埃及金字塔里究竟有什么东西？
还记得去年的断臂维纳斯有多高吗？今年高考数学除了天坛有多少块砖，埃及金字塔也出现了。或许，明年即将高考的同学可以考虑一下埃菲尔铁塔？或者是蒙娜丽莎的微笑。
无注释原文：
What's inside Egypt's Great Pyramid?
Encyclopaedia Britannica
When people think of the pyramids, their brains usually go straight to mummies and treasures.
They may think of a certain infamous golden sarcophagus or maybe of hieroglyphics coating the insides of big triangular walls. At about 450 feet tall, the Great Pyramid of Giza is the biggest pyramid in Egypt. So it must have a lot of cool stuff inside, right? Not exactly.
Most pyramids consist almost entirely of solid stone, and the Great Pyramid is no exception. But what it lacks in quantity, it sort of makes up in mystery. Like most Egyptian pyramids, the three pyramids of Giza are royal tombs.
The Great Pyramid, or Pyramid of Khufu, is the final resting place of the pharaoh Khufu, ruled in the 25th century BCE. It is the oldest and tallest of the three pyramids. It's made up of about 2.3 million blocks of limestone, and not much else. There's actually very little open space inside the Great Pyramid.
This diagram shows what we know to be in there. From the entrance, there's a passage with ascending and descending branches. The descending branch leads to an underground chamber, which is usually where pharaohs were laid to rest. However, this one appears to be unfinished.
Khufu's sarcophagus is in another chamber known as the King's Chamber, up the other passage and through the long, tall slanting Grand Gallery. The King's Chamber is lined with huge blocks of granite. All that's there now is a huge granite sarcophagus, which once housed the pharaoh's mummy. Sorry, hieroglyphics fans-- the walls are bare.
Above the King's Chamber are five compartments separated by huge slabs of granite. They probably help support the ceiling of the burial chamber. Below the King's Chamber and the Grand Gallery is a room known as the Queen's Chamber.
This room probably didn't hold any queens though. A pyramid was usually a tomb for a single person, Khufu's whose wives may have been entombed in small pyramids nearby. The Queen's Chamber is empty now, but that doesn't mean it's boring. There are tunnels leading from the north and south ends of the chamber, and nobody is quite sure what they're for.
Scientists and explorers started sending robots into the tunnels in the 1990s. In the early 2000s, a robot with a small, flexible camera brought back photos of a chamber with red hieroglyphs, somewhere around here. They haven't been deciphered yet.
As for treasures, whatever was inside the Great Pyramid was stolen long ago. But it still might have some mysteries for us to uncover. Scientists continue to map and explore the pyramid using various technologies, including infrared scanners, lasers, and cosmic ray detectors.
In 2017 it was reported that scientists using cosmic ray detectors had found a hidden chamber above the Grand Gallery. Nobody knows yet why it's there, but it's unlikely to hold any secret treasure. With the Great Pyramid, what you see-- namely rocks with a hardy dash of history and mystery-- seems to be what you get.
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含注释全文：
What's inside Egypt's Great Pyramid?
Encyclopaedia Britannica
When people think of the pyramids, their brains usually go straight to mummies and treasures.
当人们提起金字塔时，他们的大脑通常会直接想到木乃伊和宝藏。
pyramid /ˈpɪrəmɪd/
表示“（古埃及的）金字塔”，英文解释为“a large building with a square or triangular base and sloping sides that meet in a point at the top. The ancient Egyptians built stone pyramids as places to bury their kings and queens.”
📍据维基百科（Wikipedia）：The Great Pyramid of Giza (also known as the Pyramid of Khufu) is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza pyramid complex bordering present-day Giza in Greater Cairo, Egypt.
📍胡夫金字塔又称吉萨大金字塔，是位于埃及吉萨三座著名的金字塔中最为古老也是最大的一座。
mummy /ˈmʌmɪ/
1）表示“木乃伊”，英文解释为“A mummy is a dead body which was preserved long ago by being rubbed with special oils and wrapped in cloth.”如：an Egyptian mummy 一具埃及木乃伊。
2）表示“妈妈；妈咪”，英文解释为“Some people, especially young children, call their mother mummy.”
They may think of a certain infamous golden sarcophagus or maybe of hieroglyphics coating the insides of big triangular walls. At about 450 feet tall, the Great Pyramid of Giza is the biggest pyramid in Egypt. So it must have a lot of cool stuff inside, right? Not exactly.
他们可能会想到某个金色石棺，或者可能会想到覆盖在大三角形墙壁内侧的象形文字。吉萨大金字塔高约450英尺，是埃及最大的金字塔。所以它里面一定有很多很酷的东西，对吗？并非如此。
infamous
infamous表示“臭名昭著的，声名狼藉的”，英文解释为“famous for something considered bad”，infamous一词很容易混淆，以为famous是“著名的”（well-known），infamous就是其反义词，实际上infamous也是“著名的”，只是因为“something bad”而著名，同样是well-known，只不过是for something bad而著名。
📍那么，要说不出名，不著名呢？一种说法是unfamous，不过，这个说法比较争议，不太被认可，不常用，通常你可以说not famous.
📍Unfamous is a somewhat controversial word. It means not famous or not widely known about or respected. It is controversial in the sense that some dictionaries from the United States recognize it as a word, but most spellchecks on computers do not. European dictionaries tend to not recognize it either.
sarcophagus
sarcophagus /sɑːˈkɒfəɡəs/ 表示“石棺”，英文解释为“A sarcophagus is a large decorative container in which a dead body was placed in ancient times.”
hieroglyphics
hieroglyphics /ˌhaɪərəˈɡlɪfɪks/ 表示“象形字；象形符号”，英文解释为“Hieroglyphics are symbols in the form of pictures which are used in some writing systems, for example those of ancient Egypt.”
coat
coat作名词，表示“大衣，外套”大家都比较熟悉，此处作动词，因为穿衣服的时候实际上也是在给身体表面“盖上”东西，所以可以引申为“给…涂上一层；（用…）覆盖”的意思，相当于cover，英文解释为“to cover sth with a layer of a substance”，如：cookies thickly coated with chocolate 外面涂有厚厚一层巧克力的曲奇，举个🌰：
A film of dust coated the table.
桌上覆盖着一层灰尘。
🎬电影《天伦之旅》（Stanno Tutti Bene）中的台词提到：l protected it with PVC coating. 但我用聚氯乙烯涂料做保护。
补充：
📍此处film也是熟词僻义，表示“薄薄的一层；薄膜”（a thin layer of sth, usually on the surface of sth else），如：a film of dust 一层灰尘。
Most pyramids consist almost entirely of solid stone, and the Great Pyramid is no exception. But what it lacks in quantity, it sort of makes up in mystery. Like most Egyptian pyramids, the three pyramids of Giza are royal tombs.
大多数金字塔几乎全部由实心石组成，吉萨大金字塔也不例外。但它数量之少，多少有点成谜。和大多数埃及金字塔一样，吉萨的三座金字塔也都是王室陵墓。
📺美剧《绝望的主妇》（Desperate Housewives）中的台词提到：Rex and Bree Van de Kamp were no exception. 雷克斯和布里·范德坎普也不例外。
The Great Pyramid, or Pyramid of Khufu, is the final resting place of the pharaoh Khufu, ruled in the 25th century BCE. It is the oldest and tallest of the three pyramids. It's made up of about 2.3 million blocks of limestone, and not much else. There's actually very little open space inside the Great Pyramid.
吉萨大金字塔，或称胡夫金字塔，是法老胡夫的最后安息之地，法老胡夫统治于公元前25世纪。它是三座金字塔中最古老、最高的一座。它由约230万块石灰石组成，仅此而已。大金字塔内部实际上只有很少的空隙。
limestone
limestone /ˈlaɪmˌstəʊn/ 表示“石灰岩”，英文解释为“Limestone is a whitish-coloured rock which is used for building and for making cement.”
This diagram shows what we know to be in there. From the entrance, there's a passage with ascending and descending branches. The descending branch leads to an underground chamber, which is usually where pharaohs were laid to rest. However, this one appears to be unfinished.
此图展示了我们所知道的内部结构。从入口开始，有一条带有向上和向下两个分支的通道。向下分支通向一个地下墓室，通常是法老安息的地方。不过，这个似乎还没有完工。
passage
表示“段落，章节”大家应该比较熟悉，此处表示“过道；走廊”，英文解释为“A passage is a long narrow space with walls or fences on both sides, that connects one place or room with another.”举个🌰：
He stepped into the passage and closed the door behind him.
他走进走廊，关上身后的门。
branch
表示“支流；支路；支线”，英文解释为“a smaller or less important part of a river, road, railway/railroad, etc. that leads away from the main part”如：a branch of the Rhine 莱茵河的支流。
chamber
表示“（作特殊用途的）房间，室”，英文解释为“A chamber is a room designed and equipped for a particular purpose.”如：a burial chamber 墓室。
pharaoh /ˈfɛərəʊ/
表示“法老（古埃及国王）”，英文解释为“A pharaoh was a king of ancient Egypt.”
Khufu's sarcophagus is in another chamber known as the King's Chamber, up the other passage and through the long, tall slanting Grand Gallery. The King's Chamber is lined with huge blocks of granite. All that's there now is a huge granite sarcophagus, which once housed the pharaoh's mummy. Sorry, hieroglyphics fans-- the walls are bare.
胡夫的石棺位于另一个被称为国王室的墓室里，从另一条通道上去，穿过长长的、高高的斜面大廊。国王室内衬着巨大的花岗岩块。现在那里只剩下一个巨大的花岗岩石棺，它曾是法老的木乃伊所在。抱歉，象形文字迷们... ...墙壁是光秃秃的。
slanting
表示“倾斜的；有斜度的”，英文解释为“sloping in one direction”举个🌰：
Swiss chalets have steeply slanting roofs, so that snow does not settle on them.
瑞士木屋有十分陡的斜屋顶，所以雪不会堆积在上面。
granite
granite /ˈɡrænɪt/ 表示“花岗岩；花岗石”，英文解释为“a type of hard grey stone, often used in building”。
house
作动词，表示“是（某物）的贮藏处（或安置处）；收藏；安置”，英文解释为“to be the place where sth is kept or where sth operates from”举个🌰：
The gallery houses 500 works of modern art.
美术馆收藏了500件现代艺术作品。
Above the King's Chamber are five compartments separated by huge slabs of granite. They probably help support the ceiling of the burial chamber. Below the King's Chamber and the Grand Gallery is a room known as the Queen's Chamber.
国王室上方有五个隔间，由巨大的花岗岩板隔开。它们可能是用来支撑墓室的天花板的。在国王室和大长廊的下面是一个被称为王后室的墓室。
compartment
表示“隔间”，英文解释为“A compartment is one of the separate parts of an object that is used for keeping things in.”
slab
表示“（石、木等坚硬物质的）厚板”，英文解释为“a thick flat piece of stone, wood or other hard material”如：a slab of marble 大理石板。
This room probably didn't hold any queens though. A pyramid was usually a tomb for a single person, Khufu's whose wives may have been entombed in small pyramids nearby. The Queen's Chamber is empty now, but that doesn't mean it's boring. There are tunnels leading from the north and south ends of the chamber, and nobody is quite sure what they're for.
不过，这个王后室可能并没有任何王后。一座金字塔通常是一个人的坟墓，胡夫的妻子可能被埋在附近的小金字塔里。王后室现在是空的，但这并不意味着它没有用。王后室的南北两端都有隧道，没人知道它们是干什么用的。
entomb
表示“掩埋；埋葬；把（尸体）葬入坟墓”，英文解释为“To bury or completely cover sb/sth so that they cannot get out, be seen, etc.; To put a dead body in a tomb”。
🎬电影《变形金刚》（Transformers）中的台词提到：... would crush and entomb them, leaving no evidence. 会把尸体压扁，不留任何蛛丝马迹。
Scientists and explorers started sending robots into the tunnels in the 1990s. In the early 2000s, a robot with a small, flexible camera brought back photos of a chamber with red hieroglyphs, somewhere around here. They haven't been deciphered yet.
20世纪90年代，科学家和探险家开始将机器人送入隧道。在2000年代初期，一个带有小型灵活相机的机器人传回了带有红色象形文字的墓室的照片，就在这附近。不过，还没有被破译出来。
decipher /dɪˈsaɪfə/
表示“破译”，英文解释为“If you decipher a piece of writing or a message, you work out what it says, even though it is very difficult to read or understand.”如：to decipher a code 破译密码。
📺英剧《神探夏洛克》（Sherlock）第一季中的台词提到：约翰 要想解开密码， John, if we're going to decipher this code,
As for treasures, whatever was inside the Great Pyramid was stolen long ago. But it still might have some mysteries for us to uncover. Scientists continue to map and explore the pyramid using various technologies, including infrared scanners, lasers, and cosmic ray detectors.
至于宝藏，吉萨大金字塔里的东西早就被偷了。但仍然有一些谜团需要我们去揭开。科学家们继续利用各种技术对金字塔进行测绘和探索，包括红外扫描仪、激光器和宇宙射线探测器。
map
map作动词，最直接的理解就是“绘制…的地图；在地图上标示出”，英文解释为“To map an area means to make a map of it.”如：an unexplored region that has not yet been mapped 一个尚未绘制地图的未经勘察的地区。
infrared scanners
红外扫描仪
cosmic ray detectors
宇宙射线探测器
In 2017 it was reported that scientists using cosmic ray detectors had found a hidden chamber above the Grand Gallery. Nobody knows yet why it's there, but it's unlikely to hold any secret treasure. With the Great Pyramid, what you see-- namely rocks with a hardy dash of history and mystery-- seems to be what you get.
据报道，2017年，使用宇宙射线探测器的科学家在大长廊上方发现了一个隐藏的密室。目前还没有人知道为什么会在那里，但不太可能藏有什么秘密宝藏。对于吉萨大金字塔，你的所见--即带有悠久历史和神秘色彩的石块，似乎就是你的所得。
dash
表示“少量，少许（添加物）”，英文解释为“a small amount of sth that is added to sth else”举个🌰：
The rug adds a dash of colour to the room.
小地毯为房间增添了一点色彩。
🎬电影《普罗米修斯》（Prometheus）中的台词提到：a dash of DNA and half a brain, right? 一小段DNA序列和好使的脑袋就行了
注：中文文本仅供参考，并非一一对应
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