2014年考研英语一新题型 Part B 原文翻译及答案

A) Some archaeological sites have always been easily observable - for example, the Parthenon in Athens, Greece; the pyramids of Giza in Egypt; and the megaliths of Stonehenge in southern England. But these sites are exceptions to the norm. Most archaeological sites have been located by means of careful searching, while many others have been discovered by accident. Olduvai Gorge, an early hominid site in Tanzania, was found by a butterfly hunter who literally fell into its deep valley in 1911. Thousands of Aztec artifacts came to light during the digging of the Mexico City subway in the 1970s.

一些考古遗址一直很容易被观察到——例如，希腊雅典的帕台农神庙；埃及吉萨的金字塔；以及英格兰南部的巨石阵巨石。但这些遗址是例外情况。大多数考古遗址是通过仔细搜索找到的，而许多其他遗址则是偶然发现的。坦桑尼亚的奥杜瓦伊峡谷，一个早期古人类遗址，在1911年被一位蝴蝶猎人不慎掉入其深谷时发现。数千件阿兹特克文物在1970年代墨西哥城地铁挖掘期间出土。

B) In another case, American archaeologists Rene Million and George Cowgill spent years systematically mapping the entire city of Teotihuacan in the Valley of Mexico near what is now Mexico City. At its peak around AD 600, this city was one of the largest human settlements in the world. The researchers mapped not only the city's vast and ornate ceremonial areas, but also hundreds of simpler apartment complexes where common people lived.

在另一个案例中，美国考古学家勒内·米利翁和乔治·考吉尔花了数年时间系统地绘制了整个特奥蒂瓦坎城的地图，该城位于墨西哥谷，靠近现在的墨西哥城。在其鼎盛时期，大约公元600年，这座城市是世界上最大的人类定居点之一。研究人员不仅绘制了城市广阔而华丽的仪式区域，还绘制了数百个更简单的公寓群，那里是普通人的居住地。

C) How do archaeologists know where to find what they are looking for when there is nothing visible on the surface of the ground? Typically, they survey and sample (make test excavations on) large areas of terrain to determine where excavation will yield useful information. Surveys and test samples have also become important for understanding the larger landscapes that contain archaeological sites.

当地表没有任何可见物时，考古学家如何知道在哪里寻找他们要找的东西？通常，他们会对大面积地形进行调查和采样（进行试掘），以确定在哪里挖掘能获得有用信息。调查和试样对于理解包含考古遗址的更广阔景观也变得重要。

D) Surveys can cover a single large settlement or entire landscapes. In one case, many researchers working around the ancient Maya city of Copan, Honduras, have located hundreds of small rural villages and individual dwellings by using aerial photographs and by making surveys on foot. The resulting settlement maps show how the distribution and density of the rural population around the city changed dramatically between AD 500 and 850, when Copan collapsed.

调查可以覆盖单个大型定居点或整个景观。在一个案例中，许多研究人员在洪都拉斯的古玛雅城市科潘周围工作，通过使用航空照片和步行调查，找到了数百个小型农村村庄和单个住宅。由此产生的定居点地图显示了在公元500年至850年间，当科潘崩溃时，城市周围农村人口的分布和密度如何发生了显著变化。

E) To find their sites, archaeologists today rely heavily on systematic survey methods and a variety of high-technology tools and techniques. Airborne technologies, such as different types of radar and photographic equipment carried by airplanes or spacecraft, allow archaeologists to learn about what lies beneath the ground without digging. Aerial surveys locate general areas of interest or larger buried features, such as ancient buildings or fields.

为了找到他们的遗址，今天的考古学家严重依赖系统调查方法和各种高科技工具与技术。机载技术，如由飞机或航天器携带的不同类型的雷达和摄影设备，使考古学家无需挖掘就能了解地下的情况。航空调查可以定位感兴趣的总体区域或较大的埋藏特征，如古代建筑或田地。

F) Most archaeological sites, however, are discovered by archaeologists who have set out to look for them. Such searches can take years. British archaeologist Howard Carter knew that the tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun existed from information found in other sites. Carter sifted through rubble in the Valley of the Kings for seven years before he located the tomb in 1922. In the late 1800s British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans combed antique dealers' stores in Athens, Greece. He was searching for tiny engraved seals attributed to the ancient Mycenaean culture that dominated Greece from the 1400s to 1200s BC. Evans's interpretations of these engravings eventually led him to find the Minoan palace at Knossos, on the island of Crete, in 1900.

然而，大多数考古遗址是由主动寻找它们的考古学家发现的。这样的搜索可能需要数年时间。英国考古学家霍华德·卡特从其他遗址中发现的信息中知道埃及法老图坦卡蒙的墓穴存在。卡特在国王谷中筛选拣碎片七年，直到1922年才找到墓穴。在19世纪末，英国考古学家阿瑟·埃文斯爵士在希腊雅典的古董商店铺中仔细搜寻。他正在寻找归因于古代迈锡尼文化的微小雕刻印章，该文化从公元前1400年至1200年主导希腊。埃文斯对这些雕刻的解释最终使他在1900年于克里特岛的克诺索斯找到了米诺斯宫殿。

G) Ground surveys allow archaeologists to pinpoint the places where digs will be successful. Most ground surveys involve a lot of walking, looking for surface clues such as small fragments of pottery. They often include a certain amount of digging to test for buried materials at selected points across a landscape. Archaeologists also may locate buried remains by using such technologies as ground radar, magnetic-field recording, and metal detectors. Archaeologists commonly use computers to map sites and the landscapes around sites. Two- and three-dimensional maps are helpful tools in planning excavations, illustrating how sites look, and presenting the results of archaeological research.

地面调查使考古学家能够精确找出挖掘将成功的地方。大多数地面调查涉及大量步行，寻找表面线索，如小块陶器碎片。它们通常包括一定量的挖掘，以在景观中选定的点测试埋藏材料。考古学家也可能通过使用地面雷达、磁场记录和金属探测器等技术来定位埋藏遗骸。考古学家通常使用计算机来绘制遗址和遗址周围景观的地图。二维和三维地图在规划挖掘、展示遗址外观以及呈现考古研究结果方面是有用的工具。