【英语语言学习】世界上最古老的鞋子

Nothing fits like an old shoe -- especially if that shoe walked the earth five thousand five hundred years ago. Researchers in Armenia found the world's oldest leather shoe, and they say it was in surprisingly good condition. Doctoral student Diana Zardaryan of the Institute of Archeology found it in a cave near the border with Iran and Turkey. She said "even the shoe laces¹ were preserved."

 

It fact, the team of archeologists first thought it was about six or seven hundred years old. Then two laboratories² in the United States and Britain did radiocarbon tests. The dating showed it was four hundred years older than the Stonehenge formation³ in England -- and a thousand years older than the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt.

 

The cool and dry conditions in the cave protected the shoe and other objects. So did a thick, solid layer of sheep dung covering the floor. This acted as a seal to prevent damage.

 

The shoe was made from a single piece of cowhide. The researchers believe the shoe was shaped to fit the wearer’s right foot. The shoe is small -- a European size thirty-seven, or a women's size seven in the United States.

 

The lead author of the research says he does not know if the shoe was made for a man or a woman. Ron Pinhasi of University College in Cork⁴, Ireland, says it could have fit a man from that time period.

 

His team also found grass packed inside the shoe. They say the grass might have been used to keep the wearer’s foot warm. Or it could have been used to hold the shape of the shoe while it was not being worn.

 

The shoe is similar in design to "pampooties." These were shoes worn on the Aran Islands, in the west of Ireland, until the nineteen fifties. This kind of shoe appears to have been worn for thousands of years across a large area of Europe and beyond.

 

The team of scientists also found large containers of wheat, barley⁵ and apricots in the cave, along with a broken pot and sheep's horns. They also found the graves⁶ of children buried near the back of the cave. They do not know why all these things were found together in one place. They do not know what the purpose of the cave was.

 

The archeologists published their findings⁷ in the online scientific journal⁸ PloS One, from the Public Library of Science. They are continuing their work in Armenia. They say there are many other parts of the cave they have yet to explore.

 

The oldest footwear of any kind ever found are sandals made of plant material. Scientists believe sandals found in the Arnold Research Cave in the American state of Missouri are about seven thousand five hundred years old. That makes them about two thousand years older than the leather shoe found in Armenia.

 

I'm Jim Tedder⁹, VOA Special English.

1 laces   

蕾丝( lace的名词复数 )； 透孔织品； 鞋带； 系带

参考例句：

• He bent down and undid the laces of his shoes. 他弯腰解开鞋带。
• Wouldn't it be a giggle to tie his shoe-laces together while he isn't looking! 趁他没注意时把他的鞋带拴在一起，岂不有趣！

2 laboratories   

n.实验室( laboratory的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• For, eight years, Marie Curie worked in cold laboratories with poor equipment. 整整八年，居里夫人在设备简陋、冰冷的实验室里做着实验。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• Some commercial laboratories use periodic nitrate tests as guides. 许多商业性的试验室已应用定期的硝态氮分析作为指导。 来自辞典例句

3 formation   

n.形成，组成；形成物，结构；队形，排列

参考例句：

• This is the formation of a new government.这是新政府的构成。
• The aircraft are flying in formation.飞机编队飞行。

4 cork   

n.软木，软木塞

参考例句：

• We heard the pop of a cork.我们听见瓶塞砰的一声打开。
• Cork is a very buoyant material.软木是极易浮起的材料。

5 barley   

n.大麦，大麦粒

参考例句：

• They looked out across the fields of waving barley.他们朝田里望去,只见大麦随风摇摆。
• He cropped several acres with barley.他种了几英亩大麦。

6 graves   

n.（法国）格拉芙葡萄酒；坟墓( grave的名词复数 )；死亡；钝重音符；沉音符v.坟墓( grave的第三人称单数 )；死亡；钝重音符；沉音符

参考例句：

• He went to visit the graves of his forefathers. 他去拜谒他祖先的墓地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They were eating themselves into their graves. 他们吃喝过度，在自找死路。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 findings   

n.发现物( finding的名词复数 )；调查（或研究）的结果；（陪审团的）裁决

参考例句：

• It behoves us to study these findings carefully. 我们理应认真研究这些发现。
• Their findings have been widely disseminated . 他们的研究成果已经广为传播。

8 journal   

n.日志，日记；议事录；日记帐；杂志，定期刊物

参考例句：

• He kept a journal during his visit to Japan.他在访问日本期间坚持记日记。
• He got a job as editor of a trade journal.他找到了一份当商业杂志编辑的工作。

9 tedder   

n.（干草）翻晒者，翻晒机

参考例句：

• Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆？特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
• Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆？泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网