英語趣味課堂：瑪雅遺址-Mayan Ruins

Silvia: Hi, my name is Silvia. I'm from Guatemala.

Diego: And I'm Diego and I'm from Mexico. And today we're going to talk about ruins in our countries.

Silvia: Actually, Guatemala is quite famous for it's Mayan ruins. We have a lot of them all over the country but especially up in the north near Mexico, and the most famous one is Tikal.

Diego: Oh, wow, have you been there?

Silvia: Yeah, I've been there and now apparently they're discovering more ruins around that area so every year you can go and just go visit a new ruin. So it's quite interesting.

Diego: The people in Guatemala often go to see these places or is it usually tourists?

Silvia: It's mainly tourists, but yeah, I've known a lot of people that just like to go, especially with my parents. They love archeology so they're taking us every time and seeing different places. They also discovered a new one that's getting a lot attention from the media lately. Apparently it's the biggest temple in the world, so it's getting a lot of media attention and now they even made a kind of like a replica at the Shiang Hai Expo.

Diego: Oh, wow.

Silvia: Yeah. But the only way you can go there right now is by helicopter.

Diego: So it's a bit expensive to get there?

Silvia: Yeah, it is, so a lot of celebrities apparently have flown there but for Guatemalans, I don't think many Guatemalans have been there yet.

Diego: Yeah, maybe because it's difficult to be able to afford that. We also have Mayan ruins in Mexico. Have you ever been to Cancun?

Silvia: Yeah, I went to TuTulmas around there.

Diego: Yes, Tulumas is a very nice Mayan site because it's on a cliff and you see all of the ocean and it's really nice. The contrast between the buildings and the white sand and the blue ocean. It's really, really beautiful. And we also have Chiciniza, which is like a Mayan pyramid. Have you ever heard of it?

Silvia: I've heard of it, but I haven't been there yet.

Diego: Yeah, it was voted one of the seven wonders of the modern world, so it's really, really nice and it's really large, and unlike the pyramids in Egypt, like on the top it's flat so it's a bit different.

Silvia: Yeah, mainly the Guatemalan ruins are also a little bit flat.

Diego: Yeah, I think that was like Mayan architecture. It was flat on the top.

重點詞匯：

Learn Vocabulary from the Lesson

apparently

Now, apparently, they're discovering more ruins.

People say apparently to express that something is a fact even though they do not know if it is true for sure: Notice the following:

Apparently, they are building a new mall.

Bill apparently left because we was sick.

archeology

They love archeology so they are taking us to the ruins.

Archeology is the study of human history, usually by looking at physical evidence of previous cultures. Notice the following:

Archeologists are digging up old bones of ancient people near the lake.

The museum has a nice archeological exhibit of Egyptian artifacts.

get a lot of attention

The new ruins are getting a lot of attention.

When a person or place gets a lot of attention, that means many people are learning about it or trying to find out about it. Notice the following:

That new restaurant is getting a lot of attention in the press.

The new amusement park is getting a lot of attention on TV.

replica

They built a replica of the ruins for the Shiang Hai Expo.

A replica is a copy or model of something but often on a smaller scale.

I like to make replica war ships in my garage.

This watch is not real. It's a replica.

contrast

There is a nice contrast between the buildings and the white sand.

A contrast between two things shows a sharp difference between the two items.

The contrast of his tan skin and white teeth made him look like a movie star.

One a clear night, there is a sharp contrast between the stars and black sky.