15岁加拿大男孩或发现消失的玛雅城市

AS IT IS 2016-05-13 Boy's 'Mayan' Discovery Not Likely a Lost City 15岁加拿大男孩或发现消失的玛雅城市

This is What’s Trending Today…

This week, news spread that a 15-year-old boy from Quebec, Canada, may have discovered a long lost Mayan city.

The boy, William Gadoury, said he used satellite imagery and to test his theory that major Mayan cities lined up with the stars in the sky.

A few years ago, Gadoury won a competition that let him present his theory at a conference. Next to him at the conference was the Canadian Space Agency¹ representatives. The agency decided² to help Gadoury with his research by pointing one of its satellites at an area in Mexico. The area was where Gadoury predicted he would find evidence of a lost Mayan city.

As Wired.com reported, the satellite images did seem to show possible “manmade structures.”

News that a Canadian teenager possibly discovered a “lost Mayan city” went viral on Tuesday. It was even a trending subject on Facebook.

But, within hours, experts were saying that people were getting too excited too quickly about the possibly discovery. Wired.com and other media spoke³ with experts in many areas, including archaeology⁴ and satellite imagery research.

Experts say the ruins that appear in the satellite images are probably an old corn field. They also say a connection between the stars and the location of Mayan cities is unlikely⁵.

But, the experts also praised the 15-year-old for his dedication⁶ to his research.

Words in This Story

location – n. a place or position?

dedication – n. a feeling of very strong support for or loyalty⁷ to someone or something?

1 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 archaeology   

n.考古学

参考例句：

• She teaches archaeology at the university.她在大学里教考古学。
• He displayed interest in archaeology.他对考古学有兴趣。

5 unlikely   

adj.未必的，多半不可能的；不大可能发生的

参考例句：

• It was very unlikely that he would do that.他不见得会做那种事。
• It is unlikely that she will come. 她不大可能来了。

6 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

7 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。