For the architects of Athens’ Golden Age， the mastery of geometry was a magical discovery that revealed the glories of nature. The Acropolis of Callicrates and Ictinus is a startling celebration of their new intellectual power. The Acropolis shows a maturity of Greek mathematics and also an appreciation of geometrical ideas. This is a work of utmost importance in that it lays the foundations of logic into mathematics and enables us to use this as a tool to explore the unknown. Every detail of the Acropolis， its masonry， sculptures and painted decorations were to be the finest ever created.
Vocabulary 词汇
vessel ["ves？l] n. 船舶，容器
inevitable [in"evit？bl] adj. 必然的，不可避免的
omen ["？um？n] n. 预兆，征兆；
vt. 预示，有……的前兆，预告
alliance [？"lai？ns] n. 联盟，联合，联姻
undisputed ["？ndis"pju：tid] adj. 无可争辩的，无异议的，毫无疑问的
monumental ["m？nju"ment？l] adj. 不朽的，纪念碑的，非常的
sculptor [sk？lpt？] n. 雕刻家
exceed [ik"si：d] vt. 胜过，超过；
vi. 超过其他
maturity [m？"tju？riti] n. 成熟，到期，完备
Practice
1．The boldness and ambition of the Acropolis was funded by a ．
2．The Acropolis was to be the master stroke of power broking．
3．Phidias’ profession is ．
4．They were guided by a set of codes and principles dictated by the art of ．
5．The Acropolis lays the foundations of into mathematics.
译文
建造雅典卫城的大胆想法和雄图来自一场纷扰的战事，一场决定了希腊命运的战事。公元前480年，锐不可挡的波斯帝国大军攻克雅典，雅典夷为废墟。汪洋大海上，800艘波斯战舰穷追猛打希腊战船，数量远远落后的希腊战船步步后退。就在不可避免即将开战的前夜，象征着希腊人守护女神雅典娜的猫头鹰在夜空中飞翔出现。在此吉兆的鼓舞下，希腊海军军心大振，在撒拉米斯战役中一举击败波斯舰队。在历史上一次获得伟大胜利的海战中，希腊军队击沉200艘敌船，己方只损失40艘，击败了入侵的波斯军队。意想不到的胜利令雅典及其盟国得到新的安定。希腊进入了黄金时期。
爱琴海各城邦组成德利安联盟，携手永久保卫脱离波斯魔掌、新获独立的希腊。一个名叫赫拉克利斯的人众望所归成为雅典领袖。他的抱负很明确，就是令雅典成为政治文化中心，有效地创建起一个雅典人的王国。雅典卫城便是在赫拉克利斯的大力策划下兴建起来的，它具有非常的意义，宣告雅典在世界新秩序中的统治地位。
公元前447年，他全力建设新帝国，由聚敛财富到兴建土木。他请来了三位不同凡响的艺术天才——雕刻家斐迪亚斯，建筑师艾士提努、卡利克拉提斯。他们一起设想如何将神殿和公共场所组合到一起，并决定沿用古典设计，但将在规模和美学上进行突破。神奇的是，他们当时既没有诸如我们今天的建筑计划也没有蓝图，而是依据一套几何学的符号和法则来施工。
雅典黄金时期的建筑师认为，掌握几何学是发掘自然美的魔法。卫城使卡利克拉提斯和艾士提努有机会一展杰出的智慧与身手。雅典卫城显示了希腊人对数学的精通以及对几何学的推崇。这项工程至关重要，它奠定了将逻辑引入数学的基石，令后人得以借此途径探索未知世界。雅典卫城在每一处细节上，无论石匠技术、雕刻艺术还是绘画装饰，都是前无古人的精美绝伦。
练习
1．建造雅典卫城的大胆想法和雄图来自一场 。
2．雅典卫城是在 的大力策划下兴建起来的。
3．斐迪亚斯的职业是 。
4．他们在施工时依据的是一套 符号和法则。
5．雅典卫城奠定了将 引入数学的基石。
1．war 2．Heracles’ 3．sculptor 4．geometry 5．logic
06 The Pyramids 古埃及金字塔
Built 4，000 years ago， the three great pyramids at Giza， in the Egyptian desert remain the most colossal buildings ever constructed.
The pyramids were built by Egyptians under the orders of the Egyptian leader， whose title was Pharaoh. There was a sequence of Pharaohs culminating around 2615 B.C.， with the Pharaoh Cheops who built the biggest thing ever built， the Great Pyramid， also known as Khufu. Cheops built a pyramid 770 feet on one side and 481 feet tall. How ancient builders managed to build these massive structures has never been fully answered but the effort clearly required brains and brawn.
Was there engineering genius involved？ Yes， there was. For example， when you’re putting the block right at the top， how are you going to lug a block of stone that weighs several tons 480 feet up a structure？ How are you going to do it， and how are you going to do it without leaving scratches on all the rest of the structure？ And how many people does it take to drag a block weighing several tons 480 feet up into the sky？ Approximately， 2.3 million blocks of stone were cut， transported and assembled to create the Great Pyramid.
The Pharaohs may have set out to build magnificent tombs for themselves， but in the end they created monuments to human potential. There’s a universal message in the pyramids. The pyramids belong to Egypt， but the pyramids also belong to the world. That’s why we can all identify the pyramids as an early monument of human greatness.
For being a man made wonder that have survived the sands of time， the pyramids rise to the number two spot.
Vocabulary 词汇
pyramid ["pir？mid] n. 金字塔，角锥体；
vi. 渐增，上涨，成金字塔状
colossal [k？"l？s？l] adj. 巨大的，异常的，非常的
Pharaoh ["fε？r？u] n. 暴君，法老
lug [l？ɡ] n. 支托，接线片，耳状物；
vt. 用力拉或拖
scratch [skr？t？] n. 抓痕，擦伤，乱写；
vt. 抓，刮；挖出，乱涂
approximately [？"pr？ksimitli] adv. 大约，近似地，近于
magnificent [m？ɡ"nifis？nt] adj. 高尚的，壮丽的，华丽的，宏伟的
Practice
How are you going to lug a block of stone that weighs several tons 480 feet up a structure at that time？
译文
矗立在埃及沙漠中吉萨的三座大金字塔建于4000年前，它们一直都是有史以来最宏大的建筑。
金字塔是埃及人在他们的领袖（名为法老）的命令下建造的。在公元前2615年左右，几任法老相继统治埃及，基奥普斯法老建造了有史以来最大的金字塔——大金字塔，也被称为胡夫金字塔。胡夫金字塔每边长770英尺，高481英尺。古代的建筑者是如何建造这些庞然大物的，这一直是个未解之谜，但很明显它需要付出大量的脑力和体力。
有工程天才的参与吗？是的，有。比如，当你要把一个石块放在顶端时，你该如何把一个几吨重的石块提升到480英尺的高度呢？应该怎样做？怎么做才不至于在塔身留下刮痕？把几吨重的石块提举到480英尺的高处又需要多少人力呢？为了建造大金字塔，人们切割、运输、垒砌了大约230万块石头。
法老们的初衷是为自己建造豪华的陵墓，而最终他们创建的却是昭示人类潜能的纪念碑。金字塔蕴含着一种共同的信息，金字塔属于埃及，但它也属于世界。因此我们完全可以把金字塔作为展示人类伟大文明的早期纪念物。
由于历经岁月的沧桑，金字塔位列十大人工奇观排行榜第2名。
练习
想想看，在当时的条件下，你可以用什么办法把一个几吨重的石块提升到480英尺的高度。
07 The Nile Valley 尼罗河谷
The longest river in the world， the Nile， flows through the north-western area of Africa， and then into the Mediterranean Sea.
Great civilizations have always flourished alongside rivers， but the Egyptian civilization， which started on the Nile， is the most fascinating and mysterious in the history of mankind.
The Nile valley is a fertile one where there is an abundance of water and sun， elements which the ancient Egyptian believed were gods， they called the sun Amon and the Nile Apis.
Memphis was the first great capital of Egypt， united as a single kingdom in the third millennium B.C. But the Nile burst its banks a few centuries ago， flooding the ancient capital.
The river however has given more than it has taken， enough to make Herodotus， the ancient Greek historian say： Egypt is a gift from the Nile.
The annual floods left precious silt on the fields， a miraculous natural fertilizer which made the crops grow luxuriantly.
This instrument， called a Nilometer was used by the ancient Pharaohs to establish how high the periodic floods would be. The Nilometer， on the presupposition that the harvest would be plentiful， was nothing other than a device for setting income tax level.
The date palm is without a doubt the plant which characterizes Egyptian agriculture more than anything else. The peasants use it to make roofs， to construct furniture， to weave baskets； but above all the sweetest fruit on earth grows on the palm： the date.