听美文故事记6级单词05-01

UNIT 5 1. The Temple of Zeus

In his right hand a figure of Victory made from ivory and gold.In his left hand, his scepter inlaid with all metals, and an eagle perched on the sceptre.The sandals of the god are made of gold, as is his robe. Pausanias the Greek (2nd century AD)

This is the statue of the god in whose honor the Ancient Olympic games were held.It was located on the land that gave its very name to the Olympics.At the time of the games, wars stopped, and athletes came from Asia Minor¹, Syria, Egypt, and Sicily to celebrate the Olympics and to worship their king of gods: Zeus.

Location

　　At the ancient town of Olympia, on the west coast of modern Greece, about 150 km west of Athens.

History

　　The ancient Greek calendar starts in 776 BC, for the Olympic games are believed to have started that year.The magnificent temple of Zeus was designed by the architect Libon and was built around 450 BC.Under the growing power of ancient Greece, the simple Doric-style temple seemed too mundane², and modifications³ were needed.The solution: A majestic⁴ statue.The Athenian sculptor⁵ Pheidias

was assigned for the "sacred" task, reminiscent of Michelangelo's

paintings at the Sistine Chapel⁶.

For the years that followed, the temple attracted visitors and worshippers from all over the world.In the second century BC repairs were skillfully made to the aging statue.In the first century AD, the Roman emperor Caligula attempted to transport the statue to Rome.However, his attempt failed when the scaffolding built by Caligula's workmen collapsed⁷.After the Olympic games were banned in AD 391 by the emperor Theodosius I as Pagan practices, the temple of Zeus was ordered closed.

Olympia was further struck by earthquakes, landslides⁸ and floods, and the temple was damaged by fire in the fifth century AD.Earlier, the statue had been transported by wealthy Greeks to a palace in Constantinople.There, it survived until it was destroyed by a severe fire in AD 462.Today nothing remains⁹ at the site of the old temple except rocks and debris¹⁰, the foundation of the buildings, and fallen columns.

1 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

2 mundane   

adj.平凡的；尘世的；宇宙的

参考例句：

• I hope I can get an interesting job and not something mundane.我希望我可以得到的是一份有趣的工作，而不是一份平凡无奇的。
• I find it humorous sometimes that even the most mundane occurrences can have an impact on our awareness.我发现生活有时挺诙谐的，即使是最平凡的事情也能影响我们的感知。

3 modifications   

n.缓和( modification的名词复数 )；限制；更改；改变

参考例句：

• The engine was pulled apart for modifications and then reassembled. 发动机被拆开改型，然后再组装起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The original plan had undergone fairly extensive modifications. 原计划已经作了相当大的修改。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 majestic   

adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的

参考例句：

• In the distance rose the majestic Alps.远处耸立着雄伟的阿尔卑斯山。
• He looks majestic in uniform.他穿上军装显得很威风。

5 sculptor   

n.雕刻家，雕刻家

参考例句：

• A sculptor forms her material.雕塑家把材料塑造成雕塑品。
• The sculptor rounded the clay into a sphere.那位雕塑家把黏土做成了一个球状。

6 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

7 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

8 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。