美国有线新闻 CNN 60年前消失的岩心被归还 或有助于揭开巨石阵起源之谜

 

Which of these landmarks¹ is the oldest — Stonehenge, The Colosseum, King Tut's Tomb, or Chichen Itza? To visit the oldest monument on this list you'd have to travel to Salisbury Plain, England where you'd find Stonehenge.

Archeologists believe it was built in stages starting around 3,000 B.C, but part of Stonehenge has been missing since 1958 and it wasn't until this week that its return was announced. Stonehenge was constructed with giant sarsen stones, sandstone blocks that are common in southern England. In the 1950s, cracks were found in one of the sarsens, so its core was drilled out and metal rods were put in it to keep it standing². But what happened to that core? An employee from the company that helped repair the sarsen held onto it. He put it on the wall of his office, and the man eventually moved to America bringing the three and a half foot core with him.

The night before he turned 90 years old, he decided³ to return it to England. And the company that maintains the monument says it hopes the core will help them understand more about the prehistoric⁴ structure. One thing archeologists and geologists⁵ don't know exactly is where Stonehenge's stones were mined. There are at least two other cores that were drilled out of Stonehenge in the 1950s, but where those are, like the monument itself, remains⁶ a mystery.

1 landmarks   

n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址）

参考例句：

• The book stands out as one of the notable landmarks in the progress of modern science. 这部著作是现代科学发展史上著名的里程碑之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The baby was one of the big landmarks in our relationship. 孩子的出世是我们俩关系中的一个重要转折点。 来自辞典例句

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 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。

4 prehistoric   

adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的

参考例句：

• They have found prehistoric remains.他们发现了史前遗迹。
• It was rather like an exhibition of prehistoric electronic equipment.这儿倒像是在展览古老的电子设备。

5 geologists   

地质学家，地质学者( geologist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Geologists uncovered the hidden riches. 地质学家发现了地下的宝藏。
• Geologists study the structure of the rocks. 地质学家研究岩石结构。

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。