THE OLD KINGDOM

古王國

Throughout the Old Kingdom (2686–2181 BCE), ancient Egypt thrived.

整個(gè)古王國（公元前2686-前2181年）古埃及興旺發(fā)達(dá)。

King Djoser’s Step Pyramid (Old Kingdom, 3rd dynasty) in the Saqqara Necropolis, Memphis, Egypt, was the first of its kind. It paved the way for the smoother, sloping-sided pyramids of later kingdoms.

埃及孟菲斯薩卡拉墓地的左塞爾階梯金字塔（古王國第三王朝）是此類金字塔中的第一座。它為后來的王國建造更平滑、更傾斜的金字塔鋪平了道路。

The climax of pyramid building was reached in the three enormous tombs erected for the kings Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure at Giza. Each pyramid guarded the body of one king, housed in a chamber deep within the structure.

金字塔建造的高潮是在吉薩為胡夫、哈夫拉和門卡烏拉國王建造的三座巨型陵墓。每座金字塔守衛(wèi)著一位國王的遺體，安置在建筑深處的一個(gè)房間里。

To the south of the Great Pyramid lies the Great Sphinx, the best known of all Egyptian sculpture. Carved out of limestone, the Great Sphinx has human facial features but the body of a lion. The head is believed to be a portrait of Khafre.

大金字塔的南面坐落著獅身人面像，它是所有埃及雕塑中最著名的。大獅身人面像是由石灰石雕刻而成的，它有人類的面部特征，但身體像獅子。這個(gè)頭像據(jù)信是哈夫拉的肖像。

Eventually, the climate in Egypt became drier. A series of droughts and famines hastened the fall of the Old Kingdom, and a period of decline known as the First Intermediate Period (2181–1985 BCE) followed. It was a dark time, as Egypt suffered civil wars.

最終，埃及的氣候變得更加干燥。一系列的干旱和饑荒加速了古王國的衰落，隨后出現(xiàn)了一段被稱為第一中間期（公元前2181-前2055年）的衰退期。

Noblemen abused power; warlords fought among themselves; thieves stole from the pyramids; and ancient Egypt was again divided.

貴族濫用權(quán)力；軍閥自相殘殺；竊賊從金字塔盜竊；古埃及再次分裂。

詞匯短語： thrive 興旺發(fā)達(dá)

saqqara 薩卡拉（孟菲斯以南）

necropolis 墓地

pave 鋪

smoother 更平滑

sloping-sided 傾斜邊

climax 高潮

enormous 巨大的

guarded 保留的

chamber 房間

structure 結(jié)構(gòu)

sculpture 雕像

carve out 雕刻出

limestone 石灰石

feature 特征

portrait 肖像

drought 干旱

famine 饑荒

hasten 促進(jìn)

suffer 蒙受

nobleman 貴族

abuse 濫用

warlord 軍閥

among themselves 相互之間