核心词汇 (Target Vocabulary)

学习 9B 激光雷达考古与中美洲失落丛林文明核心词汇，点击语音按钮听美音发音，掌握核心释义与真题例句。

extensive [ɪkˈstensɪv] adj.
Covering or affecting a large area; wide-ranging and thorough.
广阔的；广泛的；大量的
"The expedition conducted extensive aerial surveys across thousands of square kilometers of jungle."
fascinated [ˈfæsɪneɪtɪd] adj.
Strongly attracted and interested; captivated.
着迷的；极感兴趣的
"Explorers have long been fascinated by rumors of Ciudad Blanca hidden deep in the rainforest."
inhabitant [ɪnˈhæbɪtənt] n.
A person or animal that lives in or occupies a place.
居民；栖居者
"The ancient inhabitants of the Mosquitia valley engineered extensive plazas and earthen pyramids."
legend [ˈledʒənd] n.
A traditional story sometimes popularly regarded as historical but unauthenticated.
传说；传奇
"Indigenous folklore preserved the legend of a sacred white city ruled by an ancient monkey deity."
pyramid [ˈpɪrəmɪd] n.
A monumental structure with a square or triangular base and sloping sides.
金字塔；金字塔形建筑
"Lidar imaging pierced through dense trees to reveal the geometric outline of an earthen pyramid."
satellite [ˈsætəlaɪt] n.
An artificial body placed in orbit around the earth or moon to collect information.
人造卫星；卫星
"Orbital satellite radar allows space archeologists to map unseen ruins buried under sand or soil."
slope [sləʊp] n.
A surface of which one end or side is at a higher level than another; an incline.
斜坡；坡度；倾斜
"Field archeologists hacked through dense brambles on the steep mountain slope to reach the valley floor."
trail [treɪl] n.
A mark or a series of signs or objects left behind by the passage of someone or something; a path.
小径；踪迹；痕迹
"The expedition followed faint animal trails through the pristine and untouched tropical jungle."
uncover [ʌnˈkʌvə] v.
To discover something previously secret or hidden; remove a cover or covering from.
发掘；揭开；发现
"Cutting-edge airborne laser scans helped researchers uncover an entire lost pre-Columbian city."
vegetation [ˌvedʒəˈteɪʃn] n.
Plants considered collectively, especially those found in a particular area or habitat.
植被；植物
"Triple-canopy rainforest vegetation completely concealed centuries-old temples from surface view."
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Lure of the Lost City

莫斯基蒂亚丛林深处的“白城”奇迹：激光雷达如何穿透树冠复活失落千年的人类文明

Paragraph A
El Dorado Atlantis, the loss city of Z. Tales of fabled places have drawn generations of explorers to the most remote locations on Earth. Usually they return empty-handed if they return it all, but sometimes the pursuit of myth can lead to real discoveries. On February 18, 2015, a helicopter carrying a team of explorers headed toward the mountains of La Mosquitia, a remote area of Honduras. Below, farms gradually gave way to steep slopes, some covered with unbroken rainforest. The pilot headed for a v-shaped gap in a distant ridge. Beyond it lay a valley surrounded by mountains, a landscape of emerald and gold. There were no signs of human life, not a road, a trail, or a column of smoke. The pilot descended, aiming for a clearing along a riverbank.
Paragraph B
The team had come to explore a region long thought to contain Judad Blanca, a city built of white stone, known as the loss city of the monkey god. One of the team members was an archaeologist named Chris Fisher. Fisher didn't believe in the legend, but he did believe that the valley, known simply as T1, contained a secret. In fact, somewhere in this valley he believed were the ruins of a real loss city, abandoned for at least half a millennium. The White City of Honduras. The Mosquit here region of Honduras and Nicaragua contains vast areas of dense vegetation, swamps and rivers. It also hides a number of dangers, deadly snakes, hungry jaguars, and insects carrying potentially deadly diseases. Over time, the myth of La Mosquitia's white city became part of the Honduran National Consciousness. By the 1930s, it had also captured the imagination of the American public.
Paragraph C
Several expeditions were launched to find it, including three by the Museum of the American Indian in New York City. The first two came back with rumors of a loss city containing a giant statue of a monkey god. The museum's third expedition, a group led by a journalist named Theodore Mord, landed in Honduras in early 1940. Mord emerged from the jungle five months later with boxes of artifacts claiming he had found evidence of an ancient walled city. He would not reveal the location for fear of looting, but promised to return the following year. He never did. He died in 1954. The city, if there was one, remained unidentified. In the 1990s, a documentary filmmaker named Steve Elkins became fascinated by the legend of the white city. He spent years studying reports from explorers, archaeologists and geologists.
Paragraph D
He then studied satellite photographs of three valleys, which he labeled T1, T2, and T3. T stands for target. The images, however, were inconclusive, and he realized he needed a better way to see through the dense jungle canopy. Then in 2010, Elkins learned of a new technology called LiDAR, light detection and ranging, a way to explore the valleys from aircraft flying above the jungle. LiDAR works by bouncing hundreds of thousands of pulses of infrared laser beams off the ground below. Scanning the three valleys cost a quarter of a million dollars, but the initial results were astonishing. In an attempt to investigate the myth of the white city, Elkins had apparently uncovered two real ancient cities in valleys T1 and T3. To help interpret the data, he turned to Chris Fisher, a specialist on Mesoamerica. Discoveries in the jungle.
Paragraph E
This is how, in February 2015, Fisher and his team came to be in the dense jungle of La Mosquita. Besides Fisher, who had extensive experience with LiDAR imagery, the team included two other archaeologists, a group of scientists and Elkins' camera crew. The team set out from base camp, cutting a trail through the jungle with machetes. They faced plenty of challenges, snakes, insects, mud and constant rain. Although the area was remote, they were not alone. Animals wandered around them, or gathered in the trees above, seemingly on a freight. I've never seen anything like it. One team member noted, I don't think these animals have ever seen human beings. After climbing above the floodplain, they arrived at the base of a steep jungle covered island, the edge of the presumed city. Let's go to the top, Fisher said.
Paragraph F
Holding onto vines and tree roots, the explorers continued up the muddy slope. At the summit, Fisher pointed out the outline of a building. There was evidence of construction, probably an earth and pyramid. The team later identified one of the city's plazas, or large public spaces, an area of rainforest as level as a soccer field. Straight-edged mounds on three sides revealed the remains of walls and buildings. By the following afternoon, the group had map three more plazas and many mounds, but it appeared that the river was rising, so they prepared to leave. Suddenly, one of the cameraman called out, hey, there are some weird stones over here. At the base of the pyramid, the team found the tops of dozens of beautifully carved stone sculptures.
Paragraph G
Head of a Jaguar, large jars carved with snakes, and objects that looked like seats or tables. All the artifacts were in perfect condition, apparently untouched, since they had been left centuries before. There were 52 objects above ground, and probably many more below the surface. In the days that followed, the team recorded each object using a 3D scanner. Nothing was touched, nothing removed. Further expeditions to the area are now being planned with the support of the Honduran government. There is still much to learn about the former inhabitants of La Mosquitia, whether or not the white city is real or myth. The search for it has led to riches.

课文配套练习 (Reading Exercises)

严格对应教材 Page 159–165 官方练习：Before You Read、Reading Comprehension、T/F/NG 正误判断及摘要填空。

1.
Discussion (p.159) What is a famous myth about an ancient lost city?
2.
Predicting (p.159) What are the main challenges of exploring La Mosquitia rainforest?
3.
Main Idea (Para B, p.164) According to paragraph B, what were Chris Fisher’s expectations as he started exploring T1?
4.
Detail (Para G, p.164) The most conclusive evidence for the existence of a lost city came from ______.
5.
Detail (p.164) Which of the following is NOT mentioned as one of the challenges faced by Fisher’s team?
6.
Sequence (Para J, p.164) The first sign that Fisher’s team had discovered a lost city in T1 was the indication that ______ had once been there.
7.
Detail (p.164) Which of the following did the team NOT observe in the T1 valley?
8.
Evaluating Statements (p.164) The Lost City of the Monkey God is also known as La Mosquitia.
9.
Evaluating Statements (p.164) Theodore Morde’s expedition to the Mosquitia region was sponsored by the Museum of the American Indian.
10.
Evaluating Statements (p.164) The artifacts that Morde brought back included sculptures.
11.
Evaluating Statements (p.164) It is likely there are more artifacts under the ground in T1.
12.
Evaluating Statements (p.164) Fisher’s team took the artifacts back to the U.S. for further study.
13.
Summary Completion (p.165) The ______ of a lost city in the Amazon was well-known by the 1930s.
14.
Summary Completion (p.165) Early ______ returned with stories of the city.
15.
Summary Completion (p.165) In 1940, one man spent several months in the ______...
16.
Summary Completion (p.165) ...and brought back ______ he claimed were from the lost city.
17.
Summary Completion (p.165) However, he would not ______ the city’s whereabouts.
18.
Summary Completion (p.165) Steve Elkins examined ______ from different scientists about Ciudad Blanca.
19.
Summary Completion (p.165) Lidar bounced hundreds of thousands of ______ per second...
20.
Summary Completion (p.165) ...penetrating the dense ______ to reveal ancient ruins.

Critical Thinking · Invasive vs. Non-invasive Archaeology
Should archaeologists dig and extract artifacts from remote virgin jungles, or should they strictly rely on non-invasive lidar and leave sites completely undisturbed?