谷歌地球卫星图“曝光”未知金字塔

 While most of us rely on Google maps to get us where we're going, some are using the service to search for locations from thousands of years ago that we might have forgotten, like ancient pyramids. A satellite archaeological researcher from North Carolina claims to have found images of sites in Egypt that may show ancient man-made structures.

Located 90 miles apart along the Nile River, the satellite images show mounds² of earth in strange groupings and features unusual for the natural environment.

One image shows four distinct mounds with a larger triangular-shaped plateau, another looks to contain a four-sided mound¹ approximately 150 feet wide, and a third shows three small mounds in a similar configuration³ to the Giza Plateau pyramids.

Of course, observers thought they'd found the lost city of Atlantis off the coast of Africa earlier this year, only to have Google point out that the apparent grid⁴ under the ocean was a computer glitch⁵. Still, we have to wonder, what would India have done in the era of satellite images?

Want more science? We've got the latest on discoveries and breakthroughs. Check out Slate⁶ News Science. Click to subscribe⁷.

相关中文报道

《每日邮报》报道称，美国考古学家安吉拉·米克尔花了10年的时间研究“谷歌地球”卫星图后，发现在尼罗河盆地中的两处地点，有不同寻常的“大土堆”，其中一处“土堆”的顶部平整，拥有非常对称的锥形外形，并且因时间流逝而被严重侵蚀。另一处“土堆”则有四个三角面，每个面的底边长为140英尺 （约合42.6米），“它拥有一个明显的正方形底面，这是很不寻常的，从高处就几乎可以确定，它是一座金字塔。”在“大金字塔”周边还有三座小型的疑似金字塔，米克尔称，它们的排列形式与吉萨金字塔相似。吉萨金字塔是一群金字塔的总称，其中三座最大、保存最完好的金字塔分别是胡夫金字塔、海夫拉金字塔和门卡乌拉金字塔，它们按照猎户座的腰带排列，而以尼罗河作为银河。

身在美国的米克尔如今打算亲自勘察这两个地点，确认它们是否真的是古代的金字塔遗迹。如果发现属实的话，这可能是有史以来发现的最大的金字塔遗迹之一。

1 mound   

n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫

参考例句：

• The explorers climbed a mound to survey the land around them.勘探者爬上土丘去勘测周围的土地。
• The mound can be used as our screen.这个土丘可做我们的掩蔽物。

2 mounds   

土堆，土丘( mound的名词复数 )； 一大堆

参考例句：

• We had mounds of tasteless rice. 我们有成堆成堆的淡而无味的米饭。
• Ah! and there's the cemetery' - cemetery, he must have meant. 'You see the mounds? 啊，这就是同墓，”——我想他要说的一定是公墓，“看到那些土墩了吗？

3 configuration   

n.结构，布局，形态，(计算机)配置

参考例句：

• Geographers study the configuration of the mountains.地理学家研究山脉的地形轮廓。
• Prices range from $119 to $199,depending on the particular configuration.价格因具体配置而异，从119美元至199美元不等。

4 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

5 glitch   

n.干扰；误操作，小故障

参考例句：

• There is a glitch in the computer program somewhere.这个计算机程序中的某个部分有点小问题。
• It could just be a random glitch that can be solved by restarting the machine.可能只是一个小故障，重新启动主机就能解决了。

6 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

7 subscribe   

vi.(to)订阅，订购；同意；vt.捐助，赞助

参考例句：

• I heartily subscribe to that sentiment.我十分赞同那个观点。
• The magazine is trying to get more readers to subscribe.该杂志正大力发展新订户。