Aztecs 远古的回响 -- Aztecs帝国 3

At the edge of the valley 30 miles north, the Aztecs came upon an abandoned place called Teotihuacan. People had first settled in this place a thousand years before the Aztecs came, but it long since disappeared. The Aztecs discovered a great ghost city. The deserted¹ city seemed tailor-made for the Aztecs and their beliefs. They even adopted as their own that the gods that were carved in these ancient temples----the Rain God and the Feathered Serpent God who would eventually bring them to grief. David Carrasco's groundbreaking work explores the profound impact of other cultures on the Aztecs.

David Carrasco:" the Aztecs of the 15th and 16th century would've been drawn² to Teotihuacan because of the monumentality of the place. Teotihuacan's one of the great world cities and the largest ceremonial center in Mesoamerica. The Aztecs looking for their own origins, their own legitimacy³ would've been attracted to this city."

With their humble⁴ nomadic⁵ background, the Aztecs envied the great architectural heritage and history of their predecessors⁶ in the Valley of Mexico. They took many things from this place, including the setting for their creation myth. The Aztec creation story described how the universe had already passed through four eras, or stages of the Sun. The symbols for each age are depicted⁷ on the great Aztec Sunstone: four feet thick, 12 feet in diameter, and weighing 24 tons. It was discovered in 1790 beneath Mexico City's Central Square.

At its center is the face of the sun, with a sacrificial knife in its mouth. Each of the four mythical⁸ ages lasted hundreds of years and ended in destruction. After the fourth sun, the world was left in darkness. They imagined that the gods gathered here to build a fire, and contemplate⁹ how they can bring forth¹⁰ another sun. To give the new sun energy to be born and travel on its journal across the sky, the gods sacrificed themselves, jumping into the fire and cutting out their hearts, their own blood giving life to the fifth sun--the dawning of the Aztec age.

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monumentality: n. 庞大
Mesoamerica: n. [考古]中亚美利加洲, 中美洲

1 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

2 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

3 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

4 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

5 nomadic   

adj.流浪的；游牧的

参考例句：

• This tribe still live a nomadic life.这个民族仍然过着游牧生活。
• The plowing culture and the nomadic culture are two traditional principal cultures in China.农耕文化与游牧文化是我国传统的两大主体文化。

6 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

8 mythical   

adj.神话的；虚构的；想像的

参考例句：

• Undeniably,he is a man of mythical status.不可否认，他是一个神话般的人物。
• Their wealth is merely mythical.他们的财富完全是虚构的。

9 contemplate   

vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视

参考例句：

• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate.战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。
• The consequences would be too ghastly to contemplate.后果不堪设想。

10 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。