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故宮在美麗的建筑背后還有著非常悠久的歷史和眾多的宮廷傳說，羅拉好像也有所了解，并且很感興趣。這不，她和本杰明聊起了宮廷的傳說。
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Laura: Uncle Ben. When was the Forbidden City built?
Benjamin: The construction began in 1407, the 5th year of the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty. And, it was completed 14 years later in 1420.
Laura: Oh, it took such a long time.
Benjamin: Sure. That was why it became the world's largest palace complex.
Laura: It must be interesting to live in such a beautiful place.
Benjamin: Interesting? No, I'd rather say dangerous, for most of the people who used to live there.
Laura: Why? Were there any dangerous animals?
Benjamin: No. Well, except the royal family, most of the people were just maids. And the rules were extremely strict for them. One simple slight mistake could bring them death.
Laura: Oh, that's too bad! Luckily, it is just history. We are perfectly safe here. Look, here's a picture. Who is the lady in it?
Benjamin: It's Tzu Hsi. Have you ever heard of any stories about her?
Laura: Sure. I even read a book about her. Its name is “Dragon Lady”. The book tells many interesting stories about her.
Benjamin: “Dragon Lady”. That's an interesting and suitable name for her, a real dictator, powerful and cold-blooded.
Laura: Oh, there, they have costumes for photo shooting.
Benjamin: Wanna try? What do you want to be, the emperor, the queen, or the princess?
Laura: None of those. Just the “Dragon Lady”
Benjamin: Cool choice!
聽看學
羅拉：本叔叔，紫禁城什么時候建成的啊？
本杰明：它始建于1407年，也就是明朝第三任皇帝登基后的第五年。它是在14年后的1420年完工的。
羅拉：哦，花了那么長的時間啊。
本杰明：當然啊。這就是它成為世界上最大的皇宮建筑群的原因啊。
羅拉：住在這個美麗的地方一定是一件非常有趣的事情。
本杰明：有趣？不是的，對于大多數曾經在這里生活過的人來說，我寧愿說是危險的。
羅拉：為什么啊？這里以前有什么危險的動物嗎？
本杰明：那倒沒有。不過，除了皇族，大多數人都是仆人。管理他們的制度非常苛刻。一個小小的失誤就可能給他們帶來殺身之禍。
羅拉：哦，那太糟糕了。幸好，那只是歷史。我們在這里絕對是安全的。看，這里有一幅畫。那里面的女人是誰？
本杰明：她就是慈禧太后啊。你聽說過有關她的故事嗎？
羅拉：當然了。我還看過一本關于她的書呢，名字叫做《龍女》。那本書講了很多關于她的有趣故事。
本杰明：《龍女》？對于她這樣的獨裁者，這倒是一個有趣并且貼切的名字，有權勢又很冷酷。
羅拉：哦，那里，他們好像有供拍照用的戲服呢。
本杰明：想試試嗎？你想當什么，皇帝、皇后還是公主啊？
羅拉：不想當那些，就想當“龍女”。
本杰明：很酷的選擇嘛。
