人教高中英语高二下UNIT20-2

 

                                                                                             THE KING OF STONEHENGE
         On May 3, 2002, archaeologists in England found a grave¹ of a man dating back to around 2300 BC. When he died, the man was about 40 years old. He was buried on his left side with his face to the north. The tests on his teeth show that he spent his youth in central Europe, perhaps Germany. Buried with him were the tools of a hunter or warrior².
         Some of the objects found in the grave give us an idea of how he was dressed when he was buried. There was a bone pin that may have been from a piece of clothing such as a leather coat. He carried a copper³ knife on his breast. The most amazing find was two gold earrings⁴. That would have made him a man of distinction.
         Only a few centimetres from his head were two pots made of clay, tools and materials to make arrows, a bow and a dozen arrows for hunting and a second, smaller copper knife. Next to them lay a cushion stone, upon which the man could work metal. Everything found in the man's grave was probably given to him for his use in the next life. It was all that a person would need to survive --clothing, tools, weapons, pottery⁵ and spare materials to make new tools.
        The discovery is important for a variety of reasons. His grave is the richest of any found from that period. This was a time when the first metals were brought to Britain, and this man was buried with two gold earrings which are the oldest gold ever found in Britain (dating back to 2470 BC).
         He was important for another reason: he was buried three miles from Stonehenge at the time when the great stones were being brought to Salisbury to build it. Archaeologists tend to believe that this man was a member of a powerful class that may well have organised the construction of Stonehenge.For these reasons, this man has been called the King of Stonehenge.
        Stonehenge was begun around 3000 BC. In about 2300 BC the huge stone circles were built. The biggest stones weigh approximately 20 tons and came from a place not very far. But the smaller blue stones, still weighing four tons on average, came from west Wales. It is not yet known how these were conveyed⁶ over a distance of 380 kilometres. It is also a mystery how early man was able to construct Stonehenge without the use of modem⁷ construction machines and lorries. It is possible that the King of Stonehenge was linked to the stones: he may have had a hand in planning the monument, or in helping⁸ transport and pull up the stones.
       Perhaps the most important fact about the King of Stonehenge is that his homeland was somewhere in Central Europe. He is an example of people who brought culture and new techniques from the European mainland⁹ to Britain. In terms of technical development, people were going from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age. In the Stone Age most tools were made of stone. In the Bronze Age, people could make tools of copper and bronze, but not iron. Iron came later, in what was called the Iron Age. At first it was thought that the skills to make copper and bronze objects spread to Britain through war and armed conflict, but it is now believed to have happened through trade and cultural links. The King of Stonehenge came with the skills to make metal, and that would have given him a high status in the eyes of local people. Some of the artefacts in his grave came from remote places. It has been proved that the copper knives came from places as distant as Spain and western France. The gold jewellery came from Europe too.

1 grave   

n.墓穴，坟墓，雕刻工，抑音；adj.庄重的，严肃的，重大的，低沉的；vt.雕刻

参考例句：

• Marriage is the grave of love.婚姻是爱情的坟墓。
• This is a very grave matter indeed.这问题的确非常严重。

2 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

3 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

4 earrings   

n.耳环( earring的名词复数 )；耳坠子

参考例句：

• a pair of earrings 一对耳环
• These earrings snap on with special fastener. 这付耳环是用特制的按扣扣上去的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 pottery   

n.陶器，陶器场

参考例句：

• My sister likes to learn art pottery in her spare time.我妹妹喜欢在空余时间学习陶艺。
• The pottery was left to bake in the hot sun.陶器放在外面让炎热的太阳烘晒焙干。

6 conveyed   

v.运输( convey的过去式和过去分词 )；运送；输送；表达

参考例句：

• The ambassador personally conveyed the president's message to the king. 大使将总统的口信亲自转达给国王。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The ambassador personally conveyed the president's message to the premier. 大使亲自向总理转达了总统的问候。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 modem   

n.调制解调器

参考例句：

• Does your computer have a modem?你的电脑有调制解调器吗？
• Provides a connection to your computer via a modem.通过调制解调器连接到计算机上。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 mainland   

n.大陆，本土

参考例句：

• The new bridge will link the island to the mainland.新的桥梁将把该岛与大陆连接在一起。
• Hong Kong's prosperity relies heavily on mainland.香港的繁荣在很大程度上依赖于大陆。