胡敏读故事记单词托福词汇193

　　193. Steinhenge斯坦亨格 rite¹-ruins
On the Strawberry Plain in Kringland, stand the ruins of an ancient culture, which are called Steinhenge. The people of this culture, the Welts, had a priestly class called the Kruids. The rubble² that stands there today is the site of an ancient astronomical³ observatory⁴. It is the place where rites⁵ and rituals were performed.
The structure is formed of large rough stone slabs⁷ that were hewn from a nearby quarry⁸ and rolled over rugged⁹ terrain¹⁰ to the site. They were roughly fit together and cemented with a rubbery substance to form vertical¹¹ and horizontal structures in a circular arrangement that was aligned¹² to the rudimentary rotations¹⁴ of the heavenly bodies.
The Welts knew that petty rivalry¹⁵ between members of the ruling class could ruin their society. So they designed a ritual to dispel¹⁶ such rivalry. First, the two rivals were forced to memorize by rote¹⁷ the lines involved in the two roles of the rivalry ritual. Next, a rooster was to be procured¹⁸. Either a roaming rooster or a roosting rooster would do. Then the two rivals were to enter the Steinhenge structure carrying rods and rotate around the center slab⁶ where the live rooster had been placed. After that, they were to let out a robust¹⁹ roar and beat the rooster to death. Finally, if the two rivals at this point in the routine had expelled their contentions²⁰, they could roast the rooster and enjoy it as compatriots. Otherwise, they were to stay there and rotate around the rooster until it was rotten and then eat it. This could sometimes take days.
As in most ancient civilizations, rituals were often used to solve disputes. Steinhenge played an important role in this in the Weltic culture.
rite n.仪式
ritual n.典礼,宗教仪式adj.典礼的,宗教仪式的
rival vt. 比得上,与…相匹敌adj.竞争的n.竞争者,对手
rivalry n.竞争,敌对状态
roam vi.漫游,漫步
roar n.吼声,轰鸣
roast vt.烤,烘
robust adj.强壮的,健壮的,粗野的
rod n.杆,枝,棒,棍
role n.角色,任务
roll v. 滚动n.卷
roost n.栖息处,鸟巢,鸡棚v.栖息
rooster n.公鸡
rotate v.循环,轮流,(使)旋转
rotation¹³ n.旋转
rote n.死记硬背,生搬硬套
rotten adj.腐烂的
rough adj.粗糙的,不平的
roughly adv.概略地,大致地
routine n.常规,惯例adj.常规的
rubbery adj.橡胶似的,有弹力的
rubble n.(一堆)碎石,瓦砾
rudimentary adj.基本的,初步的,发展未完全的
rugged adj.高低不平的,崎岖的
ruin v.破坏,毁灭
ruins n废墟,遗迹

1 rite   

n.典礼，惯例，习俗

参考例句：

• This festival descends from a religious rite.这个节日起源于宗教仪式。
• Most traditional societies have transition rites at puberty.大多数传统社会都为青春期的孩子举行成人礼。

2 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

3 astronomical   

adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的

参考例句：

• He was an expert on ancient Chinese astronomical literature.他是研究中国古代天文学文献的专家。
• Houses in the village are selling for astronomical prices.乡村的房价正在飙升。

4 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。

5 rites   

仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to administer the last rites to sb 给某人举行临终圣事
• He is interested in mystic rites and ceremonies. 他对神秘的仪式感兴趣。

6 slab   

n.平板，厚的切片；v.切成厚板，以平板盖上

参考例句：

• This heavy slab of oak now stood between the bomb and Hitler.这时笨重的橡木厚板就横在炸弹和希特勒之间了。
• The monument consists of two vertical pillars supporting a horizontal slab.这座纪念碑由两根垂直的柱体构成，它们共同支撑着一块平板。

7 slabs   

n.厚板，平板，厚片( slab的名词复数 )；厚胶片

参考例句：

• The patio was made of stone slabs. 这天井是用石板铺砌而成的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The slabs of standing stone point roughly toward the invisible notch. 这些矗立的石块，大致指向那个看不见的缺口。 来自辞典例句

8 quarry   

n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找

参考例句：

• Michelangelo obtained his marble from a quarry.米开朗基罗从采石场获得他的大理石。
• This mountain was the site for a quarry.这座山曾经有一个采石场。

9 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

10 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

11 vertical   

adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置

参考例句：

• The northern side of the mountain is almost vertical.这座山的北坡几乎是垂直的。
• Vertical air motions are not measured by this system.垂直气流的运动不用这种系统来测量。

12 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

13 rotation   

n.旋转；循环，轮流

参考例句：

• Crop rotation helps prevent soil erosion.农作物轮作有助于防止水土流失。
• The workers in this workshop do day and night shifts in weekly rotation.这个车间的工人上白班和上夜班每周轮换一次。

14 rotations   

旋转( rotation的名词复数 )； 转动； 轮流； 轮换

参考例句：

• Farmers traditionally used long-term rotations of hay, pasture, and corn. 农民以往长期实行干草、牧草和玉米轮作。
• The crankshaft makes three rotations for each rotation of the rotor. 转子每转一周，曲轴转3周。

15 rivalry   

n.竞争，竞赛，对抗

参考例句：

• The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
• He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。

16 dispel   

vt.驱走，驱散，消除

参考例句：

• I tried in vain to dispel her misgivings.我试图消除她的疑虑，但没有成功。
• We hope the programme will dispel certain misconceptions about the disease.我们希望这个节目能消除对这种疾病的一些误解。

17 rote   

n.死记硬背，生搬硬套

参考例句：

• Learning by rote is discouraged in this school.这所学校不鼓励死记硬背的学习方式。
• He recited the poem by rote.他强记背诵了这首诗。

18 procured   

v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条

参考例句：

• These cars are to be procured through open tender. 这些汽车要用公开招标的办法购买。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• A friend procured a position in the bank for my big brother. 一位朋友为我哥哥谋得了一个银行的职位。 来自《用法词典》

19 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

20 contentions   

n.竞争( contention的名词复数 )；争夺；争论；论点

参考例句：

• Direct tests on individual particles do not support these contentions. 对单个粒子所作的直接试验并不支持这些论点。 来自辞典例句
• His contentions cannot be laughed out of court. 对他的争辩不能一笑置之。 来自辞典例句