MachuPicchu
It's been called the Lost City of the Incas.
它被称为印加失落的城市。
Machu Picchu, hidden atop a mountain in the Andes Mountains of Peru, lay abandoned for centuries before its rediscovery in 1911.
马丘比丘，隐藏在秘鲁安第斯山脉的一座山上，在1911年被重新发现之前被遗弃了几个世纪。
Today, Machu Picchu has been voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
今天，马丘比丘被选为世界新七大奇迹之一。
Machu Picchu was constructed at the height of the Inca Empire, some time around 1450, and represents one of the greatest achievements of architecture and engineering in the history of the Inca civilization.
马丘比丘建于印加帝国鼎盛时期，大约在1450年左右，代表了印加文明史上建筑和工程的最大成就之一。
It stands 7,970 feet or 2,430 meters above sea level, in the middle of a tropical mountain forest.
它海拔7970英尺或2430米，位于热带山地森林的中部。
The site is made up of more than 600 terraces and over 3,000 stone steps, with approximately 200 structures including temples, tombs, palaces, plazas, fountains, and even an astronomical observatory.
该遗址由600多个梯田和3000多个石阶组成，约有200座建筑，包括寺庙、陵墓、宫殿、广场、喷泉，甚至还有一座天文台。
Archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built for the Inca emperor, as a religious site high in the mountains that the Inca worshiped, but also as a retreat from the hustle and bustle of the capital city, Cusco, only 50 miles or 80 kilometers away.
考古学家认为，马丘比丘是为印加皇帝而建的，是印加人崇敬的高山上的一处宗教场所，也是远离首都库斯科喧嚣的退却地，库斯科离这里只有50英里或80公里。
At one point, between 500 and 1000 people likely lived there.
有一次，可能有500到1000人住在那里。
Although the Inca had no written language, the city they built was well-planned and very sophisticated.
尽管印加人没有书面语言，但他们建造的城市规划周密，非常复杂。
They constructed terraces on the hillsides, a detail which served the double duty of providing flat land for farming and stabilizing the mountainside to guard againsterosion and landslides.
他们在山坡上修建了梯田，这一细节起到了双重作用，即提供平坦的耕地和稳定山坡以防止侵蚀和滑坡。
They channeled water from mountain springs into stone-lined canals that fed a series of fountains down the levels of the city, ensuring that clean fresh water was available to all.
他们将山泉中的水引至砌有石头的运河中，这些运河向城市下游的一系列喷泉供水，确保所有人都能获得清洁的淡水。
The city was built using hundreds of thousands of stones:for the most part, placed without any kind of mortar holding them together, and all shaped without the use of iron tools.
这座城市是用数十万块石头建成的：在大多数情况下，在没有任何砂浆将它们固定在一起的情况下放置，并且所有形状都没有使用铁制工具。
Despite this, the stones fit together so well that 500 years later, you can't fit a knife blade between them.
尽管如此，这些石头结合得如此之好，以至于500年后，你无法在它们之间装上一把刀片。
The lack of mortar allows the stones to move slightly, protecting the structures from earthquake damage.
由于缺少砂浆，石头可以轻微移动，从而保护结构免受地震破坏。
Although Machu Picchu was cleverly designed, it was not inhabited for very long.
尽管马丘比丘的设计很巧妙，但它的居住时间并不长。
Just over 100 years after its construction, the Inca city in the clouds began to be deserted.
这座云中的印加城市在建成后仅仅100多年就开始被遗弃。
worshipArchaeologists do not know exactly what caused the Inca to leave their mountain city:there is no evidence that the conquering Spanish attacked or ever even found the settlement.
考古学家并不清楚是什么原因导致印加人离开了他们的山城：没有证据表明征服的西班牙人袭击或甚至发现了这个定居点。
It is possible that sickness brought by the Europeans, like smallpox, killed the inhabitants and forced the abandonment of the site.
有可能是欧洲人带来的疾病，如天花，夺去了居民的生命，并迫使他们放弃了该遗址。
Once the people had gone, it did not take very long at all for the jungle to overtake the city and hide it from the passing years.
一旦人们离开了，丛林很快就超越了城市，并将其掩藏起来。
It was not until 1911 when the American archaeologist Hiram Bingham visited the site that it became known to the wider world.
直到1911年，美国考古学家海勒姆·宾厄姆（Hiram Bingham）参观了这个遗址，它才为全世界所知。
Machu Picchu immediately became a sensation, and thousands flocked to see the lost city.
马丘比丘立即引起轰动，成千上万的人蜂拥到这座失落的城市。
Today Machu Picchu is the most famous tourist attraction in Peru, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.
今天，马丘比丘是秘鲁最著名的旅游景点，每年吸引数十万游客。
It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1983 and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007.
1983年被宣布为世界遗产，2007年被列为世界新七大奇迹之一。
Machu Picchu is the best preserved Inca archaeological site in Peru and gives an unparalleled look into Inca civilization, technology, and daily life.
马丘比丘是秘鲁保存最完好的印加考古遗址，对印加文明、技术和日常生活有着无与伦比的了解
Atop
在…顶上on, to, or at the top
a flag high atop a pole
高挂在旗杆顶端的旗子
a scoop of ice cream atop a slice of apple pie
一片苹果馅饼上面的一勺冰激凌
Inca empire 印加帝国
Terrace
n.梯田;排屋;露天平台，阳台;(足球场的)阶梯看台

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