38_The_First_Calendar

38 The First Calendar¶

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.

Words¶

historians /hɪˈstɔriənz/ 历史学家
unique /juˈnik/ 无与伦比的
steadily /ˈstɛdəli/ 不断地
solely /ˈsoəli/ 唯一地
bewildering /bɪˈwɪldɚɪŋ/ 令人眼花缭乱的
deduce /dɪˈdus/ 推理
scanty /ˈskænti/ 贫乏地
clues /kluz/ 线索
insignificant /ˌɪnsɪɡˈnjɪfɪkənt/ 不重要地
shed /ʃɛd/ 使流出
agriculture /ˈæɡrɪˌkəltʃɚ/ 农业
assumption /əˈsʌmpʃən/ 假设
engraved /ɪnˈɡrevd/ 雕刻
ivory /ˈaɪvɚi/ 象牙制品
tusks /tʌsks/ 象牙
mammoths /ˈmæməθs/ 长毛象
nomads /ˈnoˌmædz/ 游牧民
correlating /ˈkɔrəletɪŋ/ 使相互联系
phases /ˈfezəz/ 月相
primitive /ˈprɪmətɪv/ 原始地
depicted /dɪˈpɪktəd/ 描绘

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
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
the great mass of 大量的；绝大多数
rely on 依赖
as it were 可以说，插入语
see/hear...in action 亲眼看到，亲耳听到
be faced with 面对
come into being 形成，出现
be puzzled by 被...感到困惑
be connected with 与……有关
the passage of time/days 时间的流逝
It has long been known that 人们早就知道……
a form of 一种……的形式
be near to sth. 接近某事物/状态
It’s possible that… 有可能……
there is a (definite) relation between... and ……之间有（明确的）关系