https://online2.tingclass.net/lesson/shi0529/0001/1192/bs20070622.mp3
https://image.tingclass.net/statics/js/2012
Not long after the Tang era (618-907), when trade along the Silk Road had reached its height, the fearsome Genghis Khan and his Mongol armies conquered a vast area spanning much of Central Asia. Accordingly, the Silk Road became an important communication route between different parts of the Mongol Empire. During the rule of Kublai Khan, more Europeans began venturing towards China along the Silk Road. The most famous of these travelers was Marco Polo, whose thoughts and adventures were later recorded and embellished by an Italian romance writer.
唐代是絲綢之路沿途貿(mào)易活動(dòng)的鼎盛時(shí)期,在唐代王朝滅亡后不久,令人聞風(fēng)喪膽的成吉思汗及其蒙古大軍征服了橫跨中亞大部分地區(qū)的廣闊領(lǐng)土。絲綢之路于是成為蒙古帝國(guó)各部落間重要的交通線路。忽必烈統(tǒng)治期間,更多的歐洲人冒險(xiǎn)沿著絲綢之路來到中國(guó)。這些旅行者中最出名的就是馬可波羅,他的所見所聞后來被一位意大利傳奇小說家記載下來,并加以潤(rùn)色。
(短文節(jié)選,本篇始于:長(zhǎng)相“絲”守)