經典英語美文閱讀

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　經典英語美文閱讀：英國史前巨石陣爲病人朝拜地

Archaeologists probing the secrets of Stonehenge, Britain's most famous prehistoric monument said on Monday, it may have been an ancient pilgrimage site for the sick who believed its stones had healing qualities.

考古學家們於本週一公佈，英國最著名的史前遺址巨石陣可能是古代病人的朝聖地。據推測，巨石陣的石頭可能被史前人類當作是具有治療功效的幸運石。

It has always been a mystery why bluestones, the smaller stones that form part of the circle, were transported around 155 miles from Preseli Hills in Wales to WiltshIre in southem England. Archaeologists from Boumemouth Ur:uversity, who carried out the dig in April the first at Stonehenge since 1964-believe the bluestones were revered as healing stones. "It was the magical qualities these stones which.., transformed the monument and made it a place of pilgrimage for the sick and injured of the Neolithic world," a statement from the archaeologist team frey Wainwright, president of the Society of Antiquaries of London and one of the experts leading the work, told BBC radio that one reason which lead to the conclusion was because anumber of the burials around Stonehenge showed signs of trauma and deformity.

長期以來，人們—直很困惑，爲什麼人們要把巨石陣裏的一種藍色小石頭從155英里以外的威爾士普利斯里山運到英格蘭南部威爾特郡這裏暱?伯恩茅斯大學的考古學家們推測，可能當時的人們信奉這些藍色的石頭具有神奇療效。考古學家於今年4月對史前巨石陣進行了自1964年以來的首次發掘。該考古小組在一份聲明中說：“巨石陣曾經可能只是個紀念碑，但這些具有魔力的石頭被搬來之後，這裏就變成了新時器時代傷病者的朝聖地。 ” 倫敦古文物學會主席、考古小組專家傑弗裏‘韋恩萊特在接受BBC廣播的採訪時說，得出這一結論的其中一個根據就是，巨石陣附近埋葬了很多傷殘者。

The archaeologists said in the statement that radio-carbon dating put the construction of the circle of bluestones at between 2,400 B.C. and 2,200 B.C.,afew centuries later than originally thought, But they found fragments of charcoal dating from before 7,000 B.C., showing humans were active in the area much earlier than previously thought.

考古學家在一份聲明中說，經放射性碳測年法鑑定，環形巨石陣應該建造於公元前2400年至公元前2200年之間，比之前的推測晚了幾百年。但考古學家還在此發現了公元前7000年前的木炭碎片，這說明在更早的時期已有人類活躍在這一地帶。

During the excavation at the World Heritage Site on Salisbury Plain,the researchers also fourtd a beiker pottery fragment, Roman ceramics and ancient stone hammers. "We now know, mucb to our surprise and delight, that Stonehenge was not just prehistoric monument, it was a Roman and mediaeval monument," said Wainwright, Another of the team leaders, Tim Darvill of Boumemouth University , said the bluestones appeared central to the purpose of Stonehenge although it may have had more than one function. Other theories about Stonehenge are that it was a religious site or that it acted as a calendar.

考古人員還在發掘過程中發現了大口陶器杯的碎片、古羅馬陶器以及古石錘，位於索爾茲伯里平原的史前巨石陣現在已被列入世界文化遺址。韋恩萊特說："現在我們知道了'巨石陣不僅是史前的紀念碑，也是古羅馬和中世紀時期的祭壇，這個發現讓我們十分驚喜。"考古小組的另一位專家、伯恩茅斯大學的蒂姆·達維爾說，巨石陣可能有多種功能，但藍色小石頭應該是其功能的一個重要體現。其他理論認爲，巨石陣曾是個宗教場所或是一個日曆等等。

　經典英語美文閱讀：絲綢之路話從頭

One of the world's most ancient and historically important trade routes, the Silk Road conjures up exotic images of camel caravans, windswept deserts and such legendary figures as Genghis Khan and Marco Polo. Extending from as far as the Indian kingdoms in the west to present day Xi'an in China in the east, the Silk Road had, by the third centry B.C.,already became a cross roads of Asia.

世界上最古老、歷史上最重要的貿易路線之一_絲綢之路，總給人.種富有異國情調的印象：駱駝商隊、狂風肆虐的沙漠，還有諸如成吉思汗和馬可波羅等傳奇人物。絲綢之路綿亙遠長，西至印度王國，東到中國現在的西安，早在公元前3世紀，絲綢之路就已經成爲了亞洲交通的十字路口。

Skirting the edges of the harsh and inhospitable Taklimakan desert, the Silk Road actually had several different branches, each passing through different oasis. All roads began in Chang'an (Xi'an). The northem route wound its way through places such as Turfan and Kuqa before finally ending at Kashgar. Them route followed the lower thnges of the Taklimakan eventually reaching the same destination. Numerous other routes were also plied through out the years, reaching all the way to

Samarkand, Tashkent, India, and the Caspian Sea.

絲綢之路其實有數條支線，它們分別沿着環境惡劣、不適合人類居住的塔克拉瑪干沙漠外緣，穿越不同的綠洲。所有的路線都是始於長安(西安)，北線蜿蜒經過了吐魯番、庫車，最後到達喀什格爾，南線沿着塔克拉瑪干下緣前行，併到達同一終點。其他的許多支線也是歷代都通行的，通往撒瑪爾罕、塔什干、印度，及裏海等地。

Silk was not the only commodity traveling the Silk Road. Other goods such as exotic animals, ivory and gold were also transported along the route. It was silk, though, which fascinated the Romans. Agents were sent from Rome to explore the route and to obtain the material at a lower price. The Romans, however, did not give the Silk Road its name. The term was actuallycoined by the 19th-centuryGerman scholar Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen.

絲綢並不是絲綢之路上運送的唯一商品。其他貨物如奇珍異獸、象牙，及黃金等也通過絲綢之路運輸。不過格外令羅馬人着迷的還是絲綢。羅馬派遣代理商探測這條路線，並以較低的價格購得絲綢。然而，“絲綢之路”的名稱並不是羅馬人起的。這個名稱是19世紀時一名叫Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen的德國學者首創的。

Not long after the Tang dynasty era (618-907), when trade along the Silk Road had reached its zenith, the fearsomeGenghis Khan and his Mongol armies conquered a vast area spanning much of Central Asia. Accordingly, the Silk Road became an important communication route between different parts of the Mongol Empire. During the ruleof Kublai,more Europeans began venturing towards China along the Silk most famous of these travelers was Marco Polo, whose thoughts and

adventures were later recorded and embellished by an Italian romance writer.

唐代是絲綢之路沿途貿易活動的鼎盛時期，在唐代王朝滅亡後不久，令人聞風喪膽的成吉思汗及其蒙古大軍征服了橫跨中亞大部分地區的廣闊領土。絲綢之路於是成爲蒙古帝國各部落間重要的交通線路。忽必烈統治期間，更多的歐洲人冒險沿着絲綢之路來到中國。這些旅行者中最出名的就是馬可波羅，他的所見所聞後來被一位意大利傳奇小 說家記載下來，並加以潤色。

During the 14th century , with the disintegration of the Mongol Empire, the isolationist policies of the Ming Dynasty and the development of the silk route by sea, the Silk Road was forced into decline. Renewed interest in it emerged among Westem scholars only near the end of the 19th century . The existence of ancient cities excited them, and an archaeological free-for-all began. These days, those seeking out treasures of the Silk Road can find them in such far-flung places as London, Delhi, and Berlin.

14世紀時，蒙古帝國瓦解、明朝實行閉關政策，加“海上絲路”的發展，絲綢之路被迫走向沒落。直到近19世紀末，纔有西方學者重新燃起了對絲綢之路的興趣。古城的存在讓他們興奮不已於是掀起了一陣考古熱潮。現在，想在絲綢之路尋寶的人們，在倫敦、德里、柏林等許多地方，都可以找到他們想要的東西。