随着城市化的发展，很多村庄被城市吞并，也有很多村庄逐渐凋零。没有受到影响的村庄越来越少，而几百年来都变化不大的就更少了。
The village of scholars
by Ronan O'Connell
On the outskirts of Vietnam's capital, well removed from the tourist trail, is Dong Ngac, a 1,000-year-old "village of scholars" that has barely changed in centuries.
outskirts /ˈaʊtskɜːts/ n. 边缘地带、郊外
Vietnam /ˌvjetˈnæm/ n. 越南
removed from = distant from
trail /treɪl/ n. 路线
scholar /ˈskɒlə(r)/ n. 学者
As Hanoi has expanded and modernized rapidly over the past 20 years, many of its oldest villages have either been erased or gentrified（升级改造） to the point they've lost their original character. But not this one – and this is part of what makes Dong Ngac so appealing when you travel here.
Hanoi /hæˈnɔɪ/ n. 河内（越南首都）
expand /ɪkˈspænd/ v. 扩大、扩张
modernize /ˈmɒd(ə)naɪz/ v. 现代化（由modern加后缀-ize变成动词）
rapidly /ˈræpɪdli/ adv. 快速地（由rapid加后缀-ly变成副词）
erase /ɪˈreɪz/ v. 抹去
character /ˈkærəktə(r)/ n. 特点
appealing /əˈpiːlɪŋ/ adj. 吸引人的
Pretty stone gates mark its borders, timeworn（陈旧的） French-Vietnamese buildings line its narrow lanes, street traders peer from beneath conical（锥形的） hats and children play outside its 17th century Buddhist（佛教的） temple, Tu Khanh.
mark /mɑːk/ v. 标记
line /laɪn/ v. 排成一行
lane /leɪn/ n. 乡间公路
trader /ˈtreɪdə(r)/ n. 商人、买卖人
peer /pɪə(r)/ v. 仔细看
beneath /bɪˈniːθ/ prep. 在…下面
temple /ˈtemp(ə)l/ n. 寺庙
One of the first monuments visitors will discover inside the temple's sprawling（蔓延的） grounds is a stone statue of a crane（鹤） standing on the back of a turtle（龟）. Turtles have been cherished（钟爱） by Hanoi residents for centuries. In local mythology（神话）, these shelled creatures represent longevity and are viewed as icons of Vietnam's success across its many fights for independence.
monument /ˈmɒnjumənt/ n. 历史遗迹
grounds /ɡraʊndz/ n. 庭院
statue /ˈstætʃuː/ n. 雕像
resident /ˈrezɪd(ə)nt/ n. 居民
shelled /ʃeld/ adj. 有壳的
represent /ˌreprɪˈzent/ v. 代表、象征
longevity /lɒnˈdʒevəti/ n. 长寿
icon /ˈaɪkɒn/ n. 象征
independence /ˌɪndɪˈpendəns/ n. 独立
This statue is one of more than 50 stone and metal monuments scattered throughout Tu Khanh, which was built in the 1650s. Among them are three large brass bells cast in the early 19th century and a cluster of stone towers that are variously dedicated to Buddhist gods and scholarly luminaries（杰出人士） born in Dong Ngac.
scatter /ˈskætə(r)/ v. 散落
throughout /θruːˈaʊt/ prep. 遍及
brass /brɑːs/ n. 黄铜
cast /kɑːst/ v. 铸造（过去分词也是cast，这里就是过去分词）
cluster /ˈklʌstə(r)/ n. 一簇
variously /ˈveəriəsli/ adv. 以各种各样的方式（由various加后缀-ly变成副词）
dedicated to 献给
scholarly /ˈskɒləli/ adj. 有学问的（由scholar加后缀-ly变成形容词）
Despite being tiny – the village is less than one square kilometer in size and home to 1,000 or so people – Dong Ngac has birthed an unusually large number of academic high achievers, including dozens of doctors of literature. So valued is Dong Ngac for producing influential scholars that it has been presented with dozens of royal awards, dating as far back as Vietnam's Le Dynasty period (1428-1788).
birth /bɜːθ/ v. 使出生、生下
unusually /ʌnˈjuːʒuəli/ adv. 不寻常地（由usually加上表示否定的前缀un-）
academic /ˌækəˈdemɪk/ adj. 学术的
high achiever 高成就者
literature /ˈlɪtrətʃə(r)/ n. 文学
value /ˈvæljuː/ v. 看重
influential /ˌɪnfluˈenʃ(ə)l/ adj. 有影响力的
present /prɪˈzent/ v. 给予、授予
royal /ˈrɔɪəl/ adj. 王室的
award /əˈwɔːd/ n. 奖、大奖
date back 追溯
Dong Ngac Communal House is the hub of the village. For almost 400 years, this complex has hosted Dong Ngac's most significant events and acted as a place of worship. Built in the first half of the 1600s, it was designed to look from above like the head of a dragon. Its ironwood prayer hall is intended to represent the dragon's skull, with the main gate being its nose and two water wells acting as its eyes.
hub /hʌb/ n. （各种活动的）中心
complex /ˈkɒmpleks/ n. 大型建筑
host /həʊst/ v. 举办
significant /sɪɡˈnɪfɪk(ə)nt/ adj. 重要的
act as 做为、充当
worship /ˈwɜːʃɪp/ v. 拜神
dragon /ˈdræɡ(ə)n/ n. 龙
ironwood /ˈaɪənwʊd/ n. 铁木（一种木质非常坚硬的木头，由iron和wood组成）
prayer /preə(r)/ n. 祈祷、祷告
skull /skʌl/ n. 颅骨
well /wel/ n. 井
The central hall houses a prized collection of Le Dynasty art works, which cover themes of Vietnamese agriculture, commerce, fishing, artistry（艺术技巧） and, of course, literature. Every day Dong Ngac locals kneel here in the grounds of their Communal House to not just pray to Buddhist gods, but also to remember the academics who built Dong Ngac's lofty（极高的） reputation.
house /haʊz/ v. 提供场地、容纳
prized /praɪzd/ adj. 宝贵的
work /wɜːk/ n. 作品
theme /θiːm/ n. 主题
agriculture /ˈæɡrɪkʌltʃə(r)/ n. 农业
commerce /ˈkɒmɜːs/ n. 商业
local /ˈləʊk(ə)l/ n. 当地人
kneel /niːl/ v. 下跪
academic /ˌækəˈdemɪk/ n. 学者
reputation /ˌrepjuˈteɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 声誉
（如果您发现某些行的最后一个单词被分成两半了，请把您使用的浏览器升级到最新版本就能正常显示了。）
网友评论