City in the Clouds

In 1911, Hiram Bingham was exploring in the Andes Mountains in Peru. Bingham was an American professor from Yale University, who was looking for Inca ruins. One day, he asked a guide to take him to some ruins high in the mountains.

When they reached the ruins, the professor was amazed. “It seemed like an unbelievable dream,” he later wrote. “ What could this place be?” The place was forgotten city of Machu Picchu.

For almost 100 years, Machu Picchu was a busy, peaceful place. But in 1532, the Inca people left. Machu Picchu, once a great city, was empty and forgotten for many centuries. Then in 1911, Hiram Bingham introduced Machu Picchu to the world.

Bingham rediscovered a great treasure, but not everyone was happy about it. Some people complained that Bingham took important items from Machu Picchu to Yale University.

Today, Peru’s government is worried there is too much tourism. It wants people to visit Machu Picchu, because more tourism means more jobs and more money for local people. However, it also means more hotels, more cars and more buses and more environmental problems.

Machu Picchu is an important cultural and historic place. Peru wants to protect it for people to enjoy now and in the future.

Answer the questions about City in the Clouds.

1. What is the article mainly about?

a.   The history of Machu Piccu    b. The Inca Empire

c. The explorer Hiram Bingham   d. The history of Yale University

2.   What did Bingham mean when he wrote“It seemed like an unbelievable dream” (Line5-6)

a.   He was extremely tired.

b.   He was amazed

c.   He didn’t believe his guide.

d.   He was very surprised.

3.   Which statement about Machu Picchu is true?

a.   Machu Picchu took a century to build

b.   The city was lost and forgotten for a century.

c.   Machu Picchu was an important city for a century.

d.   The Inca people left in the seventeenth century and Machu Picchu was empty and forgotten.

4.   What can we infer in the fourth paragraph that Machu Picchu_____?

a.   was very unpopular

b.   had valuable treasures

c.   wasn’t an important discovery

d.   Machu Picchu had something to do with Yale University.

5.   How is tourism both good and bad for Machu Picchu?

a.   There is more money for local people, but there aren’t enough cars and buses.

b.   There is more money for local people, but there aren’t many hotels

c.   There are more jobs for local people, but there aren’t many cars for tourists.

d.   There are more jobs for local people, but there are environmental problems

Background information

Machu Picchu：马丘比丘在克丘亚语 (Quechua) “古老的山”之义，也被称作“失落的印加城市”，是保存完好的前哥伦布时期的印加遗迹。马丘比丘是南美洲最重要的考古发掘中心，也因此是秘鲁最受欢迎的旅游景点。由于独特的位置、地理特点和发现时间较晚，马丘比丘成了印加帝国最为人所熟悉的标志。在1983年，马丘比丘被联合国教科文组织定为世界遗产，是世界上为数不多的文化与自然双重遗产之一。

Do you know any other ancient cities except Machu Picchu?1

1.        印度桑吉

2.     秘鲁马丘比丘

3.     英格兰巨石阵

4.     非洲大津巴布韦

5.     叙利亚帕米拉

So on…

Vocabulary:

Inca ruins 印加遗迹

unbelievable 令人难以置信的

peaceful 和平的，平静的，安宁的

treasure 珍宝，财宝

complain 抱怨，投诉

item 事件，东西

tourism 旅游

historic 历史的

English Slang:

Every coin has two sides/A double-edged sword.

凡事都有两面性/双刃剑。

Comprehension key:

1 a 整篇文章介绍的是马丘比丘的历史。

2 b 此时他的心情应该是难以置信的，心情应该是amazed,比surprised程度更深，更有正面性。

3 c 从第三段第一句话可以看出，c选项是正确的。

4 b 从第四段可以看出，马丘比丘本身是一个珍宝，当然它也拥有很多的重要的东西，即treasure。

5 d 从文章的第五段可以看出一个道理：凡事都有两面性。秘鲁征服希望发展旅游业，但是与此同时也会带来很多的问题，尤其是环境问题。