【明報專訊】William Gadoury, a fifteen-year-old boy from Quebec, Canada (加拿大魁北克省), has discovered a lost Mayan (瑪雅) city. By studying Mayan astronomy, Google Earth and images taken from a cutting-edge satellite, Gadoury has located a seemingly man-made structure in a jungle at Yucatan, Mexico (墨西哥尤卡坦). It matches the Mayans' star maps.
''I didn't understand why the Mayas built their cities far away from rivers, in remote areas, or in the mountains,'' Gadoury said. He has been interested in the mysterious Maya civilisation since he was a child. He has suggested a theory - that the people of Maya had located their towns and cities according to Mayan star maps.
The discovery has been confirmed by Dr Armand LaRocque who works at the University of New Brunswick (新不倫瑞克省大學). According to him, the city comprises an 86-metre-high pyramid and thirty buildings. Gadoury has named the city K'ÀAK' CHI', which in the Mayan language means ''Mouth of Fire''.
(sources: Ming Pao, BBC, The Huffington Post, Canadian Space Agency)
■Photo story
˙The satellite image provided by the Canadian Space Agency shows a square structure in a Mexican jungle.
˙William Gadoury found a lost Mayan city.
■Words
astronomy 天文學
Maya civilisation 瑪雅文明
■Quiz
Choose the correct answers.
(answers on next text)
1. Where is the Mayan city Gadoury discovered?
a. in Canada
b. in the US
c. in Mexico
2. Which of the following words from paragraph two has the same meaning as ''far away''?
a. remote
b. built
c. mysterious
3. According to paragraph two, Gadoury believes that...
a. Mayan cities were built far away from rivers.
b. Mayan cities were built according to Mayan star maps.
c. the Maya civilisation started in the mountains.
4. Which of the following statements is true?
a. Dr Armad LaRocque thinks the discovery is not reliable.
b. Gadoury has named the Mayan city he discovered K'ÀAK' CHI'.
c. The Mayan city Gadoury has discovered has altogether 86 buildings.
■Glossary
cutting-edge (adj) 先進的
satellite (n) 衛星
seemingly (adv) 表面上
theory (n) 理論
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