Ming Dynasty encyclopedia comes back

重慶市墊江中學 胡正春

難詞探意

題材約333 6分鐘文化 新聞報道體裁 文章詞數 建議用時

1.encyclopedia /?n,sa?kl?'pi?di?/ n.百科全書

2.auction /'??k?n/ n.拍賣

3.commission /k?'m??n/ v.正式委托（譜寫或制作、創作、完成）

4.equivalent /?'kw?v?l?nt/ adj.相等的；相同的

5.preside /pr?'za?d/ v.主持；擔任

6.glazed /ɡle?zd/ adj.光滑的；上過釉的

Two rare volumes of an ancient Chineseencyclopediasold for more than8 million atauctionfinally.

The encyclopedia, referred to as Yongle Dadian, was originallycommissionedby the Yongle Emperor, the third ruler of the Ming Dynasty.More than 2,000 scholars worked on the encyclopedia between 1403 and 1408.Yongle Dadian may be the largest encyclopedia in the world, and originally contained 22,877 chapters.In 1562, the Jiajing Emperor, the 11th Ming ruler,ordered two copies of the encyclopedia to be made.However, the original was lost as a result of many wars, thefts and fires that occurred underneath the Ming Dynasty(1368—1644).While the 2 volumes sold Tuesday are copies, they truly are extremely rare, with only 400 known volumes, or 4%of the original encyclopedia, left available.

The books, which measure 20 inches by 12 inches, were written in red and black ink on paper.While printing practices had been developed at the time, the encyclopedia was published by hand.One volume is about the lakes of China and the other informs readers about funeral rites.Together,they certainly were bought by an unnamed buyer from Zhejiang Province for8.128 million including fees.Before the auction, they carried a price estimate of5,000-8,000.The British Library has 24 volumes of the encyclopedia,equivalentto 49 chapters.

The Yongle Emperor was a strong leader whopresidedover the most effective years of the Ming Dynasty.In 1412, he ordered the construction of the famous Porcelain Tower in Nanjing.It took 17 years to accomplish and was known as one of Seven Wonders of the Medieval World.It was designed withglazed, white porcelain bricks and rose more than 250 feet from an octagonal(八角的) foundation,but the original was considered to have been destroyed during the Taiping Rebellion in the 19th century.However, a fresh version of the tower has been constructed with a 1 billion yuan donation from Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin in 2010.

Reading Check

1.What can we know about Yongle Dadian?

A.It took nearly 2,000 years to finish.

B.It originally contained 22,877 chapters.

C.The original copy was bought by an unnamed buyer.

D.Three copies of it were written in red and black ink.

2.Which word can best describe the Yongle Emperor according to the text?

A.Positive.B.Considerate.

C.Powerful.D.Generous.

3.What's the last paragraph mainly about?

A.The Taiping Rebellion.

B.Great events in the Ming Dynasty.

C.Famous emperors of the Ming Dynasty.

D.The Yongle Emperor and the Porcelain Tower.

Language Study

Sentence for writing

However, the original was lost as a result of many wars, thefts and fires that occurred underneath the Ming Dynasty (1368—1644).

【信息提取】as a result of...意為“由于……”，后接名詞或代詞，相當于because of。

【句式仿寫】因為大雨，火車晚點了。