英语听力：自然百科 吴哥窟

 In Southeast Asia, an abandoned city sprawls¹ magnificently across the heart of Cambodia. Its hundreds of monuments contain more stone than the Egyptian pyramids, and cover more ground than modern Paris. This is Angkor, the capital of an Empire that once controlled most of Southeast Asia. Its people were called the Khmer, and more than 500 years ago, they fled this grand city. To the outside world, the city existed only in obscure travelers’ tales. Then in 1860, a French naturalist² named Henri Mouhot stumbled across the ruins. He wrote about the city, and drew it, attracting the attention of the wider world. But the questions had only just begun.

 

Who were Angkor’s builders, the Empire called the Khmer? And why had the city been abandoned?

 

Archeologists and historians have pieced together this story. Angkor’s greatest marvel³ Angkor Wat served as a shrine⁴ and an observatory⁵, and a funerary temple. Research suggests that it took almost 30 years to complete and was finished in time to bury an important king. But Angkor Wat had hardly claimed its place on the horizon when disaster struck. Drawn⁶ by its increasing splendor⁷, the Chams, from what is now Vietnam, attacked and burned the city. When the capital was rebuilt, the king built a walled city, Angkor Thom, to protect them in time of war. But the Khmer story came to an end not long afterward⁸. Twenty-two kings over 500 years have worked the land until it began to fail. Rice harvests dropped and stone monuments building ceased. Early in the 15th century, the Kingdom of Siam made profitable raids into Khmer territory. A climatic battle around 1431 brought about the end. All but abandoned, the Khmer capital was lulled⁹ into a centuries’ long sleep by the encroaching jungle.

 

1 sprawls   

n.（城市）杂乱无序拓展的地区( sprawl的名词复数 )；随意扩展；蔓延物v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的第三人称单数 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• The city sprawls out to the west, north and south. 该市向西、北、南方不规则地扩张[延伸]。 来自互联网
• Explanation: Our magnificent Milky Way Galaxy sprawls across this ambitious all-sky panorama. 说明：我们宏伟的银河系蜿蜒穿过这幅高企图心之全天影像。 来自互联网

2 naturalist   

n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者)

参考例句：

• He was a printer by trade and naturalist by avocation.他从事印刷业，同时是个博物学爱好者。
• The naturalist told us many stories about birds.博物学家给我们讲述了许多有关鸟儿的故事。

3 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

4 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

5 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

6 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

7 splendor   

n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌

参考例句：

• Never in his life had he gazed on such splendor.他生平从没有见过如此辉煌壮丽的场面。
• All the splendor in the world is not worth a good friend.人世间所有的荣华富贵不如一个好朋友。

8 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

9 lulled   

vt.使镇静，使安静（lull的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• They lulled her into a false sense of security. 他们哄骗她，使她产生一种虚假的安全感。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The movement of the train lulled me to sleep. 火车轻微的震动催我进入梦乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》