书名：缤纷中国：媒体英语阅读教程pdf/doc/txt格式电子书下载

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作者：董晓波编

出版社：清华大学出版社, 北京交通大学出版社

出版时间：2009-04-01

书籍编号：30041962

ISBN：9787811235456

正文语种：中英对照

字数：302473

版次：1

所属分类：外语学习-实用英语

版权信息

书名：缤纷中国：媒体英语阅读教程

编者：董晓波

出版社：清华大学出版社，北京交通大学出版社

出版时间：2009-04-01

ISBN：9787811235456

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Unit 1  Culture & Science

北京是中华人民共和国的首都，也是中国四大古都之一，具有3 000余年的悠久历史、850多年的建都史和灿烂的文化。北京在历史上曾为五代都城，是我国拥有帝王宫殿、园林、庙坛和陵墓数量最多、内容最丰富的城市。故宫又称紫禁城，原为明、清两代的皇宫，住过24个皇帝，其建筑宏伟壮观，完美地体现了中国传统的古典风格和东方格调，是我国乃至全世界现存最大的宫殿。天坛以其布局合理、构筑精妙而扬名中外，是明、清两代皇帝“祭天”和“祈谷”的地方，是我国现存最大的古代祭祀性建筑群。北京钟鼓楼位于故宫正北方，鼓楼在南，钟楼在北，是元明清三代击鼓鸣钟报时的建筑。如今虽已失去了司时的功能，但每到年节，浑厚有力的钟鼓声仍为人们祈福，并已成为京城一景。

Text A  Guide to Historic Attractions in Beijing

With its 3000-year history， Beijing boasts some of the most renowned historic attractions in the world. The following are the highlights of a visit to the ancient city.

The Forbidden City， or Gu Gong

As the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties for five centuries， the 72-hectare Forbidden City is the world\'s largest palace complex with 9，999 rooms. It lies at the heart of Beijing， just to the north of the Tian\'anmen Square.

The palace， which used to be off-limits to the common people， is surrounded by a 10-meter high wall， which measures 960 meters from south to north and 750 meters from east to west. Outside the wall is a 52-meter-wide moat. It is indeed a city within a city.

Until 1924 when Emperor Pu Yi—as portrayed in Bernardo Bertolucci\'s Oscar-sweeping masterpiece “The Last Emperor” —was driven out of the palace， 24 emperors had reigned there.

Historical data show that a million workers were involved in the 14-year building of the palace， starting in 1407. To transfer the stones quarried from outside the city， it is said that a well was dug every 50 meters along the road in order to pour water on the road in winter to slide large stones on the ice. Building materials included glutinous rice and egg whites， making the wall extraordinarily strong.

Listed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site in 1987， it features numerous architectural wonders， rare ancient treasures and painted decorations. Amble through the seemingly endless courtyards and halls and you can almost smell the history.

The Temple of Heaven， or Tian Tan

Lying slightly southeast the Tian\'anmen Square， the Temple of Heaven was built in 1420 A.D. during the Ming Dynasty as the place where the imperial family made offerings to Heaven.

Since Chinese emperors called themselves the “Son of Heaven”， they built the 273-hectare temple much bigger than the Forbidden City， their own living place， to show respect for their lineage. The complex was listed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site in 1998.

The Circular Mound Altar is the key building inside the temple with three layered terraces of white marble， where the emperors worshipped on the day of the Winter Solstice every year. This ceremony was to thank Heaven and hope everything would be good in the future.

The highlight， the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest， is a big cone-shaped structure with round roof and three layers of eaves. Inside the Hall are 28 huge posts. The four posts along the inner circle represent four seasons; the 12 posts along the middle circle represent the 12 months; and the 12 posts along the outer circle represent 12 “shichen”.

Shichen is a time scale in ancient China and one shichen equaled two hours. The roof is covered with black， yellow and green glaze representing the heavens， the earth and everything on earth.

Also interesting is the Echo Wall with its 193-meter perimeter. The person standing at the west end of the wall can clearly hear a whisper from the east as the wall was built to a acoustic design.

Other sights include the Imperial Vault of Heaven and the Nine-Dragon Cypress tree whose branches have grown over more than 500 years to look like nine dragons twisted around each other.

The Bell and Drum Towers， or Zhong Gu Lou

Bells and drums were used by the ancient Chinese to tell time as far back as the Han Dynasty （206 B.C.-220 A.D.）. Though bell and drum towers were built in almost every city throughout the country， the towers in Beijing are said to be the largest and tallest. Built in 1272 and rebuilt twice after two fires， the towers tolled the hours during the Yuan， Ming and Qing dynasties （1271-1911）.

Bell Tower: Hanging on an eight-square wooden frame on the second floor， this bell is the largest and heaviest in China. It is 7.02 meters high， and weighs 63 tons. The bell is made of copper， and can be heard over great distances. The 2-meter wooden beams hanging at the sides are used to ring the bell.

Drum Tower: 100 meters south of the Bell Tower， the Drum Tower is built on a 4-meter-high stone and brick base. It is 46.7 meters high， slightly lower than the Bell Tower\'s 47.9 meters. The drum is beaten quickly 18 times and then slowly 18 times. This pattern is done three times， making 108 beats， representing one year in ancient times.

Telling time by ringing the bell and beating the drum was abolished after Pu Yi， the last emperor of China， left the Forbidden City. On New Year\'s Eve in 1990， the long-silent bell rang out again. The drum was also beaten again on the

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