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  3. Pyramids are large structures with square bases and four smooth, triangular-shaped sides that come to a point at the top. Severa

Pyramids are large structures with square bases and four smooth, triangular-shaped sides that come to a point at the top. Severa

admin2010-06-18  53
问题    Pyramids are large structures with square bases and four smooth, triangular-shaped sides that come to a point at the top. Several ancient peoples used pyramids as tombs or temples. The most famous pyramids are those built about 4,500 years ago as tombs for Egyptian kings. These Egyptian pyramids are among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
   The ruins of 35 major pyramids still stand near the Nile River. in Egypt. Each was built to protect the body of an Egyptian king. The Egyptians thought that a person’ s body had to be preserved and protected so that the soul could live forever. The Egyptians mummified (embalmed and dried) their dead and hid the mummies in large tombs. From about 2700 to 1700 B. C. , the bodies of Egyptian kings were buried inside or beneath a pyramid in a secret chamber that was filled with treasures of gold and precious objects.
   Many scholars believe that the pyramid shape has a religious meaning to the Egyptians. The sloping sides may have reminded the Egyptians of the slanting rays of the sun, by which the soul of the king could climb to the sky and join the gods.
   Funeral ceremonies were performed in temples that were attached to the pyramids. Most pyramids had two temples that were connected by a long stone passage-way. Sometimes a smaller pyramid for the body of the queen stood next to the king’ s pyramid. Egypt has at least 40 smaller pyramids that were used for queens or as memorial monuments for kings. The king’ s relatives and officials were buried in smaller rectangular tombs called mastabas. These buildings had sloping sides and flat roofs.
   Indians of Central and South America also built pyramids. They built stepped pyramids that had flat tops. They used the flat tops as platforms for their temples.
   The Mochica Indians of Peru built large brick pyramids. The Temple of the Sun, near what is now Trujillo, on Peru’s northern coast, has a terraced brick pyramid on top of stepped platform. The ancient Mayas of Central America built pyramid-shaped mounds of earth with temples on top.
   The Toltec Indians of central Mexico also built big stepped pyramids.  One of these pyramids, at Cholula, is one of the largest structures in the world. Peoples related to the Toltecs built the great pyramids of the Sun and Moon that still stand at Teotihuacan, near Mexico City. The Spanish conquerors destroyed most pyramids of the later Aztec Empire in Mexico. These pyramids were built in steps or terraces like the other American pyramids, and had temples on top. Two of the greatest were at Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City). Mound building Indians of North America built some pyramids-shaped mounds, but they were not true pyramids.
   Imhotep, a great architect and statesman, built the first known pyramid for King Zoser about 2650 B.C. Zoser’s tomb rose in a series of giant steps, or terraces, and is called the Step Pyramid. This pyramid still stands at the site of the ancient city of Memphis, near Saqqara.
Who built large brick pyramids?______
选项 A、The Mayas.
B、The Mochica Indians of Peru.
C、The Indians of Central Mexico.
D、The Indians of South America.
答案B
解析
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