精美英文欣赏:未解之谜

Unsolved Mysteries

未解之谜

Over the past several decades,the U.S., Canada, and Europe have received a great deal of media and even research attention over unusual phenomena¹ and unsolved mysteries.

过去几十年里，美国，加拿大和欧洲都对异常现象界未解之谜给予了大量来自媒体甚至研究机构的关注。

These include UFOs as well as sightings and encounters with "nonhuman creatures"such as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster.

这些现象包括不明飞行物，也有对像大脚怪，尼斯湖水怪这些非人类生物的发现和邂逅。

Only recently has Latin America begun to receive some attention as well.

只是到了近期，拉丁美洲才开始受到些许关注。

Although the mysteries of the Aztec, Mayan, and Inca civilizations have been known for centuries,now the public is also becoming aware of unusual, paranormal phenomena in countries such as Peru.

虽然阿兹特克文明，玛雅文明和印加文明之谜也开始逐渐知晓如秘鲁这样的国家中出现的超自然灵异现象。

The Nazca "lines" of Peru were discovered in the 1930s.

秘鲁的纳斯卡线条在20世纪30年代首都被发现。

These lines are deeply carved into a flat, stony² plain,and form about 300 intricate pictures of animals such as birds, a monkey, and a lizard³.

这些线条深深地刻在一个多石的大平原上，形成了约300幅包括鸟，猴子，蜥蜴等的复杂精细的动物画。

Seen at ground level, the designs are a jumbled⁴ senseless mess.

站在地面上看，这些图案杂乱无章。

The images are so large that they can only be viewed at a height of 1,000 feet—meaning from an aircraft.

这些图像实在是太大了，只有从1000英尺高度，即从飞机上往下看才完整。

Yet there were no aircraft in 300 B.C.,when it is judged the designs were made.

但根据判断，这些图案形成与公元前300年，那时候可没有什么飞机，

Nor were there then, or are there now,any nearby mountain ranges from which to view them.

而且无论当时还是现在在它们附近也没有可以从高处观看它们的山地。

So how and why did the native people of Nazca create these marvelous designs?

那么纳斯卡原住民当又是如何创作出如此令人叹为观止的图案的？

One answer appeared in 1969,when the German researcher and writer Erich von Daniken proposed that the lines were drawn⁵ by extraterrestrials as runways for their aircraft.

1969年有了个答案。当时德国研究者，作家埃里克·冯·邓尼肯提出，这些线条是外星人所绘，用做他们飞行器的跑道。

The scientific community did not take long to scoff⁶ at and abandon von Daniken's theory.

但没过多久，科学界就嘲笑并弃用了冯的理论。

Over the years several other theories have been put forth,but none has been accepted by the scientific community.

这么多年来又有些人提出过几个理论，但没有一个的大科学界的认可。

Today there is a new and heightened interest in the Nazca lines. It is a direct result of the creation of the Internet.

如今对纳斯卡线条又有了新增长的兴趣，这完全是由于互联网的产生。

Currently there are over 60 sites dedicated⁷ to this mystery from Latin America's past,and even respected scientists have joined the discussion through e-mail and chat rooms.

现在有60多个网站致力于解开这一拉美的古老之谜，甚至有些德高望重的科学家也通过电邮和聊天室参与到这个讨论中来。

Will the Internet help explain these unsolved mysteries?

互联网会帮助解开这些未解之谜吗？

Perhaps it is a step in the right direction.

也许它还真是朝着正确方向迈进的一步。

1 phenomena   

n.现象

参考例句：

• Ade couldn't relate the phenomena with any theory he knew.艾德无法用他所知道的任何理论来解释这种现象。
• The object of these experiments was to find the connection,if any,between the two phenomena.这些实验的目的就是探索这两种现象之间的联系，如果存在着任何联系的话。

2 stony   

adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的

参考例句：

• The ground is too dry and stony.这块地太干，而且布满了石头。
• He listened to her story with a stony expression.他带着冷漠的表情听她讲经历。

3 lizard   

n.蜥蜴，壁虎

参考例句：

• A chameleon is a kind of lizard.变色龙是一种蜥蜴。
• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect.蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。

4 jumbled   

adj.混乱的；杂乱的

参考例句：

• Books, shoes and clothes were jumbled together on the floor. 书、鞋子和衣服胡乱堆放在地板上。
• The details of the accident were all jumbled together in his mind. 他把事故细节记得颠三倒四。

5 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

6 scoff   

n.嘲笑，笑柄，愚弄；v.嘲笑，嘲弄，愚弄，狼吞虎咽

参考例句：

• You are not supposed to scoff at religion.你不该嘲弄宗教。
• He was the scoff of the town.他成为全城的笑柄。

7 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。