Mayan site because it's on a cliff⁴ and you see all of the ocean and it's really nice. The contrast between the buildings and the white sand and the blue ocean. It's really, really beautiful. And we also have Chiciniza, which is like a Mayan pyramid. Have you ever heard of it?

 

Silvia: I've heard of it, but I haven't been there yet.

 

Diego: Yeah, it was voted one of the seven wonders of the modern world, so it's really, really nice and it's really large, and unlike the pyramids in Egypt, like on the top it's flat so it's a bit different.

 

Silvia: Yeah, mainly the Guatemalan ruins are also a little bit flat.

 

Diego: Yeah, I think that was like Mayan architecture. It was flat on the top.

 

重点词汇：

Learn Vocabulary from the Lesson

apparently

 

 

Now, apparently, they're discovering more ruins.

 

People say apparently to express that something is a fact even though they do not know if it is true for sure: Notice the following:

 

Apparently, they are building a new mall.

Bill apparently left because we was sick.

archeology

 

 

They love archeology so they are taking us to the ruins.

 

Archeology is the study of human history, usually by looking at physical evidence of previous cultures. Notice the following:

 

Archeologists are digging up old bones of ancient people near the lake.

The museum has a nice archeological exhibit⁵ of Egyptian artifacts.

get a lot of attention

 

 

The new ruins are getting a lot of attention.

 

When a person or place gets a lot of attention, that means many people are learning⁶ about it or trying to find out about it. Notice the following:

 

That new restaurant is getting a lot of attention in the press.

The new amusement park is getting a lot of attention on TV.

replica

 

 

They built a replica of the ruins for the Shiang Hai Expo.

 

A replica is a copy or model of something but often on a smaller scale.

 

I like to make replica war ships in my garage.

This watch is not real. It's a replica.

contrast

 

 

There is a nice contrast between the buildings and the white sand.

 

A contrast between two things shows a sharp difference between the two items.

 

The contrast of his tan⁷ skin and white teeth made him look like a movie star.

One a clear night, there is a sharp contrast between the stars and black sky.

1 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

2 replica   

n.复制品

参考例句：

• The original conservatory has been rebuilt in replica.温室已按原样重建。
• The young artist made a replica of the famous painting.这位年轻的画家临摹了这幅著名的作品。

3 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

4 cliff   

n.悬崖，峭壁

参考例句：

• The cliff edge is dangerous and should be railed.崖边危险，应该用栏杆围起来。
• He took the measure of the cliff before he climbed it.他把悬崖的高度估量一下后再攀登。

5 exhibit   

vt.展览，展出，陈列；n.展览品；陈列品

参考例句：

• Next week those goods will exhibit in that shop. 下个星期，这些货物将在那家商店展出。
• The economy continued to exhibit signs of decline in September.9月份，经济继续呈现出衰退的迹象。

6 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

7 tan   

n.鞣制革，黄褐色；adj.黄褐色的，鞣皮的；vt.晒黑，鞣(革)，鞭打；vi.晒成棕褐色

参考例句：

• She had gotten a good tan after the holiday at the sea.在海边度假之后，她的皮肤晒得黑黑的。
• His arms and legs had a dark tan.他的手臂和腿晒得黑黑的。