VOA慢速英语2020 墨西哥专家发现玛雅古城遗址

Mexico Experts Find 2,000 Ruin Sites near Maya Train Route

Experts in Mexico said Wednesday they have found more than 2,000 pre-Hispanic ruins along the proposed path of the president's "Maya Train" project on the Yucatan peninsula.

墨西哥专家星期三说，他们在尤卡坦半岛上总统的“玛雅火车”项目的拟议路线上发现了2000多处西班牙裔前遗迹。

Scientists discovered the ruins using LiDAR elevation¹ mapping technology. LiDAR involves shooting a laser at the ground through heavy vegetation² to get a detailed³ image of the surface.

科学家们使用激光雷达高程测绘技术发现了这些废墟。激光雷达通过茂密的植被向地面发射激光，以获得地表的详细图像。

The discovery could slow down the train project, which has already caused arguments and protests in the area. Critics of the project say it threatens indigenous⁴ communities and water supplies.

这一发现可能会减缓火车项目的进度，该项目已经在该地区引发了争论和抗议。该项目的批评者说，它威胁到土著社区和供水。

The information from the mapping technology showed a total of 2,187 "archeological monuments" along 366 kilometers of the planned path. That covers about 25 percent of the total train route. Experts already knew about the existence of some of the ruins, but some are new.

来自测绘技术的信息显示，沿着规划的路线366公里，总共有2187个“考古古迹”。这覆盖了大约25%的火车路线。专家们已经知道一些废墟的存在，但有些是新的。

The Maya had a large number of city-states throughout Yucatan and Central America between 2,000 B.C. and A.D. 900. Their ancestors still live on the peninsula and across Central America.

公元前2,000到公元900年间，玛雅人在尤卡坦半岛和中美洲拥有大量的城邦。他们的祖先仍然生活在半岛和整个中美洲。

The term "monument" can mean many things, such as a pre-Hispanic Maya home, or the remains⁵ of a religious building.

“纪念碑”这个词可以指很多东西，比如西班牙裔前的玛雅人的家，或者宗教建筑的遗迹。

Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology⁶ and History said at least 91 of the discovered ruins were large structures like plazas⁷, or temple bases. Maya houses were generally small wooden structures with stone bases that were easily destroyed.

墨西哥国家人类学和历史研究所表示，发现的废墟中至少有91处是像广场或寺庙基地这样的大型建筑。玛雅人的房屋一般都是小木结构，底部是石头，很容易被摧毁。

The institute said in a statement that the builders of the train route would have to take "measures" to avoid damaging the ruins. It did not say whether that meant parts of the route will have to be replanned.

该研究所在一份声明中说，火车线路的建设者将不得不采取“措施”，以避免破坏废墟。该公司没有说明这是否意味着部分线路将不得不重新规划。

In July, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador opened the building of the "Maya Train," his own special project. It is expected to run about 1,500 kilometers around Yucatan.

7月，墨西哥总统安德烈斯·曼努埃尔·洛佩斯·奥布拉多(Andrés Manuel López Obrador)为他自己的特别项目“玛雅列车”(Maya Train)揭幕。预计它将围绕尤卡坦运行约1500公里。

The train will connect Caribbean hotels to areas far from the beaches that have archeological ruins. The train will have 15 stations to bring visitors and – hopefully -- economic growth to the mostly poor area.

这列火车将把加勒比海的酒店与远离考古遗址的海滩地区连接起来。这列火车将有15个车站，为大多数贫困地区带来游客和-希望-经济增长。

The government says it will cost as much as $6.8 billion, but others say it could cost much more.

政府表示，这将耗资高达68亿美元，但其他人表示，成本可能会高得多。

Critics say there was not enough study of the effects the train project will have on the environment and archeological ruins.

批评人士说，对于火车项目将对环境和考古遗址产生的影响，没有进行足够的研究。

Some Maya communities have taken legal steps to stop the project, arguing that it will cause environmental damage.

一些玛雅社区已经采取法律措施阻止该项目，认为它会造成环境破坏。

1 elevation   

n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高

参考例句：

• The house is at an elevation of 2,000 metres.那幢房子位于海拔两千米的高处。
• His elevation to the position of General Manager was announced yesterday.昨天宣布他晋升总经理职位。

2 vegetation   

n.植物，草木，（植物）生长

参考例句：

• As we drove towards the desert,the vegetation became sparse.我们驱车前往沙漠，沿途的草木渐渐变得稀疏。
• The earth bore a thick green mantle of vegetation.大地覆盖着一层厚厚的绿色植物。

3 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

4 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 anthropology   

n.人类学

参考例句：

• I believe he has started reading up anthropology.我相信他已开始深入研究人类学。
• Social anthropology is centrally concerned with the diversity of culture.社会人类学主要关于文化多样性。

7 plazas   

n.（尤指西班牙语城镇的）露天广场( plaza的名词复数 )；购物中心

参考例句：

• At focal points, there are seating plazas as rest points for users. 在主要主景点上，有空间较大的广场提供休息的地方。 来自互联网
• Such products are suitable for lighting and decoration of plazas, courtyards, parks, residential district and roadside. 本产品适合于广场、庭院，公园、小区草坪和道路的装饰和照明。 来自互联网