金字塔英文介绍（八年级）

a structure where the outer
surfaces are triangular and converge at a point.For thousands of years,the largest structures on earth were pyramids:first the Red Pyramid in the Dashur Necropolis and then the Great Pyramid of Khufu,both of Egypt,the latter the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still remaining.Khufu’s Pyramid is built entirely of limestone,and is considered an architectural masterpiece.It contains around 1,300,000 blocks ranging in weight from 2.5 tons to 15 tons and is built on a square base with sides measuring about 230m (755ft),covering 13 acres.Its four sides face the four cardinal points precisely and it has an angle of 52 degrees.The original height of the Pyramid was 146.5m (488ft),but today it is only 137m (455ft) high,the 9m (33ft) that is missing is due to the theft of the fine quality limestone covering,or casing stones,by the Ottoman Turks in the 15 Century A.D,to build houses and Mosques in Cairo.It is still the tallest pyramid.The largest pyramid in the world ever built,by volume,is the Great Pyramid of Cholula,in the Mexican state of Puebla.This pyramid is still being excavated.

The most famous pyramids are the Egyptian pyramids — huge structures built of brick or stone,some of which are among the world's largest constructions.The age of the pyramids reached its zenith at Giza in 2575-2150 B.C.As of 2008,some 138 pyramids have been discovered in Egypt.The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest in Egypt and one of the largest in the world.Until Lincoln Cathedral was finished in AD 1311,it was the tallest building in the world.The base is over 52,600 square meters in area.While pyramids are associated with Egypt,the nation of Sudan has 220 extant pyramids,the most numerous in the world.

The Great Pyramid of Giza was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.It is the only one to survive into modern times.The Ancient Egyptians covered the faces of pyramids with polished white limestone,containing great quantities of fossilized seashells.Many of the facing stones have fallen or have been removed and used to build the mosques of Cairo