Notes
conquest 征服;
steppe ステップ、(特にシベリア・アジアの)大草原;
fertile: /fˈəːtɑɪl/〈土地が〉肥えた，肥沃な;
fuel: 刺激する，あおる;
flourish: ˈflʌɹ.ɪʃ/ 繁盛する、盛大である、活躍する;

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In the late 1100s, the Mongol tribes were divided, but by the early 1200s, they united and began expanding their empire. Genghis Khan played a crucial role in their conquest, but a study suggests that favorable climate changes also contributed. The Mongol steppes, their grasslands, became greener and more fertile with increased rainfall and mild temperatures. This benefited their vital horses, fueling the Mongol military. The improved climate helped the Mongol Empire flourish

While climate change wasn’t the sole reason for their conquests, it played a significant role. Other civilizations, like the Anasazi and the Angkor, faced similar climate shifts and devastating droughts. (Adapted from Time’s artcile “How Climate Change Drove the Rise of Genghis Khan”)

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Notes
stillness 静けさ、静寂;
gloom (心の)陰気、陰うつ;
hut (掘っ建て)小屋、あばら屋;
desert 廃棄する;
moan (苦痛・悲しみの)うめき(声);
trace 跡、足跡;

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It was three years before his ship returned and he again drew near the island. Eagerly he looked up and down the shore for signs of a welcome from his people. But only the washing of the waves on the beach and the stillness and gloom of the dense forest greeted him. Not a person was to be found. His little granddaughter, her parents, and all the colonists had disappeared. The huts were deserted. Not a sound was to be heard but the cry of the birds and the moaning of the trees. On a tree were cut a few letters. Was it the name of some place to which the people had moved? Poor John White! He never found out. Heart-broken, he turned his ship back to England. Not a trace of this lost colony, not a trace of the little babe, Virginia Dare, has ever been found. (End)
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