英语听力：自然百科 The.First.Emperor 秦始皇 Part2

The.First.Emperor

Qin Shi Huangdi remains¹ a controversial figure in Chinese history. After unifying² China, he and his chief adviser³ Li Si passed a series of major economic and political reforms. He undertook gigantic projects, including the first version of the Great Wall of China, the now famous city-sized mausoleum guarded by a life-sized Terracotta Army, all at the expense of many lives. To ensure stability, Qin Shi Huang outlawed⁴ Confucianism and buried many scholars alive. All books other than those officially decreed were banned and burned in what is known as the great Confucian purge⁵. Despite the tyranny of his autocratic rule, Qin Shi Huang is regarded as a pivotal figure....

The great ruler, it's said, was sealed in a bronze model of his world, at the heart of the largest mausoleum on earth, surrounded by rivers and seas of flowing mercury. And so the legend remained for over 2000 years.

Jeffrey Riegel from the University of California wants to separate fact from fiction. He has come to China to examine the latest research on the first emperor, unlocking the truth behind one of the world's greatest legends. 

What we knew from these early stories, from these legends was the tale of a person who seemed from those sources to be larger than life, almost, almost impossibly large, as a, as a real figure, as a historical figure. Even though we knew, that of course he had indeed accomplished⁶ the unification of the empire, how did he do it? How did it, how did it come about? How, how could such an enormous historical personage exist?

Here I am! Oh Heaven! 

The reality of the emperor’s life has long been shrouded⁷ in mystery. For 2 millennia⁸ the only detailed⁹ information came from a single written history compiled 100 years after his death. The Shiji, the records of a grand historian, Sima Qian, the foundation of the legend.

It’s an entire world that Sima Qian has recreated for us, but for 2000 years all we had was this text.

Then in 1974, archeologists found the Terracotta Army. It stunned¹⁰ the world. And the greatest archeological find of the 20th century became the first real physical substance to the legend.

Its scale is unprecedented¹¹. Terracotta figures were known about from other burial sites, but never on this scale. 

1 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。

2 unifying   

使联合( unify的现在分词 )； 使相同； 使一致； 统一

参考例句：

• In addition, there were certain religious bonds of a unifying kind. 此外，他们还有某种具有一种统一性质的宗教上的结合。
• There is a unifying theme, and that is the theme of information flow within biological systems. 我们可以用一个总的命题，把生物学系统内的信息流来作为这一研究主题。

3 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

4 outlawed   

宣布…为不合法（outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Most states have outlawed the use of marijuana. 大多数州都宣布使用大麻为非法行为。
• I hope the sale of tobacco will be outlawed someday. 我希望有朝一日烟草制品会禁止销售。

5 purge   

n.整肃，清除，泻药，净化；vt.净化，清除，摆脱；vi.清除，通便，腹泻，变得清洁

参考例句：

• The new president carried out a purge of disloyal army officers.新总统对不忠诚的军官进行了清洗。
• The mayoral candidate has promised to purge the police department.市长候选人答应清洗警察部门。

6 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

7 shrouded   

v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密

参考例句：

• The hills were shrouded in mist . 这些小山被笼罩在薄雾之中。
• The towers were shrouded in mist. 城楼被蒙上薄雾。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 millennia   

n.一千年，千禧年

参考例句：

• For two millennia, exogamy was a major transgression for Jews. 两千年来，异族通婚一直是犹太人的一大禁忌。
• In the course of millennia, the dinosaurs died out. 在几千年的时间里，恐龙逐渐死绝了。

9 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。

10 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

11 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。