38_The_First_Calendar

38 The First Calendar

原文译文

Future historians will be in a unique position when they come to record the history of our own times. They will hardly know which facts to select from the great mass of evidence that steadily accumulates. What is more, they will not have to rely solely on the written word. Films, videos, CDs and CD-ROMs are just some of the bewildering amount of information they will have. They will be able, as it were, to see and hear us in action. But the historian (attempting to reconstruct the distant past) is always faced with a difficult task. He has to deduce what he can from the few scanty clues available. Even seemingly insignificant remains can shed interesting light on the history of early man.

Up to now, historians have assumed that calendars came into being with the advent of agriculture, for then man was faced with a real need to understand something about the seasons. Recent scientific evidence seems to indicate that this assumption is incorrect.

Historians have long been puzzled by dots, lines and symbols which have been engraved on walls, bones, and the ivory tusks of mammoths. The nomads who made these markings lived by hunting and fishing during the last Ice Age which began about 35, 000 B.C. and ended about 10, 000 B.C. By correlating markings made in various parts of the world, historians have been able to read this difficult code. They have found that it is connected with the passage of days and the phases of the moon. It is, in fact, a primitive type of calendar. It has long been known that the hunting scenes (depicted on walls) were not simply a form of artistic expression. They had a definite meaning, for they were as near as early man could get to writing. It is possible that there is a definite relation between these paintings and the markings (that sometimes accompany them). It seems that man was making a real effort to understand the seasons 20, 000 years earlier than has been supposed.

未来的历史学家在记录我们这个时代的历史时，会处于一种极为有利的地位。面对不断积累的大批证据，他们简直不知道应该从中挑选什么。而且，他们也不必完全依赖文字记载。电影、录像、光盘和激光光盘只是他们获取的令人眼花缭乱的大量信息中的几种。他们能够身临其境般地观看我们做事、倾听我们说话。但是，历史学家企图重现遥远的过去可是一项艰巨的任务，他们必须根据现有的不充分的线索进行推理。即使看起来微不足道的遗物，也可能揭示人类早期历史的一些有趣的内容。

迄今为止，历史学家一直认为日历是随农业的问世而出现的，因为当时人们面临着了解四季的实际需要。但近期科学研究发现，好像这种假设是不正确的。

长期以来，历史学家一直对雕刻在墙壁上、骨头上、古代长毛象的象牙上的点、线和形形色色的符号感到困惑不解。这些痕迹是游牧人留下的，他们生活在从公元前约35,000年到公元前约10,000年的冰川期的末期，以狩猎、捕鱼为生。历史学家通过把世界各地留下的这种痕迹放在一起研究，终于弄懂了这种费解的代码。他们发现代码与昼夜的更迭和月亮圆缺有关，事实上是一种最原始的日历。大家早就知道，画在墙上的狩猎图景并不是单纯的艺术表现形式，它们有着一定的含义，因为它们已接近古代人的文字形式。有时，这种图画与墙壁上的刻痕共存，它们之间可能有一定的联系。看来人类早就致力于探索四季变迁了，比人们想像的要早20,000年。

Words

• historians /hɪˈstɔriənz/ n. 历史学家
  1. A historian is someone who studies ancient civilizations.
  2. The historian claims to have found new information of the Roman Empire.
  3. The historian is fanatical about the civilization of ancient China.
• unique /juˈnik/ adj. 无与伦比的
  1. We’re in a unique position to make a study of our competitor’s advantages and weaknesses.
• steadily /ˈstɛdəli/ adv. 不断地
  1. The evidence of the murder was steadily accumulated during the investigation.
  2. Her confidence to make a speech in front of a large crowd steadily rises.
• solely /ˈsoli/ adv. 唯一地
  1. I am disappointed to learn that you blame that solely on me.（N2L72）
  2. Learning a new skill can’t be based solely on taking classes.
• bewildering /bɪˈwɪldərɪŋ/ v. 令人眼花缭乱的
  1. There are a bewildering number of apps in the App Store.
  2. You can’t blame me for feeling bewildered by the bewildering amount of information you sent me.
• deduce /dɪˈdus/ v. 推理
  1. What can you deduce from that?
  2. I can deduce that he has a large circle of friends.
  3. From the look on your face, I can deduce that you made a spectacle of yourself.
• scanty /ˈskænti/ adj. 贫乏地
  1. It’s naive to think that the scanty information will provide you with an answer.
  2. No matter how hard she worked, she could only find scanty evidence.
• clues /kluz/ n. 线索
  1. I looked for clues at the entrance of the train station.
  2. It’s odd that the thief would leave so many clues for us to follow.
  3. I was frightened out of my wits by the clues he provided me.
• insignificant /ˌɪnsɪɡˈnɪfɪkənt/ adj. 不重要地
  1. Pay attention to any details, no matter how insignificant they may seem at first sight.
  2. Even the most insignificant clue can make a big difference in a case.
• shed /ʃɛd/ v. 使流出
  1. A seemingly insignificant clue may shed light on the situation.
  2. The new finding is likely to shed interesting light on the mysterious ancient Greek culture.
  3. It’s anticipated that the study will shed new light on the child abuse problem.
• agriculture /ˈæɡrɪˌkʌltʃɚ/ n. 农业
  1. The gradual disappearance of nomad tribes stems from the advent of agriculture.
  2. The advent of agriculture changed food production and allowed early human populations to grow and thrive.
  3. Some people may doubt the wisdom of putting a great deal of money in developing agriculture.（L27）
• assumption /əˈsʌmpʃən/ n. 假设
  1. Are you suggesting that your happiness is solely based on the assumption that you will receive the prize money?（N2L87）
• engraved /ɪnˈɡrevd/ v. 雕刻
  1. I turned the clay into a cup which I had her name engraved on.
  2. You don’t strike me as the kind of person who would be patient enough to engrave flowers on wood.
• ivory /ˈaɪvəri/ n. 象牙制品
  1. Some people live by selling ivory products.
  2. It’s disturbing to think that plenty of elephants are killed for their ivory.
  3. The new law prevented people from doing ivory tradings.
  4. How would you comment on the ivory trading business?
• tusks /tʌsks/ n. 象牙
  1. She let out a cry when she discovered the ivory tusks of an elephant in a cave.
  2. It is estimated that the length of a mammoth tusk can reach 10 feet.
• mammoths /ˈmæməθs/ n. 长毛象
  1. He pours scorn on my plan to study the history of mammoths.
  2. Climate change and human activities conspired to cause the disappearance of mammoths.
• nomads /ˈnoˌmædz/ n. 游牧民
  1. There was a time when all humans were nomads.
  2. The nomad loaded his truck with food and all kinds of tools.
• correlating /ˈkɔrəletɪŋ/ v. 使相互联系
  1. It seems reasonable to assume that stress at work can be negatively correlated with job satisfaction.
  2. Needless to say, a healthy diet and regular exercise are positively correlated with health.
  3. The study suggests that sugar intake is strongly correlated with the risk of diabetes.
• phases /ˈfezɪz/ n. 月相
  1. Can you acquaint me with the information about the phase of the moon?
  2. I am relieved to hear that she has gone through a difficult phase.
• primitive /ˈprɪmətɪv/ adj. 原始地
  1. I invited him to explore a display of primitive art.
  2. Primitive men lived by hunting and gathering.
• depicted /dɪˈpɪktəd/ v. 描绘
  1. Her paintings, depicted on the wall, show the life of primitive people.
  2. The mysterious life of ancient Egyptians is depicted in the comic book, which has a universal appeal.（L29）
  3. It seems odd that the two paintings [depicted by different artists] bear strong resemblance.（L37&L36）

Expressions

• in a unique position 处于独特的地位
• take a video 拍视频
• a bewildering variety/amount/number of 多得令人眼花缭乱的……
• be/feel bewildered by… 被……弄糊涂
• deduce that… 推断出……
• deduce from… 从……推断
• find/look for/follow/leave/provide clues 寻找/留下/提供线索
• shed light on 阐明；使……清晰
• the advent of… ……的出现
• with the advent of computer/television video chat 随着电脑/电视视频聊天的出现
• make the assumptions that 做出……的假设
• be based on the assumption that +句子 基于……的假设
• work on the assumption that + 句子 在……的假设下工作
• connect the dots 把线索联系起来
• engrave sth. on 把……刻在……上
• a. be engraved on b. A 被刻在 B 上
  1. I am fully acquainted with the fact that swimming is a form of exercise.
  2. She went to great length to prove that being strict is a form of love.
• be positively/negatively/strongly correlated with... 与……正/负/强相关
• depicted in/on/by... 在……中描绘
• select ... from 从……中挑选
  1. I am pleased with the films you selected from the list.
  2. The professor conducted me to the school library where I had different varieties of books to select from.
  3. She let her son select the Christmas gift from the unique list [she made for him].
• the great mass of 大量的；绝大多数
• rely on 依赖
  1. I wish that I could rely on the great mass of evidence.
  2. It’s truth that sometimes we can rely solely on ourselves.
  3. At least you can rely on your parents.
• as it were 可以说，插入语
  1. He's the captain of our team, so he's, as it were, our leader on the field.
  2. She painted a vivid picture of the forest, describing the trees as a sea of green, as it were.
• see/hear...in action 亲眼看到，亲耳听到
  1. During the live concert, the audience was able to see the band in action.
  2. I can’t conceal the excitement to see and hear the rare animals in action through the video.
  3. I mustered up courage to see the snake show in action.
• be faced with 面对
  1. Knowing that he might be faced with death made his hair stand on end.
  2. I console myself that although I am faced with many problems now, they will be solved one by one.
  3. All of a sudden, I am faced with hundreds of thousands of challenges.
• come into being 形成，出现
• be puzzled by 被...感到困惑
  1. I am puzzled by his resemblance to one of his classmates, who turned out to be his twin brother.
  2. I would have finished the work much earlier if I hadn’t been puzzled by the last step.
  3. If you are puzzled by any of the questions, feel free to consult your note and the textbook.
• be connected with 与……有关
• the passage of time/days 时间的流逝
  1. The patient's health gradually improved with the passage of days, giving hope to the doctors and family.
  2. The beauty of the changing seasons is best observed through the passage of days, as the leaves turn from green to red in the autumn.
  3. I am trying to be aware of the passage of time.
  4. It has long been known that
  5. It has long been known that many Americans have developed an unshakable faith in God.
  6. It has long been known that we are conditioned to social conventions.
  7. It has long been known that mammoth has become extinct thousands of years ago.
• It has long been known that 人们早就知道……
• a form of 一种……的形式
  1. I am fully acquainted with the fact that swimming is a form of exercise.
  2. She went to great length to prove that being strict is a form of love.
• be near to sth. 接近某事物/状态
  1. She was near to crying.
  2. He was near to panic as he rushed out of the building.
  3. He seemed to know that he was near to death.
  4. It’s possible that....
  5. It’s possible that the puma is about to attack you.
  6. It’s possible that you’ve made a real discovery.
  7. It’s possible that this is just the prelude to an unforeseen series of catastrophes.
• It’s possible that… 有可能……
• there is a (definite) relation between... and ……之间有（明确的）关系
  1. There is a relation between eating healthy food and feeling good.
  2. It suddenly dawned on me that there is a definite relation between his leaving and the past event.
  3. The idea that there is a definite relation between being kind to others and making friends is mistaken.