【经典精读】NCE3 L3 An unknown goddess 无名女神

生词和短语

goddess  n.   女神

archaeologist  n.   考古学家

Aegean   adj. 爱琴海的

explore  v.   考察，勘探

promontory  n.   海角

prosperous   adj. （经济上）繁荣的，昌盛的

civilization  n.   文明

storey  n.   楼层

drainage  n.   排水

worship   n.   祟拜

sacred  adj. 宗教的，神圣的

fragment  n.   碎片

remains  n.   遗物，遗迹，废墟

classical  adj. （希腊和罗马）古代的

reconstruct  v.   修复

rest  v.   倚放，放置

hip  n.   屁股，臀部

full-length  adj. （裙衣）拖地长的

graceful  adj. 优雅的

identity  n.   身份

阅读文章，回答以下问题

How did the archaeologists know that the statue was a goddess?

Some time ago, an interesting discovery was made by archaeologists on the Aegean island of Kea. An American team explored a temple which stands in an ancient city on the promontory of Ayia Irini. The city at one time must have been prosperous, for it enjoyed a high level of civilization. Houses -- often three storeys high -- were built of stone. They had large rooms with beautifully decorated walls. The city was even equipped with a drainage system, for a great many clay pipes were found beneath the narrow streets.

The temple which the archaeologists explored was used as a place of worship from the fifteenth century B.C. until Roman times. In the most sacred room of temple, clay fragments of fifteen statues were found. Each of these represented a goddess and had, at one time, been painted. The body of one statue was found among remains dating from the fifteenth century B.C. Its missing head happened to be among remains of the fifth century B.C. This head must have been found in Classical times and carefully preserved. It was very old and precious even then. When the archaeologists reconstructed the fragments, they were amazed to find that the goddess turned out to be a very modern-looking woman. She stood three feet high and her hands rested on her hips. She was wearing a full-length skirt which swept the ground. Despite her great age, she was very graceful indeed, but, so far, the archaeologists have been unable to discover her identity.

参考译文

不久之前，在爱琴海的基亚岛上，考古工作者有一项有趣的发现。一个美国考古队在阿伊亚.依里尼海角的一座古城里考察了一座庙宇。这座古城肯定一度很繁荣，因为它曾享有高度的文明。房子一般有3层楼高，用石块修建。里面房间很大，墙壁装饰华丽。城里甚至还铺设了排水系统，因为在狭窄的街道底下发现了许许多多陶土制作的排水管道。考古工作者考察的这座庙宇从公元前15世纪直到罗马时代一直是祭祀祈祷的场所。在庙中最神圣的一间殿堂里发现了15尊陶雕像的碎片。每一尊雕像代表一位女神，而且一度上过色。其中有一尊雕像，她的躯体是在公元前15世纪的历史文物中发现的，而她那身异处的脑袋却碰巧是在公元前5世纪的文物中找到的。她的脑袋一定是在古希腊罗马时代就为人所发现，并受到精心的保护。却使在当时，它也属历史悠久的珍奇之物。考古工作者把这些碎片重新拼装起来后，惊奇地发现那位女神原来是一位相貌十分摩登的女郎。她身高3英尺，双手叉腰。身穿一条拖地长裙，尽管上了年纪，但体态确实优美。不过，考古工作者至今未能确定这位女神的身份。

重点讲解

must have been

（对过去的肯定猜测）一定是；肯定是I must have been in a shocking state last night.

昨晚我的情况一定很糟糕。

beneath

①在（或往）…下面；在（或往）…下方They found the body buried beneath a pile of leaves.

他们发现尸体被埋在一堆树叶下面。

②（对某人来说）不够好

He considers such jobs beneath him.

他觉得这种工作有失他的身份。

Classical times

罗马时代；古典时代；古典时期

turn out

①出席（某项活动）；在场A vast crowd turned out to watch the procession.

有一大群人出来观看游行队伍。

② …地发展（或发生）；结果…（与副词或形容词连用，或用于以how引导的疑问句）

Despite our worries everything turned out well.

尽管我们都很担心，结果一切都顺利。

If the day turns out wet, we may have to change our plans.

如果那天下雨的话，我们可能得改变计划。

You never know how your children will turn out.

很难说子女将来的发展怎样。

③向外；朝外

Her toes turn out.

她的脚趾向外撇。

④原来是；证明是；结果是

It turned out that she was a friend of my sister.

她原来是我姐姐的朋友。

The job turned out to be harder than we thought.

这工作结果比我们想象的要难。

for

因为（表示的因果关系较为间接）The city at one time must have been prosperous, for it enjoyed a high level of civilization.

这座古城肯定一度很繁荣，因为它曾享有高度的文明。

The city was even equipped with a drainage system, for a great many clay pipes were found beneath the narrow streets.

城里甚至还铺设了排水系统，因为在狭窄的街道底下发现了许许多多陶土制作的排水管道。