VOA慢速英语--以色列宣布发现新的死海古卷碎片

Israeli archaeologists said they have discovered about 80 new pieces of ancient writings known as Dead Sea Scrolls² in a desert cave south of Jerusalem.

The writings are the first new scrolls to be found in 60 years. The writings are religious in nature. They have lines written in Greek. They are believed to have been hidden during a Jewish revolt against the Romans nearly 1,900 years ago.

The Israel Antiquities³ Authority says, based on the writing style, they likely come from the first century.

The new discovery adds to a larger group of Dead Sea Scrolls - a collection of Jewish writings first found in desert caves in the West Bank near Qumran in the 1940s and 1950s.

Some of the scrolls date to over two thousand years ago. They include the earliest known copies of biblical writings and documents explaining the beliefs of a little understood Jewish group.

The roughly 80 new pieces were found in a place known as the "Cave of Horror." It has the name because 40 human skeletons were found there during digs in the 1960s. The cave is about 40 kilometers south of Jerusalem.

The scrolls were found during an operation by the Israel Antiquities Authority. The goal was to find scrolls and other ancient objects to prevent possible stealing.

The writings are believed to have been part of a scroll¹ put in the cave during the Bar Kochba Revolt. This was an armed Jewish revolt against Rome during the time of Emperor Hadrian in the years between 132 and 136.

Oren Ableman is a Dead Sea Scroll researcher with the Israel Antiquities Authority. He noted⁴ a difference between the newly discovered writings and other known writings in Hebrew and Greek.

Joe Uziel is head of the Authority's Dead Sea Scrolls group. He said "some of those differences are important." Uziel added, "Every little piece of information that we can add, we can understand a little bit better" how the biblical writing came into its traditional Hebrew form.

In 1961, Israeli archaeologist Yohanan Aharoni led a dig in the "Cave of Horror." His team found nine pieces of writing belonging to a scroll written in Greek.

Since then, no writings have been found during archaeological digs. But many have been sold in illegal markets. They were apparently⁵ taken from the caves.

For the past four years, Israeli archeologists have launched a major campaign to examine caves in the Judean Desert. The aim is to find ancient objects before people damage the area, destroying important information in search of objects to be sold illegally.

The authority said since the beginning of the operation in 2017, there have been almost no antiquities stolen in the Judean Desert.

Words in This Story

archaeologist – n. a science that deals with past human life and activities by studying the bones, tools, etc., of ancient people

scroll -- n. a long piece of paper that rolls around one or two cylinders⁶ and that usually has something written or drawn⁷ on it

antiquities – plural⁸ n. objects from ancient times

biblical -- adj. relating to, taken from, or found in the Bible

1 scroll   

n.卷轴，纸卷；(石刻上的)漩涡

参考例句：

• As I opened the scroll,a panorama of the Yellow River unfolded.我打开卷轴时，黄河的景象展现在眼前。
• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements.他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。

2 scrolls   

n.（常用于录写正式文件的）纸卷( scroll的名词复数 )；卷轴；涡卷形（装饰）；卷形花纹v.（电脑屏幕上）从上到下移动（资料等），卷页( scroll的第三人称单数 )；（似卷轴般）卷起；（像展开卷轴般地）将文字显示于屏幕

参考例句：

• Either turn it off or only pick up selected stuff like wands, rings and scrolls. 把他关掉然后只捡你需要的物品，像是魔杖(wand)，戒指(rings)和滚动条(scrolls)。 来自互联网
• Ancient scrolls were found in caves by the Dead Sea. 死海旁边的山洞里发现了古代的卷轴。 来自辞典例句

3 antiquities   

n.古老( antiquity的名词复数 )；古迹；古人们；古代的风俗习惯

参考例句：

• There is rest and healing in the contemplation of antiquities. 欣赏古物有休息和疗养之功。 来自辞典例句
• Bertha developed a fine enthusiasm for the antiquities of London. 伯沙对伦敦的古迹产生了很大的热情。 来自辞典例句

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

6 cylinders   

n.圆筒( cylinder的名词复数 )；圆柱；汽缸；（尤指用作容器的）圆筒状物

参考例句：

• They are working on all cylinders to get the job finished. 他们正在竭尽全力争取把这工作干完。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• That jeep has four cylinders. 那辆吉普车有4个汽缸。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。

8 plural   

n.复数；复数形式；adj.复数的

参考例句：

• Most plural nouns in English end in's '.英语的复数名词多以s结尾。
• Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。