VOA慢速英语-- 墨西哥专家在玛雅火车路线附近发现了2000处遗址

Mexico Experts Find 2,000 Ruin Sites near Maya Train Route

Experts in Mexico said Wednesday they have found more than 2,000 pre-Hispanic ruins along the proposed path of the president's "Maya Train" project on the Yucatan peninsula.

Scientists discovered the ruins using LiDAR elevation¹ mapping technology. LiDAR involves shooting a laser at the ground through heavy vegetation² to get a detailed³ image of the surface.

The discovery could slow down the train project, which has already caused arguments and protests in the area. Critics of the project say it threatens indigenous⁴ communities and water supplies.

The information from the mapping technology showed a total of 2,187 "archeological monuments" along 366 kilometers of the planned path. That covers about 25 percent of the total train route. Experts already knew about the existence of some of the ruins, but some are new.

The Maya had a large number of city-states throughout Yucatan and Central America between 2,000 B.C. and A.D. 900. Their ancestors still live on the peninsula and across Central America.

The term "monument" can mean many things, such as a pre-Hispanic Maya home, or the remains⁵ of a religious building.

Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology⁶ and History said at least 91 of the discovered ruins were large structures like plazas⁷, or temple bases. Maya houses were generally small wooden structures with stone bases that were easily destroyed.

The institute said in a statement that the builders of the train route would have to take "measures" to avoid damaging the ruins. It did not say whether that meant parts of the route will have to be replanned.

In July, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador opened the building of the "Maya Train," his own special project. It is expected to run about 1,500 kilometers around Yucatan.

The train will connect Caribbean hotels to areas far from the beaches that have archeological ruins. The train will have 15 stations to bring visitors and – hopefully -- economic growth to the mostly poor area.

The government says it will cost as much as $6.8 billion, but others say it could cost much more.

Critics say there was not enough study of the effects the train project will have on the environment and archeological ruins.

Some Maya communities have taken legal steps to stop the project, arguing that it will cause environmental damage.

Words in This Story

peninsula – n. a piece of land that juts⁸ out into the ocean

elevation – n. a place that is high above

indigenous – adj. the original people who lived in a place

monument – n. an edifice⁹ built by humans to mark an event or memory

route - n. the path a vehicle takes to get to its destination

temple – n. a place of worship

1 elevation   

n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高

参考例句：

• The house is at an elevation of 2,000 metres.那幢房子位于海拔两千米的高处。
• His elevation to the position of General Manager was announced yesterday.昨天宣布他晋升总经理职位。

2 vegetation   

n.植物，草木，（植物）生长

参考例句：

• As we drove towards the desert,the vegetation became sparse.我们驱车前往沙漠，沿途的草木渐渐变得稀疏。
• The earth bore a thick green mantle of vegetation.大地覆盖着一层厚厚的绿色植物。

3 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

4 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 anthropology   

n.人类学

参考例句：

• I believe he has started reading up anthropology.我相信他已开始深入研究人类学。
• Social anthropology is centrally concerned with the diversity of culture.社会人类学主要关于文化多样性。

7 plazas   

n.（尤指西班牙语城镇的）露天广场( plaza的名词复数 )；购物中心

参考例句：

• At focal points, there are seating plazas as rest points for users. 在主要主景点上，有空间较大的广场提供休息的地方。 来自互联网
• Such products are suitable for lighting and decoration of plazas, courtyards, parks, residential district and roadside. 本产品适合于广场、庭院，公园、小区草坪和道路的装饰和照明。 来自互联网

8 juts   

v.（使）突出( jut的第三人称单数 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出

参考例句：

• A small section of rock juts out into the harbour. 山岩的一小角突入港湾。 来自辞典例句
• The balcony juts out over the swimming pool. 阳台伸出在游泳池上方。 来自辞典例句

9 edifice   

n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室)

参考例句：

• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。
• There is a huge Victorian edifice in the area.该地区有一幢维多利亚式的庞大建筑物。