VOA常速英语2015--法国史前洞穴复制品对人们开放

Replica¹ of Prehistoric² Cave Opens in France 法国史前洞穴复制品对人们开放

A detailed³ copy of a cave containing the oldest figurative drawings made by Europe’s prehistoric inhabitants opened over the weekend [April 25.2015] in France, not far from the original cave. The replica was built because the original drawings are too fragile to be exposed for public viewing.

On December 18, 1994, a group of French speleologists exploring caves in southern France entered a previously⁴ unknown area.

1994年12月18日, 在法国南部探索洞穴的一队洞穴学者们进入到了一个未知的领域。

Jean Marie Chauvet, who was leading the group, said, “And I was in the front, Eliette behind me, Christian⁵ behind. Eliette said she saw two marks made with red ochre and she said: "They came here." and at this very moment everything began. The drawings and everything linked to the parietal art. That's where it started.”

这个探险队的领导人让·玛丽·肖维说:“当时我在前面,身后是埃利特,克里斯蒂安紧随其后。埃利特说她发现了红赭石的两个标记后说道:“他们曾到过这里。”一切从此时此刻开始。画作和一切都同岩洞顶部壁画艺术联系起来。这是它的发源地。”

The cave walls were covered with drawings of animals, some of them long extinct in Europe. Their quality and elegance⁶ were remarkable⁷. Mammoths, panthers, bears, cave lions and cave hyenas⁸, competed with horses, rhinoceros⁹ and cattle. A few of the drawings even depicted¹⁰ movement.

这个洞穴的岩壁上铺满了动物的绘画,其中一些在欧洲已经灭绝很长时间。这些绘画有着非常高的质量和艺术价值。猛犸象、豹、熊、洞穴狮子和鬣狗,还有马、犀牛和牛。还有一些绘画则是描绘运动。

Cave art specialist Jean Clottes was assigned to evaluate their significance.

洞穴艺术专家吉恩·科勒特斯负责评估这些绘画的意义。

“I was amazed at the number of paintings there were and of their quality and particularly in front of the panel of the horses,” said Clottes.

“这些绘画的数量和质量让我感到惊讶,尤其是前面马的绘画。”

Most of the paintings were done with charcoal¹¹ but for some, the prehistoric artists used red ochre.

大多数的绘画都是用木炭完成,但对一些人来说,这些史前艺术家们使用的是红赭石。

More than 30,000- years - old, they are considered the oldest human cave drawings ever discovered. In 2014, the Chauvet Cave - named after the first explorer who entered it - was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage site.

这些已经有超过30000年历史的绘画作品被认为是迄今为止所发现最为古老的洞穴壁画。2014年,以第一位进入它的人命名的肖维岩洞被联合国教科文组织列为世界文化遗产。

As the originals and their environment are too fragile, the cave is now sealed and the access restricted to only scientific purposes.

而随着这些原作及其环境受到严重侵蚀,肖维岩洞现在已经被封而且仅限科学目才能访问。

Last week, after spending $59 million, French authorities opened an exact replica, called Pont d'Arc Cavern¹².

上周，在斥资5900万后,法国当局向人们开放了阿尔克桥岩洞的复制品。

Its president, Pascal Terrasse, said sculptors¹³, painters and other experts created an environment in which everyone will be able to experience the thrill of looking at drawings made by the first humans in Europe.

其主席帕斯卡尔·特拉赛表示雕刻家,画家及其他专家创造了一个环境,使得置身于此的每个人都能体验到欧洲第一批人类绘画作品带来的震撼。

“And this place will be open to humanity, everybody will be able to come and visit the Pont d'Arc Cavern, and you will not feel that it is a replica, because this place is magic and it has been done so well,” he said.

“这个地方将会对所有人开放,每个人可以参观阿尔克桥岩洞,你不会感到这是复制品,因为这个地方好像被赋予了魔法而且它一直这样令人叹为观止。”

Authorities say they expect as many as 400,000 visitors annually¹⁴.

当局称他们希望每年多达400000名游客来这里进行参观。

1 replica   

n.复制品

参考例句：

• The original conservatory has been rebuilt in replica.温室已按原样重建。
• The young artist made a replica of the famous painting.这位年轻的画家临摹了这幅著名的作品。

2 prehistoric   

adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的

参考例句：

• They have found prehistoric remains.他们发现了史前遗迹。
• It was rather like an exhibition of prehistoric electronic equipment.这儿倒像是在展览古老的电子设备。

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 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

5 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

6 elegance   

n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙

参考例句：

• The furnishings in the room imparted an air of elegance.这个房间的家具带给这房间一种优雅的气氛。
• John has been known for his sartorial elegance.约翰因为衣着讲究而出名。

7 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

8 hyenas   

n.鬣狗( hyena的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These animals were the prey of hyenas. 这些动物是鬣狗的猎物。 来自辞典例句
• We detest with horror the duplicity and villainy of the murderous hyenas of Bukharinite wreckers. 我们非常憎恨布哈林那帮两面三刀、杀人破坏，干尽坏事的豺狼。 来自辞典例句

9 rhinoceros   

n.犀牛

参考例句：

• The rhinoceros has one horn on its nose.犀牛鼻子上有一个角。
• The body of the rhinoceros likes a cattle and the head likes a triangle.犀牛的形体像牛，头呈三角形。

10 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

11 charcoal   

n.炭，木炭，生物炭

参考例句：

• We need to get some more charcoal for the barbecue.我们烧烤需要更多的碳。
• Charcoal is used to filter water.木炭是用来过滤水的。

12 cavern   

n.洞穴，大山洞

参考例句：

• The cavern walls echoed his cries.大山洞的四壁回响着他的喊声。
• It suddenly began to shower,and we took refuge in the cavern.天突然下起雨来，我们在一个山洞里避雨。

13 sculptors   

雕刻家，雕塑家( sculptor的名词复数 )； [天]玉夫座

参考例句：

• He is one of Britain's best-known sculptors. 他是英国最有名的雕塑家之一。
• Painters and sculptors are indexed separately. 画家和雕刻家被分开，分别做了索引。

14 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。