英语听力文摘 English Digest 379、“神奇”的巨石阵

Surprise at Stonehenge
神奇的巨石阵

Wizards and aliens aside, actual scientists don’t have much to say about Stonehenge. That is, until now. Just recently, a four-thousand-year old gravesite was found within three miles of Stonehenge. The tomb contained what some archaeologists think may be one of the original craftsmen¹. Even better than that, he isn’t British.

The ancient bones are referred to as “the archer,” because, whoever he was, he was buried with several arrows. The fact that the grave is so close to the stones suggests that the archer was somehow connected to Stonehenge, as does the fact that he lived in 2300 BC, the same time when the monoliths were erected². Was he its founder³, a designer, a priest? It isn’t clear. But the archer was an important person. Along with the arrows, he has copper knives, ornaments⁴, and pottery. Several of these have been identified as coming from what archaeologists call “the Beaker Culture.”

There’s one of the surprises. The Beaker Culture had its Bronze-age heyday in the Alps, not in England. Researchers did chemical analysis of the remains⁵ and found that the archer most likely came from what is now Switzerland.

Next surprise? Another grave was found nearby, this containing a younger man. This fellow grew up in England, but an unusual foot bone shows he’s related to the archer–the archer, it seems, came to England and raised a family.

Who was this foreigner who was treated with such reverence⁶? We won’t ever know for sure. His fame has disappeared into history. But the stone circle he may have built has never been forgotten, even four thousand years later.

 

除了巫师和外星人外，真正的科学家对于巨石阵并没有说明太多。到目前为止。就在最近，离巨石阵三公里以内的地方发现了一个有四千年历史的墓地。该墓可能是一些考古学家认为的最早的技工之一。甚至情况比那还要好，他不是英国人。

古老的骨骼暗示其为一名弓箭手，因为，不管他是谁，他的陪葬物品中有几支箭。实际上，因为墓地离巨石阵很近，所以这位弓箭手与巨石阵有一定关系，又因为他生活在公元前2300年，也就是那时这些巨石被竖立起来的。他是巨石阵的建造者，设计者或神父吗？目前尚无定论。但是这位弓箭手无疑是一位非常重要的人。除了箭，他还有铜质小刀，装饰物和陶器。其中几件物品已经被确认为是考古学家称作的“烧杯文化”。

有一个惊奇的发现。烧杯文化在青铜时代达鼎盛时期于阿尔卑斯山一带，而不是在英格兰。研究人员对这些遗留下来的物品做了化学和分析，发现弓箭手很有可能来自于现在的瑞士。

另一个惊喜呢？在附近发现了另外一个墓，是一位比较年轻的人的墓。他生活在英格兰，但他独特的足骨表明他与弓箭手有关系。这位弓箭手好像是来自英格兰的，并且是他养家糊口的。

这位如此受尊敬的外国人是谁呢？我们永远都不能确定。他的名声也已经随历史消失。但是这些可能由他建造的巨石阵却永远不会被遗忘，即使是四千年以后。

 

 

1 craftsmen   

n. 技工

参考例句：

• rugs handmade by local craftsmen 由当地工艺师手工制作的小地毯
• The craftsmen have ensured faithful reproduction of the original painting. 工匠保证要复制一幅最接近原作的画。

2 ERECTED   

adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立

参考例句：

• A monument to him was erected in St Paul's Cathedral. 在圣保罗大教堂为他修了一座纪念碑。
• A monument was erected to the memory of that great scientist. 树立了一块纪念碑纪念那位伟大的科学家。

3 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

4 ornaments   

n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The shelves were chock-a-block with ornaments. 架子上堆满了装饰品。
• Playing the piano sets up resonance in those glass ornaments. 一弹钢琴那些玻璃饰物就会产生共振。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 reverence   

n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我们尊重传统，但不被传统所束缚。