Aztecs 远古的回响 -- Aztecs帝国 11

Our body is a flower as grass becomes green in the springtime, so our hearts will open and blossom and then they will die. The god of poetry was also the god of flowers, music and joy. But while he’s depicted¹ covered in flowers he also wears the flayed² skin of sacrificial victim. Life and death went hand in hand for the Aztecs. The blood ritual seemed to appease³ the gods and sustain the Aztecs’ expanding empire but then the rhythm of the seasons broke down. Drought struck the Valley of Mexico in 1450, lasting⁴ for four years. Aztec record showed diseased and starving people, thousands died. Perhaps the gods needed more. Among the remains⁵ of Tlatelolco-- site of the great market and the second biggest pyramid complex, archeologists made a horrifying⁶ discovery. It dated from the desperate years of drought.


On the threshold of a temple, they found the bone remains of around 40 children. The bones were grouped together with precious ritual objects and offerings to the gods. Children’s bones from the same period have also been found in the Great Pyramid. It wasn’t unusual for the Aztecs to sacrifice young children, but these numbers are exceptional. The victims are thought to have been between 2 and 6 years of age. Scientists are currently analyzing⁷ the remains to find out why these children were chosen. By extracting and testing samples of their DNA⁸, the scientists would discover their sex and more about their health. When the terrible years of drought finally ended, the Aztecs built a series of new temples, giving thanks to the gods so that it would never happen again. On the hill of Texico Single on the line which joined the mountains with the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan, the poet ruler of the time designed a ritual center, dedicated⁹ to the god of rain and his consort¹⁰, the water goddess.

Historians had known about this place from the Aztec records, but it was Dick Thomson who first uncovered its significance.

I simply had a kind of premonition that this amazing sort of Condacal hill was going to be very, very important and sure enough upon coming up the trail and seeing that great tank of water and realizing that streams of water were flowing in here. I thought this is a sacred mountain.

---------------------
deseased: adj. 患病的
consort: n. 配偶
premonition: n. 先兆

1 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

2 flayed   

v.痛打( flay的过去式和过去分词 )；把…打得皮开肉绽；剥（通常指动物）的皮；严厉批评

参考例句：

• He was so angry he nearly flayed his horse alive. 他气得几乎把马活活抽死。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The teacher flayed the idle students. 老师严责那些懒惰的学生。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 appease   

v.安抚，缓和，平息，满足

参考例句：

• He tried to appease the crying child by giving him candy.他试图给那个啼哭的孩子糖果使他不哭。
• The government tried to appease discontented workers.政府试图安抚不满的工人们。

4 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 horrifying   

a.令人震惊的，使人毛骨悚然的

参考例句：

• He went to great pains to show how horrifying the war was. 他极力指出战争是多么的恐怖。
• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate. 战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。

7 analyzing   

v.分析；分析( analyze的现在分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析n.分析

参考例句：

• Analyzing the date of some socialist countries presents even greater problem s. 分析某些社会主义国家的统计数据，暴露出的问题甚至更大。 来自辞典例句
• He undoubtedly was not far off the mark in analyzing its predictions. 当然，他对其预测所作的分析倒也八九不离十。 来自辞典例句

8 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

9 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

10 consort   

v.相伴；结交

参考例句：

• They went in consort two or three together.他们三三两两结伴前往。
• The nurses are instructed not to consort with their patients.护士得到指示不得与病人交往。