高考题型提能练(十二) Unit 12Ⅰ.阅读理解 A The word “labyrinth”, or maze, refers to a complex structure of interconnecting passages through which it is difficult to find one's way. The most famous labyrinth is found in Greek mythology (神话). Designed by Daedalus for King Minos of Knossos to contain the fierce Minotaur (a half man and half bull monster), Daedalus' labyrinth was so complex that he, himself, could hardly find his way through it and, having successfully done so, Minos put him and his son, Icarus, into prison in a high tower in case he told the secret of the maze. Daedalus and Icarus fled using the feathers of birds bound together by wax to form wings and fly from the tower. Sadly, Icarus flew too close to the sun, melting the wax of his wings, and fell into the sea to drown. The other well known labyrinth was a pyramid complex (金字塔群) of many courts in Egypt, built at Hawara for Amenemhet Ⅲ, a ruler of the 12th Dynasty (1844-1797 BC). There were twelve separate courts of large size — six in a row facing north, six south — and all connected by corridors (走廊). Inside, the building was of two stories and contained about three thousand rooms, of which one half were underground, and the other half directly above them. The labyrinth was described by the Greek historian Herodotus, |