国外媒体:神秘的阿卡帕纳金字塔

阿卡帕纳是最大的梯形金字塔，曾被认为是一座人工堆建的小山。阿卡帕纳金字塔是遗址中最大的建筑，塔底平面呈长方形，长180米，140米。

One thousand years before Columbus, they were pyramid builders, warriors¹, the architects of an empire in South America. The Tiwanaku lived in a valley of Lake Titicaca for 1,500 hundred years. And then their civilization vanished, leaving behind only stone ruins and the enduring mystery of their passing.

The center piece of Tiwanaku's spiritual power was the Akapana Pyramid, surrounding the pyramid, cities and temples, was a vast maze² of channels and regions, though they look like irrigation ditches, they were far too complex.

The mystery of their purpose is one that archaeologist Alan Kolata  had been struggling to solve. Kolata had a hunch³, and to prove it he asked the local farmer to plant crops along the channel banks. Then the archaeologist and the farmers led in the water. Crops spouted⁴ and began to grow. But then a tremendous frost hit the outer planter. It devastated⁵ other fields, but the crops landed along the canals were not affected⁶.

The key to the sophistication of these, uh, of these raise fill system are really these canals that you see here all around me. What's important about the maze is they function like gigantic solar collectors.

If you fetch this water you'll see that it's warm enough to bay, and it's truly remarkable⁷ and here we are up at 14,000 feet. And that's really the key to the system. It really prevents frost from damaging the crops that would be growing up on these field platform services here.

The mystery was solved. The Tiwanaku had found a way to control the environment of the valley itself. Their canals store heat during the day, then radiate it over the fields at night. This remarkable system provided the wealth to build an empire, and to keep it for over a millennium⁸. But then a mid-growing political turmoil⁹, the empire began to decline.

For the Tiwanaku, it was the end, but for the local farmers, it is a new beginning. Secure from the frost, the raise fields proved to be seven times more productive, providing hope for a better harvest, and pride for their ancestor wisdom that is returned from the past.

1 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

2 maze   

n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑

参考例句：

• He found his way through the complex maze of corridors.他穿过了迷宮一样的走廊。
• She was lost in the maze for several hours.一连几小时，她的头脑处于一片糊涂状态。

3 hunch   

n.预感，直觉

参考例句：

• I have a hunch that he didn't really want to go.我有这么一种感觉，他并不真正想去。
• I had a hunch that Susan and I would work well together.我有预感和苏珊共事会很融洽。

4 spouted   

adj.装有嘴的v.（指液体）喷出( spout的过去式和过去分词 )；滔滔不绝地讲；喋喋不休地说；喷水

参考例句：

• The broken pipe spouted water all over the room. 破裂的水管喷了一屋子的水。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The lecturer spouted for hours. 讲师滔滔不绝地讲了几个小时。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

8 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

9 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。