人教高中英语高二下UNIT20-3

                                                                                                 

 

 

  ROOTS OF CHINESE CULTURE
         Jinsha Village near Chengdu, in southwest Sichuan province, became famous all over China in 2001. Construction workers from a local company were building roads there. On February 8, they found ivory¹ and jade² in the mud³. Soon, the police arrived and closed the site. Since then, archaeologists⁴ have found more than a thousand artefacts, including gold, jade, bronze⁵ and stone objects as well as a large quantity of ivory that must have come from at least 500 elephants. The ivory and animal bones that were found will serve as important materials for the study of local geography, climate and the environment in ancient times.
        Many of the relics⁶ look very much like those found at Sanxingdui. For example, a gold mask and a bronze statue of a man remind visitors of the bronze masks and big bronze statues at Sanxingdui because of their similar style. Among the many jade objects found at Jinsha, one piece, called a cong by ancient Chinese, was not made in Sichuan. It was transported there from the lower⁷ area of the Yangtze River. Other relics discovered at Jinsha made archaeologists believe that Sichuan not only had trade links with the Yangtze and Yellow River valleys, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, but also with northern Vietnam⁸.
        Before the discoveries, it was believed that Sichuan only had a history of about 2,300 years. Now, archaeologists think that the Jinsha Ruins may have been the political⁹ and cultural centre of the ancient Shu Kingdom, which moved from Sanxingdui to Chengdu about 3,000 years ago.
        Sanxingdui was first discovered by farmers. In the spring of 1929, a farmer in today's Nanxing Town, was working in the fields, when his son dug¹⁰ up a round piece of jade. They found a hole filled with more than 400 jade objects. Local teachers and officials came to his home, but none of them could say in which dynasty the jade objects were made. In 1953, Yan Kaizong accompanied his grandfather when he gave the relics from the ruins to the state. It was four o'clock in the afternoon when he and his grandpa reached the museum in Guanghan, where an official warmly received them. "My grandpa told us not to keep things that don't belong to us. I believe what he said," said Yan Kaizong.
        Since 1929, more than 10,000 relics dating back to between 5000 BC and 3000 BC have been discovered. The Sanxingdui Ruins Site covers a vast¹¹ area of about 12 square kilometres. From March to August 1986, archaeologists of the History Department of Sichuan University, Sichuan Archaeological¹² Research Institute and the city of Guanghan dug 53 holes. When the work was finished, over 1,200 pieces, including bronze and gold masks, bronze objects and images, jade and ivory had been found. Archaeologists will continue their work, digging¹³ at the Sanxingdui Ruins from 2003 until 2010. They hope to discover some of the mysterious palaces, tombs¹⁴ of kings and bronze and jade workshops.

1 ivory   

n.象牙，乳白色；adj.象牙制的，乳白色的

参考例句：

• My grandmother has some jewelry made of ivory.我祖母有一些象牙首饰。
• It is carved from ivory.它是用象牙雕成的。

2 jade   

n.玉石；碧玉；翡翠

参考例句：

• The statue was carved out of jade.这座塑像是玉雕的。
• He presented us with a couple of jade lions.他送给我们一对玉狮子。

3 mud   

n.泥，泥浆

参考例句：

• The swimming pool is filled up with mud.游泳池里全是泥。
• A car ran past,spotting my coat with mud.一辆汽车驶过，给我的外衣溅上了泥点。

4 archaeologists   

n.考古学家( archaeologist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The site has been excavated by archaeologists. 这个遗址已被考古学家发掘出来。
• Archaeologists have worked for years to piece together the huge mosaic. 考古学家经年累月拼组这幅巨大的马赛克。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 bronze   

n.青铜；青铜艺术品

参考例句：

• She won a bronze medal.她得了铜牌。
• This statue is made of bronze.这个雕像是青铜做的。

6 relics   

[pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸

参考例句：

• The area is a treasure house of archaeological relics. 这个地区是古文物遗迹的宝库。
• Xi'an is an ancient city full of treasures and saintly relics. 西安是一个有很多宝藏和神圣的遗物的古老城市。

7 lower   

adj.较低的；地位较低的，低等的；低年级的；下游的；vt.放下，降下，放低；减低

参考例句：

• Society is divided into upper,middle and lower classes.社会分为上层、中层和下层阶级。
• This price is his minimum;he refuses to lower it any further.这个价格是他开的最低价，他拒绝再作任何降价。

8 Vietnam   

n.越南

参考例句：

• Vietnam is suffering from food shortage.越南正遭受食物短缺之苦。
• Laos is on the west of Vietnam.老挝在越南西面。

9 political   

adj.政治上的，政党的，政略性的，政治的

参考例句：

• He was forced to leave his homeland for political reasons.因为政治原因他被迫离开自己的祖国。
• In ideas those two political parties are worlds apart.那两个政党在思想上有巨大分歧。

10 dug   

n.动物的乳房[乳头]v.挖，掘( dig的过去式和过去分词 )；（如用铲、锨或推土机等）挖掘；挖得；寻找

参考例句：

• He dug a deep hole in the garden. 他在花园里挖了个深坑。
• We dug a deep pit in the yard. 我们在院子中挖了个深洞。

11 vast   

adj.巨大的，庞大的；大量的，巨额的

参考例句：

• Tom has made a vast improvement in his German.汤姆的德语有了很大的进步。
• China has a vast territory and a large population.中国地域辽阔，人口众多。

12 archaeological   

adj.考古学的，考古学上的

参考例句：

• That was a great archaeological find.那是一次了不起的考古发现。
• The discovery is of great archaeological value.这一发现有很大的考古学意义。

13 digging   

n.挖掘v.挖，掘( dig的现在分词 )；（如用铲、锨或推土机等）挖掘；挖得；寻找

参考例句：

• They were digging up worms to use for bait. 他们正在挖蚯蚓作鱼饵。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade. 在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 tombs   

墓穴( tomb的名词复数 )； 墓葬； 墓群

参考例句：

• Many things left by the ancient Egyptians in tombs have been brought to light. 在古埃及的古陵墓中发掘出很多东西。
• They began to walk between rows of uniquely constructed tombs. 他们开始在一排排构造特殊的坟墓中间行走。