Take Away English-Viking Ship Discovered 刚被发现的海盗船

The Viking longship might have looked like this.

A 1,000-year-old Viking longship is thought to have been discovered under a pub car park on Merseyside.

The vessel¹ is believed to lie beneath 2 metres to 3 metres of clay by the Railway Inn in Meols, a town in the north west of England, where Vikings are known to have settled.

Experts believe the ship could be one of Britain's most significant archaeological finds.

Professor Stephen Harding, of the University of Nottingham, is now seeking funds to pay for an excavation².

The Viking expert used ground penetrating³ radar⁴ (GPR) equipment to pinpoint⁵ the ship's whereabouts.

He believes the vessel could be carefully removed and exhibited in a museum. Professor Harding said: "The next stage is the big one. Using the GPR technique only costs £450, but we have to think carefully about what to do next.

"Although we still don't know what sort of vessel it is, it's very old for sure and its Nordic clinker design, position and location suggests it may be a transport vessel from the Viking settlement period if not long afterwards.

"Scandinavian influence persisted here through the centuries. It is speculation⁶ at the moment, but at least we now know exactly where to look to find out. How it got there is also hard to say.

"It is some distance from the present coastline and probably the old one too. It might have got to its present position after flooding and sinking into an old marsh⁷."

The ship was first uncovered in 1938 when the Railway Inn was being knocked down and rebuilt further from the road, the site of the old pub was being made into a car park.

Workers were advised by the foreman to cover the ship over again so as not to delay construction.

GLOSSARY 词汇表
longship 长船 vessel 船只 clay 粘/泥土 archaeological finds 考古发现 excavation 挖掘 pinpoint 精确定位 technique 技术 a transport vessel 运输船 Scandanavian 斯堪的纳维亚 speculation 揣测	pub car park 酒吧停车场 to lie beneath 躺在…的下面 settled 解决 seeking funds 寻找资金 ground penetrating radar 探地雷达 exhibited 展出 Nordic clinker （公元前9世纪）北欧地区制造的木船 Viking （北欧）海盗 persisted 坚持不懈 coastline 海岸线

 

1 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

2 excavation   

n.挖掘，发掘；被挖掘之地

参考例句：

• The bad weather has hung up the work of excavation.天气不好耽误了挖掘工作。
• The excavation exposed some ancient ruins.这次挖掘暴露出一些古遗迹。

3 penetrating   

adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的

参考例句：

• He had an extraordinarily penetrating gaze. 他的目光有股异乎寻常的洞察力。
• He examined the man with a penetrating gaze. 他以锐利的目光仔细观察了那个人。

4 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

5 pinpoint   

vt.准确地确定；用针标出…的精确位置

参考例句：

• It is difficult to pinpoint when water problems of the modern age began.很难准确地指出，现代用水的问题是什么时候出现的。
• I could pinpoint his precise location on a map.我能在地图上指明他的准确位置。

6 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

7 marsh   

n.沼泽，湿地

参考例句：

• There are a lot of frogs in the marsh.沼泽里有许多青蛙。
• I made my way slowly out of the marsh.我缓慢地走出这片沼泽地。