古文明-巴比倫Babylon
一、TOEFL高頻單字
- Euphrates [juˈfretiz] n. 幼發拉底河
- Tigris [‘taɪɡrɪs] n. 底格裡斯河
- Gate of the Gods. [ɡet ʌv ðə gɑd] n. 眾神之門
- Babylon [ˈbæbələn] n. 巴比倫
- Mesopotamia [ˌmɛsəpəˈtemiə] n. 美索不達米亞
- chariots [ˈtʃæri:əts] n. 戰車
- tiles [taɪlz] n. 磁磚，瓦片
- ziggurat [ˈzɪɡəˌræt] n. 金字形神塔
- inherited [ɪn’herɪtɪd] v.繼承
- conquered [ˈkɔŋkəd] v.征服
- fabulous [ˈfæbjələs] adj. 非常漂亮的
- invasion [ɪnˈveʒən] n. 入侵
- rose again [roʊz əˈɡɛn] v. 再次興起
- its day [ɪts de] n. 當時
- inherited [ɪn’herɪtɪd] v. 繼承
- conquered [ˈkɔŋkəd] v.t征服
- achievement [əˈtʃivmənt] n. 成就
- achieve [əˈtʃiv] v. 達成
- code [koʊd] n. 法典
- penalties [ˈpenəltiz] v. 懲罰
- death penalty [dɛθ ˈpɛnəlti] n. 死刑
- wage [wedʒ] n. 週薪資
- salary [ˈsælri] n. 月薪資
- a tooth for a tooth phr. 以牙還牙
- an eye for an eye phr. 以眼還眼
- script [skrɪpt] n. 文字系統、講稿、劇本
- literature [ˈlɪtərəˌtʃʊr] n. 文學
- astronomy [əˈstrɑ:nəmi] n. 天文學
- mathematics [əˈstrɑ:nəmi] n. 數學
- planets [p’lænɪts] n. 星球
- movements [‘muvmənts] n. 軌跡
- Twins(Gemini) [twɪnz] n. 雙子座
- Scorpion n. 天蠍座
- Capricorn n. 摩羯座
- constellations n. 星座
二、Script
- Babylon was a magnificent city. It stood on the banks of the River Euphrates and was protected by walls so wide that two rows of four-horse chariots could ride along the top.
- The name Babylon means“gate of the gods,”and the most impressive way into the city was through the Ishtar Gate.
- This grand entrance was decorated with brilliant blue tiles and figures of bulls and dragons. Beyond the gate, a wide avenue, called the Processional Way, led to the center of the city and to the temple ziggurat dedicated to the chief god, Marduk.
- Nearby were the fabulous Hanging Gardens, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
- Babylon first became powerful under the rule of King Hammurabi (1792-1750 B.C.).
- For many years, it was the capital of Mesopotamia and a center of learning.
- After hundreds of years of invasions by Kassites, Chaldeans, and Assyrians, Babylon was almost destroyed. It was not until the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 B.C.) that Babylon rose again to become the greatest city of its day.
- In about 1792 B.C., a young man named Hammurabi, from an Amorite tribe, inherited the Babylonian throne.
- Hammurabi conquered all of Sumer and Akkad. We call the new kingdom Babylonia, after its capital city of Babylon. One of his great achievements was to combine the laws of the various parts of his empire.
- This new code set out laws and penalties covering family, property, slaves, and wages.
- The idea “an eye for an eye” and “a tooth for a tooth” comes from these ancient law codes.
- n Babylon, only boys went to school. They first learned to read and write the 500 or so different signs of their script. Then they went on to study literature, astronomy, and mathematics.
- Babylonians, like the Sumerians before them, based their mathematics on units of 60. This is where we get our 60 minutes in an hour and 360 degrees in a circle.
- They also studied the stars and planets and made records of their movements in the sky.
- Several of the names used by Babylonian astronomers, such as the Twins (Gemini), the Scorpion, and Capricorn, are still used to describe constellations today.