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Laura: Uncle Ben. When was the Forbidden City built?
Benjamin: The construction began in 1407, the 5th year of the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty. And, it was completed 14 years later in 1420.
Laura: Oh, it took such a long time.
Benjamin: Sure. That was why it became the world’s largest palace complex.
Laura: It must be interesting to live in such a beautiful place.
Benjamin: Interesting? No, I’d rather say dangerous, for most of the people who used to live there.
Laura: Why? Were there any dangerous animals?
Benjamin: No. Well, except the royal family, most of the people were just maids. And the rules were extremely strict for them. One simple slight mistake could bring them death.
Laura: Oh, that’s too bad! Luckily, it is just history. We are perfectly safe here. Look, here’s a picture. Who is the lady in it?
Benjamin: It’s Tzu Hsi. Have you ever heard of any stories about her?
Laura: Sure. I even read a book about her. Its name is “Dragon Lady”. The book tells many interesting stories about her.
Benjamin: “Dragon Lady”. That’s an interesting and suitable name for her, a real dictator, powerful and cold-blooded.
Laura: Oh, there, they have costumes for photo shooting.
Benjamin: Wanna try? What do you want to be, the emperor, the queen, or the princess?
Laura: None of those. Just the “Dragon Lady”
Benjamin: Cool choice!
聽看學
羅拉：本叔叔，紫禁城什么時候建成的啊?
本杰明：它始建于1407年，也就是明朝第三任皇帝登基后的第五年。它是在14年后的1420年完工的。
羅拉：哦，花了那么長的時間啊。
本杰明：當然啊。這就是它成為世界上最大的皇宮建筑群的原因啊。
羅拉：住在這個美麗的地方一定是一件非常有趣的事情。
本杰明：有趣?不是的，對于大多數曾經在這里生活過的人來說，我寧愿說是危險的。
羅拉：為什么啊?這里以前有什么危險的動物嗎?
本杰明：那倒沒有。不過，除了皇族，大多數人都是仆人。管理他們的制度非常苛刻。一個小小的失誤就可能給他們帶來殺身之禍。
羅拉：哦，那太糟糕了。幸好，那只是歷史。我們在這里絕對是安全的。看，這里有一幅畫。那里面的女人是誰?
本杰明：她就是慈禧太后啊。你聽說過有關她的故事嗎?
羅拉：當然了。我還看過一本關于她的書呢，名字叫做《龍女》。那本書講了很多關于她的有趣故事。
本杰明：《龍女》?對于她這樣的獨裁者，這倒是一個有趣并且貼切的名字，有權勢又很冷酷。
羅拉：哦，那里，他們好像有供拍照用的戲服呢。
本杰明：想試試嗎?你想當什么，皇帝、皇后還是公主啊?
羅拉：不想當那些，就想當“龍女”。
本杰明：很酷的選擇嘛。
經典背誦 Recitation
Benjamin: The Forbidden City has a long history. The construction of it started in 1407, the 5th year of the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty. And, it was completed 14 years later in 1420. It’s the world’s largest palace complex. One of the most famous people who used to live in this place was Tzu His. There is a book about her named “Dragon Lady”. It must be an interesting book.
生詞小結
complex n. 綜合建筑群
perfectly adv. 完全地
dictator n. 獨裁者
cold-blooded adj. 冷血的
語素 Material
The People’s Princess
On July the 29th ,1981, 19 year-old Diana married Charles, the Prince of England. It was definitely a fairytale wedding, and everything looked perfect. However, the royal palace was not a real dream home for her. Diana was very unhappy in her marriage. Finally, they got divorced in 1996, and Diana’s life ended tragically in a car crash in France on August the 31th, 1997. But, the public loved her, and she would live in people’s hearts forever.
大眾的王妃
1981年7月29日，19歲的戴安娜與英國王子查爾斯結婚。那絕對是一場童話般的婚禮，一切看上去都是完美的。然而，皇宮并不是戴安娜理想的家園。戴安娜的婚姻生活并不幸福。他們最終在1996年離婚了。更為可嘆的是，1997年8月31日，戴安娜在法國喪生于一場車禍中。但民眾愛她，她也將永遠活在人們的心中。
Julius Caesar
“I came; I saw; I conquered.” These were the words of the man who changed the course of Greco-Roman history. Julius Caesar was born in Rome on July 12 or 13, in the year 100 B.C. His father died when he was 16 year old. During his political life, he was famous for his wisdom and fighting fit. He obtained distinction for himself and his family. But he was murdered on March 15, 44 B.C., after which Rome experienced 13 years of civil war.
凱撒大帝
“我來了，我看到了，我勝利了。” 這是那個改變了希臘羅馬歷史進程的人所說過的話。凱撒大帝在公元前100年7月12或13日出生于羅馬。他的父親在他16歲那年去世了。在他的政治生涯中，他因其智慧和善戰而聞名于世。他也為自己和家族贏得了榮譽。但他在公元前44年3月15日被謀殺，在那之后羅馬經歷了長達13年的內戰。
