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经典英语美文阅读：英国史前巨石阵为病人朝拜地

Archaeologists probing the secrets of Stonehenge, Britain's most famous prehistoric monument said on Monday, it may have been an ancient pilgrimage site for the sick who believed its stones had healing qualities.

考古学家们于本周一公布，英国最著名的史前遗址巨石阵可能是古代病人的朝圣地。据推测，巨石阵的石头可能被史前人类当作是具有治疗功效的幸运石。

It has always been a mystery why bluestones, the smaller stones that form part of the circle, were transported around 155 miles from Preseli Hills in Wales to WiltshIre in southem England. Archaeologists from Boumemouth Ur:uversity, who carried out the dig in April the first at Stonehenge since 1964-believe the bluestones were revered as healing stones. "It was the magical qualities these stones which.., transformed the monument and made it a place of pilgrimage for the sick and injured of the Neolithic world," a statement from the archaeologist team said.Geoffrey Wainwright, president of the Society of Antiquaries of London and one of the experts leading the work, told BBC radio that one reason which lead to the conclusion was because anumber of the burials around Stonehenge showed signs of trauma and deformity.

长期以来，人们—直很困惑，为什么人们要把巨石阵里的一种蓝色小石头从155英里以外的威尔士普利斯里山运到英格兰南部威尔特郡这里昵?伯恩茅斯大学的考古学家们推测，可能当时的人们信奉这些蓝色的石头具有神奇疗效。考古学家于今年4月对史前巨石阵进行了自1964年以来的首次发掘。该考古小组在一份声明中说：“巨石阵曾经可能只是个纪念碑，但这些具有魔力的石头被搬来之后，这里就变成了新时器时代伤病者的朝圣地。 ” 伦敦古文物学会主席、考古小组专家杰弗里‘韦恩莱特在接受BBC广播的采访时说，得出这一结论的其中一个根据就是，巨石阵附近埋葬了很多伤残者。

The archaeologists said in the statement that radio-carbon dating put the construction of the circle of bluestones at between 2,400 B.C. and 2,200 B.C.,afew centuries later than originally thought, But they found fragments of charcoal dating from before 7,000 B.C., showing humans were active in the area much earlier than previously thought.

考古学家在一份声明中说，经放射性碳测年法鉴定，环形巨石阵应该建造于公元前2400年至公元前2200年之间，比之前的推测晚了几百年。但考古学家还在此发现了公元前7000年前的木炭碎片，这说明在更早的时期已有人类活跃在这一地带。

During the excavation at the World Heritage Site on Salisbury Plain,the researchers also fourtd a beiker pottery fragment, Roman ceramics and ancient stone hammers. "We now know, mucb to our surprise and delight, that Stonehenge was not just prehistoric monument, it was a Roman and mediaeval monument," said Wainwright, Another of the team leaders, Tim Darvill of Boumemouth University , said the bluestones appeared central to the purpose of Stonehenge although it may have had more than one function. Other theories about Stonehenge are that it was a religious site or that it acted as a calendar.

考古人员还在发掘过程中发现了大口陶器杯的碎片、古罗马陶器以及古石锤，位于索尔兹伯里平原的史前巨石阵现在已被列入世界文化遗址。韦恩莱特说："现在我们知道了'巨石阵不仅是史前的纪念碑，也是古罗马和中世纪时期的祭坛，这个发现让我们十分惊喜。"考古小组的另一位专家、伯恩茅斯大学的蒂姆·达维尔说，巨石阵可能有多种功能，但蓝色小石头应该是其功能的一个重要体现。其他理论认为，巨石阵曾是个宗教场所或是一个日历等等。

经典英语美文阅读：丝绸之路话从头

One of the world's most ancient and historically important trade routes, the Silk Road conjures up exotic images of camel caravans, windswept deserts and such legendary figures as Genghis Khan and Marco Polo. Extending from as far as the Indian kingdoms in the west to present day Xi'an in China in the east, the Silk Road had, by the third centry B.C.,already became a cross roads of Asia.

世界上最古老、历史上最重要的贸易路线之一_丝绸之路，总给人.种富有异国情调的印象：骆驼商队、狂风肆虐的沙漠，还有诸如成吉思汗和马可波罗等传奇人物。丝绸之路绵亘远长，西至印度王国，东到中国现在的西安，早在公元前3世纪，丝绸之路就已经成为了亚洲交通的十字路口。

Skirting the edges of the harsh and inhospitable Taklimakan desert, the Silk Road actually had several different branches, each passing through different oasis. All roads began in Chang'an (Xi'an). The northem route wound its way through places such as Turfan and Kuqa before finally ending at Kashgar. Them route followed the lower thnges of the Taklimakan eventually reaching the same destination. Numerous other routes were also plied through out the years, reaching all the way to

Samarkand, Tashkent, India, and the Caspian Sea.

丝绸之路其实有数条支线，它们分别沿着环境恶劣、不适合人类居住的塔克拉玛干沙漠外缘，穿越不同的绿洲。所有的路线都是始于长安(西安)，北线蜿蜒经过了吐鲁番、库车，最后到达喀什格尔，南线沿着塔克拉玛干下缘前行，并到达同一终点。其他的许多支线也是历代都通行的，通往撒玛尔罕、塔什干、印度，及里海等地。

Silk was not the only commodity traveling the Silk Road. Other goods such as exotic animals, ivory and gold were also transported along the route. It was silk, though, which fascinated the Romans. Agents were sent from Rome to explore the route and to obtain the material at a lower price. The Romans, however, did not give the Silk Road its name. The term was actuallycoined by the 19th-centuryGerman scholar Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen.

丝绸并不是丝绸之路上运送的唯一商品。其他货物如奇珍异兽、象牙，及黄金等也通过丝绸之路运输。不过格外令罗马人着迷的还是丝绸。罗马派遣代理商探测这条路线，并以较低的价格购得丝绸。然而，“丝绸之路”的名称并不是罗马人起的。这个名称是19世纪时一名叫Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen的德国学者首创的。

Not long after the Tang dynasty era (618-907), when trade along the Silk Road had reached its zenith, the fearsomeGenghis Khan and his Mongol armies conquered a vast area spanning much of Central Asia. Accordingly, the Silk Road became an important communication route between different parts of the Mongol Empire. During the ruleof Kublai,more Europeans began venturing towards China along the Silk Road.The most famous of these travelers was Marco Polo, whose thoughts and

adventures were later recorded and embellished by an Italian romance writer.

唐代是丝绸之路沿途贸易活动的鼎盛时期，在唐代王朝灭亡后不久，令人闻风丧胆的成吉思汗及其蒙古大军征服了横跨中亚大部分地区的广阔领土。丝绸之路于是成为蒙古帝国各部落间重要的交通线路。忽必烈统治期间，更多的欧洲人冒险沿着丝绸之路来到中国。这些旅行者中最出名的就是马可波罗，他的所见所闻后来被一位意大利传奇小 说家记载下来，并加以润色。

During the 14th century , with the disintegration of the Mongol Empire, the isolationist policies of the Ming Dynasty and the development of the silk route by sea, the Silk Road was forced into decline. Renewed interest in it emerged among Westem scholars only near the end of the 19th century . The existence of ancient cities excited them, and an archaeological free-for-all began. These days, those seeking out treasures of the Silk Road can find them in such far-flung places as London, Delhi, and Berlin.

14世纪时，蒙古帝国瓦解、明朝实行闭关政策，加“海上丝路”的发展，丝绸之路被迫走向没落。直到近19世纪末，才有西方学者重新燃起了对丝绸之路的兴趣。古城的存在让他们兴奋不已于是掀起了一阵考古热潮。现在，想在丝绸之路寻宝的人们，在伦敦、德里、柏林等许多地方，都可以找到他们想要的东西。