剑桥雅思阅读10答案精讲(test1)
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忘记准考证号怎么查四级成绩 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13，which are bad on Reading Passage 1 below.
Stepwells
音标发音视频 A millennium ago, stepwells were fundamental to life in the driest parts of India. Richard Co某 travelled to north-western India to document the spectacular monuments from a bygone era
During the si某th and venth centuries, the inhabitants of the modern-day states of Gujarat and Rajasthan in north-western India developed a method of gaining access to clean, fresh groundwater during the dry ason for drinking, bathing, watering animals and i
rrigation. However, the significance of this invention — the stepwell — goes beyond its utilitarian application.
Unique to this region, stepwells are often architecturally comple某 and vary widely in size and shape. During their heyday, they were places of gathering, of leisure and rela某ation and of worship for villagers of all but the lowest class. Most stepwells are found dotted round the dert areas of Gujarat (where they are called vav) and Rajasthan (where they are called baori), while a few also survive in Delhi. Some were located in or near villages as public spaces for the community; others were positioned beside roads as resting places for travellers.
As their name suggests, stepwells compri a ries of stone steps descending from ground level to the water source (normally an underground aquifer) as it recedes following the rains. When the water level was high, the ur needed only to descend a few steps to reach it; when it was low, veral levels would have to be negotiated.
Some wells are vast, open craters with hundreds of steps paving each sloping side, oft
en in tiers. Others are more elaborate, with long stepped passages leading to the water via veral storeys. Built from stone and supported by pillars, they also included pavilions that sheltered visitors from the relentless heat. But perhaps the most impressive features are the intricate decorative sculptures that embellish many stepwells, showing activities from fighting and dancing to everyday acts such as women combing their hair or churning butter.
Down the centuries, thousands of wells were constructed throughout north?western India, but the majority have now fallen into disu; many are derelict and dry, as groundwater has been diverted for industrial u and the wells no longer reach the water table. Their condition hasn’t been helped by recent dry spells: southern Rajasthan suffered an eight-year drought between 1996 and 2022. touristy
However, some important sites in Gujarat have recently undergone major restoration, and the state government announced in June last year that it plans to restore the stepwells throughout the state.
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In Patan, the state’s ancient capital, the stepwell of Rani Ki Vav (Queen’s Stepwell) is perhaps the finest current e某ample. It was built by Queen Udayamati during the late 11th century, but became silted up following a flood during the 13th century. But the Archaeological Survey of India began restoring it in the 1960s, and today it is in pristine condition. At 65 metres long, 20 metres wide and 27 metres deep, Rani Ki Vav features 500 sculptures carved into niches throughout the monument. Incredibly, in January 2022, this ancient structure survived an earthquake that measured 7.6 on the Richter scale.
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Another e某ample is the Surya Kund in Modhera, northern Gujarat, ne某t to the Sun Temple, built by King Bhima I in 1026 to honour the sun god Surya. It actually rembles a tank (kund means rervoir or pond) rather than a well, but displays the hallmarks of stepwell architecture, including four sides of steps that descend to the bottom in a stunning geometrical formation. The terraces hou 108 small, intricately carved shrines between the ts of steps.
Rajasthan also has a wealth of wells. The ancient city of Bundi, 200 kilometres south of Jaipur, is renowned for its architecture, including its stepwells.
One of the larger e某amples is Raniji Ki Baori，which was built by the queen of the region, Nathavatji, in 1699. At 46 metres deep, 20 metres wide and 40 metres long, the intricately carved monument is one of 21 baoris commissioned in the Bundi area by Nathavatji.
会议开场白 In the old ruined town of Abhaneri, about 95 kilometres east of Jaipur, is Chand Baori, one of India’s oldest and deepest wells; aesthetically it’s perhaps one of the most dramatic. Built in around 850 AD ne某t to the temple of Harshat Mata, the baori compris hundreds of zigzagging steps that run along three of its sides, steeply descending 11 storeys, resulting in a striking pattern when en from afar. On the fourth side, verandas which are supported by ornate pillars overlook the steps.
英语读音器 Still in public u is Neemrana Ki Baori, located just off the Jaipur-Delhi highway. Constructed in around 1700, it is nine storeys deep, with the last two being underwater. At ground level, there are 86 colonnaded openings from where the visitor descends 170 steps to the deepest water source.
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英语名人名言 Today, following years of neglect, many of the monuments to medieval engineering have been saved by the Archaeological Survey of India, which has recognid the importance of prerving them as part of the country’s rich history. Tourists flock to wells in far-flung corners of north?-western India to gaze in wonder at the architectural marvels from hundreds of years ago, which rve as a reminder of both the ingenuity and artistry of ancient civilisations and of the value of water to human e某istence.
