The forgotten city—Machu Picchu 被遗忘的马丘比丘

谷战峰

海词积累

1. terrace n. 梯田;阶地

2. slide v. 滑;溜

3. architecture n. 建筑

4. orient v. 朝向

5. abandon v. 抛弃

6. territory n. 領土

7. uninhabited adj. 无人居住的

8. missionary n. 传教士

9. refuge n. 避难所

10. assemblage v. 聚集

The Lost City of Machu Picchu is a mysterious wonder. The Incas（印加人） built a city of stone there， without the aid of wheels or iron tools. This is the best example of Inca engineering. They built more than 600 terraces to prevent the city from sliding down the mountain. They designed a water supply system with a length of about 1 km.

For the Incas the architecture was especially important. The temples which were built around the city are oriented to catch the rays of the rising sun. The slopes of the roofs reflect the Huayna Picchu， the mountain that emerges after them. However， Machu Picchu has kept its secrets well， hiding for over 400 years its true meaning and purpose.

Abandoned in the sixteenth century and invaded by the Andean forest， it became a lost place and was forgotten even by the people who built it. Complete for centuries， Machu Picchu is a window to the past， through which we can know who built it—the Incas， an ancient civilization that created the most powerful empire in South America.

For centuries， Machu Picchu was hidden to the world. The Spanish conqueror never found it and the Incas who knew the location of Machu Picchu eventually forgot it.

When Hiram Bingham arrived in the territory occupied by the Archaeological Park of Machu Picchu， it was uninhabited at least since the fifteenth century.

It is unlikely that Bingham was the first outsider to have seen the ruins—documents show that missionaries had been there before. Of course， Machu Picchu was not “lost”—it had been known by natives for centuries. Nor was it the place Bingham was originally looking for： He had been searching for Vilcabamba. It was the last refuge of the Inca Empire until it fell to the Spanish in 1572. But to the outside world， the ancient assemblage was definitely new. Since then， Machu Picchu， which in Inca means “Old Peak”， has become one of the most visited places in Latin America and Peru？蒺s most famous site.

Reading Check

1. What does the underlined word “emerges” most probably mean？

A.Develops. B.Follows.

C.Appears. D.Blocks.

2. What do we know about Machu Picchu？

A.It was found by the Spanish.

B.It is now a tourist attraction.

C.It is known for centuries.

D.It was first discovered by Bingham.

3. Which place was Bingham originally looking for？

A.Vilcabamba.

B.The temples.

C.Machu Picchu.

D.The Archaeological Park.

Language Study

Difficult sentence

Complete for centuries， Machu Picchu is a window to the past， through which we can know who built it—the Incas， an ancient civilization that created the most powerful empire in South America. 几个世纪都完好无损，马丘比丘是通往过去的一扇窗户，通过它我们可以知道是谁建造了它——印加，一个创造了南美洲最强大帝国的文明古国。

【点石成金】Machu Picchu is a window to the past是主句，through which we can know是“介词+关系代词”引导的非限制性定语从句，who built it是宾语从句。an ancient civilization...America是the Incas的同位语，that引导的是限制性定语从句。