英语听力：探索发现 2012-07-22 爱尔兰的故事 Story Of Ireland—4

 -Why would they build something like this? What were they trying to say?

 

-I think for early farmers, the notion of ancestry¹, that's really the central focus of this world. The monuments themselves contain selected bones of the ancestors. This is the world of the dead but it's capable of influencing the lives of the living, which of course is very much oriented around the farming cycle, the importance of the seasons. So, of course, you want to align² your monuments to the critical points of the year. In the case of Newgrandge, on sunrise at the winter solstice. Newgrange is part of a sort of international Atlantic phenomenon of passage tomb building which takes us from Spain to southern Scandinavia.

 

-So they were conscious of being part of a wider human race, not just stuck on this island?

 

-Oh, very much so. Absolutely and I think these early farmers building this monument would have realized and would have probably had stories about places that were far away, how things worked in other areas.

 

Neither archaeology³ nor genetics can tell us the names of any of the tribes who settled in this early Ireland. 

 

But in the beautiful artifacts of the Bronze Age, we can see a culture shared with groups in Britain and Europe whom later historians would call the Celts.

 

-Tiny decorations. This lovely collar was worn for decorative⁴ reasons, one presumes. What does that tell you about the people who made it and about the times they lived in?

 

-Beyond being just decorative, they are actually a way of identifying particular people in society because no more than our own age, um, you know, I'm not decked out in diamonds and I'm hardly likely ever to be, but if I was at, you know, that particular level of society whether it's a question of wealth or position, then I would have needed a particular status in order to be entitled to wear these objects. And, of course, if I was male, I might have been entitled to wear a lunula.

 

-So we know there was a hierarchy⁵ by this stage.

 

-Yes, there definitely has to be a hierarchy.

 

-You also have here something which fascinated me when I heard about it because it comes so far away. And that's amber⁶. And you go all the way to the Baltic to find them.

 

-Yes, amber really comes into its own in Ireland in the late Bronze Age. We're really lucky in this country because most of it has been buried in the peat bogs⁷ and as a result, it's extremely well-preserved.

 

-You've got some here.

 

-Yes. This is part of a necklace.

 

-How did it get here from the Baltic coast, from Poland or some other…

1 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

2 align   

vt.使成一线，结盟，调节；vi.成一线，结盟

参考例句：

• Align the ruler and the middle of the paper.使尺子与纸张的中部成一条直线。
• There are signs that the prime minister is aligning himself with the liberals.有迹象表明首相正在与自由党人结盟。

3 archaeology   

n.考古学

参考例句：

• She teaches archaeology at the university.她在大学里教考古学。
• He displayed interest in archaeology.他对考古学有兴趣。

4 decorative   

adj.装饰的，可作装饰的

参考例句：

• This ware is suitable for decorative purpose but unsuitable for utility.这种器皿中看不中用。
• The style is ornate and highly decorative.这种风格很华丽，而且装饰效果很好。

5 hierarchy   

n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层

参考例句：

• There is a rigid hierarchy of power in that country.那个国家有一套严密的权力等级制度。
• She's high up in the management hierarchy.她在管理阶层中地位很高。

6 amber   

n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的

参考例句：

• Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗？
• This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。

7 bogs   

n.沼泽，泥塘( bog的名词复数 )；厕所v.（使）陷入泥沼， （使）陷入困境( bog的第三人称单数 )；妨碍，阻碍

参考例句：

• Whenever It'shows its true nature, real life bogs to a standstill. 无论何时，只要它显示出它的本来面目，真正的生活就陷入停滞。 来自名作英译部分
• At Jitra we went wading through bogs. 在日得拉我们步行着从泥水塘里穿过去。 来自辞典例句