本文音频及原文摘自杂志The Economist 2016年第25期，Books and Arts版块。

Cambodia

Jun 18th 2016

It may not look like much now, but in the 12th century, Preah Khan of Kompong Svay[1] (pictured) was part of the world’s largest urban settlement and one of its most powerful empires. Found beneath the forest floor[森床;林地覆被物] near Angkor Wat[2] using lidar[3] (like radar, but with lasers), these cities of the Khmer Empire[4] show complex water systems built centuries before the underlying technology was believed to have existed, as well as highways connecting major settlements. The lack of evidence of a substantial[5] relocated population nearby casts doubt on the widely accepted theory that the Khmer Empire collapsed when the Siamese[暹逻人] invaded. More maps will be published in the coming months.

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[1]柏威夏圣剑寺庙群（Preah Khan Kompong Svay complex / Preah Khan Preah Vihear），当地人称之为巴肯古寺（Prasat Bakan），是个巨大的寺庙建筑群。 这里长4.5公里，宽4.2公里，是柬埔寨最大的吴哥建筑群。虽然为柬埔寨五大吴哥建筑群之一，但游客鲜至，使这里保持着遗址的原始状态。为了与暹粒吴哥遗址的圣剑寺区别，这个寺庙群被称作柏威夏圣剑寺（Preah Khan Preah Vihear）。

[2]吴哥窟（Angkor Wat）又称吴哥寺，位于柬埔寨，被称作柬埔寨国宝，是世界上最大的庙宇。

[3]Lidar (also written LIDAR, LiDAR or LADAR) is a surveying technology that measures distance by illuminating a target with a laser light.

[4]the Khmer Empire：高棉王国是位于东南亚中南半岛柬埔寨的一个古国。高棉（Khmer）于中国古籍亦称为吉蔑、阁蔑。

[5]substantial：large in size, value or importance 大的；可观的；价值巨大的；重大的

The findings show a substantial difference between the opinions of men and women.

这些发现表明男性和女性之间存在着重大的意见分歧。

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以上言论不代表本人立场。

原文摘自The economist，仅外语学习之用。

其中生词解释来源于Cambridge Dictionaries

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