This Day in History July 24 歷史上的今天 7月24日

High in the mountains of Peru sits an amazing ancient city. Machu Picchu was built around 1450 for an Incan emperor. Although it was on a mountain peak, it had everything, including fields for growing food. Then, it was mysteriously abandoned. For thousands of years, locals knew about the city in the sky, but explorers from the outside world did not. On this date in 1911, Hiram Bingham rediscovered Machu Picchu. This ancient city still amazes travelers today. Machu Picchu has become a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is also one of the most famous places in all of South America.

高聳在祕魯山上的馬丘比丘是座令人驚奇的古城，大約在1450年為了一位印加國王所建。雖然處於山頂上，但它應有盡有，包括種植糧食的田地。之後，馬丘比丘卻神祕遭到遺棄。好幾千年來，當地人一直知道這座天空之城，但外地來的探險家並不知情。1911年的今日，希朗．賓漢重新發現馬丘比丘這座城市。這座古城至今仍令旅客為之驚豔。馬丘比丘已經列入聯合國教科文組織（UNESCO）的世界遺產，也是南美洲最有名的地點之一。

單字片語

●sit vi.座落於，位於
例：The house sits right on the side of the mountain.（這間房子就座落在山邊。）
●amazing a.驚人的，令人吃驚的
例：It's amazing how people can survive in the icy conditions of Alaska.（人們能夠在阿拉斯加的冰冷環境中生存是件令人驚奇的事。）
●emperor n.君主；皇帝
●peak n.山峰；高峰，頂端
●mysteriously adv.神秘地
●abandon vt.拋棄，遺棄
●local n.當地居民，本地人& a.當地的
例：I like that small town because the locals are friendly.（我喜歡那個小鎮，因為當地居民都很友善。）
●explorer n.探險者
●rediscover vt.重新發現；再發現
●heritage n.遺產
例：Italy is famous for its cultural heritage.（義大利以其文化遺產聞名。）

知識大補帖

有「失落之城」（The Lost City of the Incas）之稱的馬丘比丘（圖，資料照片）座落在2430公尺高的山上，俯瞰烏魯班巴河（Urubamba River）。大多數的考古學家（archaeologist）認為馬丘比丘是為印加國王帕查庫蒂（Pachacuti）建立的莊園，大致分為都市區和農 業區（the Urban and Agricultural Sectors），其中都市區又分為神聖區（the Sacred District）、通俗區（the Popular District）和祭司與貴族區（the District of the Priests and the Nobility）。