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The King of Stonehenge? 巨石阵之王

 

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The site of Stonehenge presents an eternal mystery, casting a shadow some 5000 years into history. Three miles from Stonehenge, near the town of Amesbury, another mystery is being uncovered. ___1___ Investigating further with their trowels, they discovered that the patches were, in fact, gravesites. At first, it was thought that they had uncovered a small Roman cemetery, which is not an uncommon find. ___2___ Something shiny caught one of the worker’s eyes – a piece of gold. Clearly, this was no ordinary grave.

巨石阵遗址为亘古谜团,有将近五千年的历史。而离巨石阵三英哩的阿姆斯伯利镇附近,另一谜团也被发现了。2002年春天,考古学家们在挖掘一处即将兴建住宅的土地时,偶然发现有两处粗糙不同的地方,引起了他们的兴趣。他们用小铲子进一步挖掘,发现这两块地其实是墓地。起初,他们以为挖到了在当地常见的小型罗马墓园。但事后发现,这些墓地实际上可追溯至英国青铜时期。一件闪闪发光的物品引起一位工作人员的注意-一块黄金。显然,这并非普通的墓穴。

 

The grave the team had found was of a man who would come to be known by some as the Amesbury Archer and by others, dramatically, as the King of Stonehenge. ___3___ More than 100 artifacts were found in the grave, making it the richest Bronze Age grave ever discovered in Britain.

考古团队所发现的墓地属于一名男性,有些人认识他是阿姆斯伯利射手,而有些人则夸称他为巨石阵之王。虽然他是否确为皇室成员尚无定论,但从其陪葬品数量来看,这名男子显然是一位重要且地位崇高的人。墓穴里发掘出一百多件工艺品,是英国目前所发现最奢华的青铜时期坟墓。

 

___4___ He would have arrived in present-day Wiltshire, England, 4300 years ago, possibly bringing knowledge of metal working that was not yet prevalent in the British Isles. ___5___ This has led some historians to speculate that he would have been capable of unifying the region’s local leaders, and perhaps even of providing the inspiration for the construction of Stonehenge itself!

地球科学家研究尸体本身,推断这名男子来自中欧,极可能是阿尔卑斯山区附近或德国南部,于4,300多年前来到今日英国的威尔特郡。而他可能带来了在英国小岛尚未盛行的金属制造知识,这一点令他享有崇高的地位,甚至具统驭当地人民的影响力。这使部份的历史学家推测,他能统合该地区的地方领导人士,甚至可能提供了兴建巨石阵的灵感!

 

by Joe Henley

 

A.    From studying the body itself, geoscientists concluded that the man came from Central Europe, most likely somewhere around the Alps, or southern Germany.

B.    This would have granted him high status, and perhaps even a commanding influence over the people of these lands.

C.    However, it was later found that the graves actually dated back to Britain’s Bronze Age.

D.   In the spring of 2002, archeologists excavating a site for a housing development came across two rough patches of ground that drew their interest.

E.    While not everyone agrees that the man was in fact royalty, it is quite evident that he was an important and high-ranking man, judging from the sheer volume of artifacts he was buried with.

 

Vocabulary

单词发音

 

cast a shadow 笼罩一层阴影, 使…黯然失色  obscure

uncover [ʌnˋkʌvɚ] v. 揭露;发现

cemetery [ˋsɛmə͵tɛrɪ] n. 公墓,墓地

artifact [ˋɑrtɪ͵fækt] n. 手工艺品; 古文物

speculate [ˋspɛkjə͵let] v. 推测,推断

unify [ˋjunə͵faɪ] v. 统一,联合

excavate [ˋɛkskə͵vet] v. 挖掘(穴、洞等);开凿

draw one’s interest  吸引某人兴趣

royalty [ˋrɔɪəltɪ] n.(总称)皇族或王族

high-ranking [ˋhaɪ͵ræŋkɪŋ] adj.〔在政府或其他机构中〕级别[地位]高的

 

More Information

单词发音

 

Stonehenge [ˋstonˋhɛndʒ] n.(英国Salisbury平原上的)史前时期巨大石柱群

mystery [ˋmɪstərɪ] n. 神秘的事物;难以理解的事物;谜

trowel [ˋtraʊəl] n. 小泥铲﹐小铲子〔一种园艺工具〕

gravesite 墓地 a place used for graves or a grave

archer [ˋɑrtʃɚ] n. 弓箭手

dramatically [drəˋmætɪk!ɪ] adv. 戏剧性地,突如其来地

isle [aɪl] n. 岛,小岛

geoscientist [dʒɪə'saɪəntɪst] n. 地学科学家

Alps [ælps] n. 阿尔卑斯山脉

grant [grænt] v. 给予,授予

commanding [kəˋmændɪŋ] adj. 指挥的;威风凛凛的

archeologist [͵ɑrkɪˋɑlədʒɪst] n. 考古学家

come across 偶然碰见 to meet or find by chance

patch [pætʃ] n. 小块土地

 

 

 

Answer

1. ( D )

2. ( C )

3. ( E )

4. ( A )

5. ( B )