埃及金字塔The Pyramids of Egypt were built on the west bank of the Nile River at Giza during the 4th Dynasty (about 2575 to about 2467 bc). The oldest of the seven wonders, the pyramids are the only one remaining nearly intact today. Their white stone facing was later removed for use as building material in Cairo. The largest of the pyramids is that of King Khufu, which is sometimes known as the Great Pyramid. It covers an area of over 4.8 hectares (12 acres). According to the Greek historian Herodotus, ten years were required to prepare the site and 100,000 laborers worked thereafter for 20 years to complete the pyramid, which contains the king’s tomb. Some lists include only the Great Pyramid, rather than all the pyramids (see Pyramids).
巴比伦空中花园The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, perhaps built by King Nebuchadnezzar II about 600 bc, were a mountainlike series of planted terraces. Ancient historians report that Babylon at that time was dazzling in the splendor of its palace and temple buildings, fortification walls, and paved processional ways. The Hanging Gardens consisted of several tiers of platform terraces built upon arches and extending to a great height. Accounts of their height range from about 24 m (80 ft) to a less reliable estimate of more than 90 m (300 ft). Trees and colorful plants and flowers grew on the terraces, irrigated with water brought up from the Euphrates River. Archaeologists have discovered remains of walls along the Euphrates that may have belonged to the Hanging Gardens.
宙斯神像The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was carved in the mid-5th century bc by the Greek sculptor Phidias. The colossal statue was the central feature of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, the Greek sanctuary where the Olympic Games were held. It was considered to be Phidias’s masterpiece. The seated figure of Zeus, king of the Greek gods, was 12 m (40 ft) in height and made of ivory and gold. An earthquake probably leveled the temple in the 6th century ad, and the statue was later taken to Constantinople, where a fire destroyed it.
阿耳忒弥斯神庙The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus in Asia Minor, built after 356 bc, combined great size with elaborate ornamentation. Artemis, known as Diana to the Romans, was goddess of the hunt. An imposing temple in her honor was built in Ephesus in what is now Turkey in the 6th century bc and rebuilt after it burned in 356 bc. Archaeologists estimate that the temple measured 104 m (342 ft) in length and 50 m (164 ft) in width. Its 127 stone columns stood more than 18 m (60 ft) tall. The temple was destroyed by the Goths in ad 262.
摩索拉斯陵墓The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus was a monumental marble tomb in Asia Minor built for King Mausolus of Caria, who died in 353 bc. Queen Artemisia built the tomb in memory of Mausolus, her brother and husband, at Halicarnassus in what is now southwestern Turkey. It was decorated by the leading sculptor of the age. An earthquake probably toppled the structure, and its materials were later used as building material. Only fragments remain of this tomb from which the word mausoleum derives.
罗得斯岛巨像The Colossus of Rhodes, a huge bronze statue of the Greek sun god Helios, was erected about 280 bc to guard the entrance to the harbor at Rhodes , a Greek island off the coast of Asia Minor. The statue stood about 32 m (105 ft) tall and according to legend, it straddled the harbor. An earthquake destroyed it in 224 bc.
亚历山大灯塔The Pharos of Alexandria was an ancient lighthouse located on an island in the harbor of Alexandria, Egypt. The lighthouse, built about 280 bc during the reign of Ptolemy II, stood more than 134 m (440 ft) tall—about as high as a 40-story building. A fire was kept burning at its top to welcome sailors. Storms and an earthquake had damaged the lighthouse by 955 ad; an earthquake completely destroyed it during the 14th century.
万里长城英文介绍
In the north of China, there lies a 6,700-kilometer-long (4,161-mile-long) ancient wall. Now well-known as the Great Wall of China, it starts at the Jiayuguan Pass of Gansu Province in the west and ends at the Shanhaiguan Pass of Hebei Province in the east. As one of the Eight Wonders in the world, the Great Wall of China has become the symbol of the Chinese nation and its culture.
Lots of beautiful legends and stories about the Great Wall took place following along the construction, and since that time these stories have spread around the country. Those that happened during construction are abundant, such as Meng Jiangnu's story and the legend of the Jiayuguan Pass. Meng Jiangnu's story is the most famous and widely spread of all the legends about the Great Wall. The story happened during the Qin Dynasty (221BC-206BC). It tells of how Meng Jiangnu's bitter weeping made a section of the Great Wall collapse. Meng Jiangnu's husband Fan Qiliang was caught by federal officials and sent to build the Great Wall. Meng Jiangnu heard nothing from him after his departure, so she set out to look for him. Unfortunately, by the time she reached the great wall, she discovered that her husband had already died. Hearing the bad news, she cried her heart out. Her howl caused the collapse of a part of the Great Wall. This story indicates that the Great Wall is the production of tens of thousands of Chinese commoners.
Another legend about the Jiayuguan Pass tells of a workman named Yi Kaizhan in the Ming Dynasty (1368BC-1644BC) who was proficient in arithmetic. He calculated that it would need 99,999 bricks to build the Jiayuguan Pass. The supervisor did not believe him and said if they miscalculated by even one brick, then all the workmen would be punished to do hard work for three years. After the completion of the project, one brick was left behind the Xiwong city gate. The supervisor was happy at the sight of the brick and ready to punish them. However Yi Kaizhan said with deliberation that the brick was put there by a supernatural being to fix the wall. A tiny move would cause the collapse of the wall. Therefore the brick was kept there and never moved. It can still be found there today on the tower of the Jiayuguan Pass.
In addition to the above-mentioned stories about the construction of the Great Wall, there are also plenty of stories about current scenic spots. A famous one is the legend of the Beacon Tower. This story happened during the Western Zhou Dynasty (11th century BC-711 BC). King You had a queen named Bao Si, who was very pretty. King You liked her very much, however Bao Si never smiled. An official gave a suggestion that setting the beacon tower on fire would frighten the King's subjects, and might make the queen smile. King You liked the idea. The subjects were fooled and Bao Si smiled at the sight of the chaos. Later enemies invaded Western Zhou, King You set the beacon tower on fire to ask for help. No subjects came to help because they had been fooled once before. Thus, King Zhou was killed by the enemy and Western Zhou came to an end.
Beautiful stories and legends about the Great Wall help to keep alive Chinese history and culture. In each dynasty after the building of the Great Wall, many more stories were created and spread.