听美文故事记6级单词05-02

2.The Hanging Gardens of Babyllon

The approach to the Gardens sloped like a hillside and the several parts of the structure rose from one another tier on tier.On all this, the earth had been piled and was thickly planted with trees of every kind that, by their great size and other charm, gave pleasure to the beholder¹.The water machines raised the water in great abundance from the river, although no one outside could see it. ——Diodorus Siculus

　　Fruits and flowers... Waterfalls... Gardens hanging from the palace terraces... Exotic animals...This is the picture of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon in most people's minds.It may be surprising to know that they might have never existed except in the minds of Greek poets and historians!

　　Location

　　On the east bank of the River Euphrates, about 50 km south of Baghdad, Iraq.

　　History

　　 The Babylonian kingdom flourished under the rule of the famous King, Hammurabi .It was not until the reign² of the Neo-Babylonian dynasty that the Mesopotamian civilization reached its ultimate glory.Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562 BC) is credited for building the legendary³ Hanging Gardens.It is said that the Gardens were built by Nebuchadnezzar to please his wife or concubine who had been "brought up in Media and had a passion for mountain surroundings".

　　While the most descriptive accounts of the Gardens come from Greek historians such as Berossus and Diodorus Siculus,Babylonian records stay silent on the matter.Tablets from the time of Nebuchadnezzar do not have a single reference to the Hanging Gardens,although descriptions of his palace, the city of Babylon, and the walls are found.Even the historians who give detailed⁴ descriptions of the Hanging Gardens never saw them.Modern historians argue that when Alexander 's soldiers reached the fertile land of Mesopotamia and saw Babylon, they were impressed.When they later returned to their rugged⁵ homeland, they had stories to tell about the amazing gardens and palm trees at Mesopotamia...About the palace of Nebuchadnezzar... About the Tower of Babel and the ziggurats.And it was the imagination of poets and ancient historians that blended all these elements together to produce one of the World Wonders.

　　It wasn't until the twentieth century that some of the mysteries surrounding the Hanging Gardens were revealed.Archaeologists are still struggling to gather enough evidence before reaching the final conclusions about the location of the Gardens, their irrigation system, and their true appearance.

1 beholder   

n.观看者，旁观者

参考例句：

• Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 看起来觉得美就是美。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It has been said that art is a tryst, for in the joy of it maker and beholder meet. 有人说艺术是一种幽会，因为艺术家和欣赏者可在幽会的乐趣中相遇在一起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

3 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

4 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

5 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。