VOA标准英语2009年-Ethiopia, Destination For The Bold

An old saying that the greatest achievements were at first only dreams could well apply to Ethiopia. Some Ethiopians are dreaming big. Our correspondent visited the Ethiopian town of Harar and tells the story of dreamers who see adventure, excitement, and a possible tourist bonanza¹ where others see only rocks and bones.

Peter Heinlein | Addis Ababa 09 December 2009

 
Harar, Ethiopia

 

An old saying that the greatest achievements were at first only dreams could well apply to Ethiopia.  Some Ethiopians are dreaming big.  Our correspondent visited the Ethiopian town of Harar and tells the story of dreamers who see adventure, excitement, and a possible tourist bonanza where others see only rocks and bones.

Harar is considered Islam's fourth holiest city. It boasts 82 mosques² and more than 100 shrines³. Its medieval Old Town has been recognized by UNESCO as unique in East Africa.

The surrounding region is turning out to be a treasure trove⁴ for archeologists, anthropologists and speleologists, or cave explorers.  It is not far from where remains⁶ of the oldest known human ancestors, Luci and Ardi were found, shedding light on the origins of humanity.

But as a tourist destination, these sites are practically off the map. Harar is a day's drive east of Addis Ababa so getting there can be an adventure in itself.

That hasn't stopped dreamers, like Italian scholar Marco Vigano, from looking past the obstacles to the potential.

Italian scholar Marco Vigano

"It's the cradle of humanity," said Marco Vigano. "If we don't show the people more than Lucy.  It's the bits that come after Lucy that interest us now, and there is so much to be discovered."

Discoveries are a regular occurrence here. A few kilometers outside Harar, a guide leads visitors up a mountainside to a cave chiseled⁷ by the Harla people who lived here for centuries.  He splashes water on the outside wall, and it seems to come alive, revealing ancient secrets.

Rock paintings near Harar

"The people were living with goats and cows.  Yes, you can see horns."

These 500 to 1000-year-old cave paintings are young compared to the skeleton of Ardi, an upright hominid more than 4 million-years-old - discovered in Ethiopia's Great Rift⁸ Valley . The area is a two-day drive from Addis without much in the way of inns or guest houses.

Also a nearby volcano erupted four years ago, ripping open a crack in the Great Rift Valley. Scientists say it's getting wider every year and the area could eventually become a new ocean.

Professor Ahmed Zekaria, a cultural anthropologist⁵ at Addis Ababa University, says Ethiopia still holds many secrets.

Professor Ahmed Zekaria

"The Rift Valley gives you a scenario⁹ of human evolution," said Ahmed Zekaria. "Paleontologists are telling us every season they're coming with stones and bones that catapult us back into the nebulous past."

Scientists say Ethiopia is a work in progress, anthropologically and geologically. If they are right about that new crack in the earth, this landlocked country could become a beach resort within, say, a few hundred thousand years.

 

1 bonanza   

n.富矿带，幸运，带来好运的事

参考例句：

• Bargain hunters enjoyed a real bonanza today.到处买便宜货的人今天真是交了好运。
• What a bonanza for the winning ticket holders!对于手持胜券的人来说，这是多好的运气啊。

2 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

3 shrines   

圣地，圣坛，神圣场所( shrine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• All three structures dated to the third century and were tentatively identified as shrines. 这3座建筑都建于3 世纪，并且初步鉴定为神庙。
• Their palaces and their shrines are tombs. 它们的宫殿和神殿成了墓穴。

4 trove   

n.被发现的东西，收藏的东西

参考例句：

• He assembled a rich trove of Chinese porcelain.他收集了一批中国瓷器。
• The gallery is a treasure trove of medieval art.这个画廊是中世纪艺术的宝库。

5 anthropologist   

n.人类学家，人类学者

参考例句：

• The lecturer is an anthropologist.这位讲师是人类学家。
• The anthropologist unearthed the skull of an ancient human at the site.人类学家在这个遗址挖掘出那块古人类的颅骨。

6 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。

7 chiseled   

adj.凿刻的，轮廓分明的v.凿，雕，镌( chisel的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Woltz had chiseled the guy, given him peanuts for the book. 乌尔茨敲了这个作家的竹杠，用了他的书，却只给微不足道的一点点钱。 来自教父部分
• He chiseled the piece of wood into the shape of a head. 他把这块木头凿刻成人头的形状。 来自辞典例句

8 rift   

n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入

参考例句：

• He was anxious to mend the rift between the two men.他急于弥合这两个人之间的裂痕。
• The sun appeared through a rift in the clouds.太阳从云层间隙中冒出来。

9 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。