剑桥雅思18Test2Passage1阅读原文翻译 Stonehenge 巨石阵
剑桥雅思18阅读第二套题目第一篇文章的主题为巨石阵。作者介绍了巨石阵建造的三个历史阶段，以及对每个阶段建造过程的猜想。虽然文章篇幅比较长，但结构清晰，含义直白，读起来还算比较顺畅。
剑桥雅思18Test2Passage1阅读答案解析 Stonehenge 巨石阵
剑桥雅思18 Test2 Passage1阅读原文翻译
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第1段
For centuries, historians and archaeologists have puzzled over the many mysteries of Stonehenge, a prehistoric monument that took an estimated 1,500 years to erect. Located on Salisbury Plain in southern England, it is comprised of roughly 100 massive upright stones placed in a circular layout.
几个世纪以来，历史学家和考古学家一直致力于解开巨石阵的许多谜团。这座史前遗迹据估计花费了约1,500年的时间来建造。它位于英国南部的索尔兹伯里平原上，由大约100块巨大的直立石头组成，呈圆形分布。
第2段
Archaeologists believe England’s most iconic prehistoric ruin was built in several stages, with the earliest constructed 5,000 or more years ago. First, Neolithic Britons used primitive tools, which may have been fashioned out of deer antlers, to dig a massive circular ditch and bank, or henge. Deep pits dating back to that era and located within the circle may have once held a ring of timber posts, according to some scholars.
考古学家认为，英国最具标志性的史前废墟是分为几个阶段建成的。最早的建筑可以追溯到5,000年前甚至更久以前。一开始，新石器时代的不列颠人使用可能由鹿角制成的原始工具，挖掘了一座巨大的圆形护城沟和土堤，即巨石阵。根据一些学者的说法，位于圆环内的深坑可能曾经放置着一圈木柱。
第3段
Several hundred years later, it is thought, Stonehenge’s builders hoisted an estimated 80 bluestones, 43 of which remain today, into standing positions and placed them in either a horseshoe or circular formation. These stones have been traced all the way to the Preseli Hills in Wales, some 300 kilometers from Stonehenge. How, then, did prehistoric builders without sophisticated tools or engineering haul these boulders, which weigh up to four tons, over such a great distance?
据推测，几百年后，巨石阵的建造者将大约80块蓝石竖起，并将它们排列成马蹄形或圆形。其中43块一直保存到今天。这些石头可以追溯到威尔士的普雷塞利山区，距离巨石阵约300公里。那么，史前建筑者在没有先进工具或工程设备的情况下，如何将重达四吨的巨石从如此远的距离运送过来呢？
第4段
According to one long-standing theory among archaeologists, Stonehenge’s builders fashioned sledges and rollers out of tree trunks to lug the bluestones from the Preseli Hills. They then transferred the boulders onto rafts and floated them first along the Welsh coast and then up the River Avon toward Salisbury Plain; alternatively, they may have towed each stone with a fleet of vessels. More recent archaeological hypotheses have them transporting the bluestones with supersized wicker baskets on a combination of ball bearings and long grooved planks, hauled by oxen.
根据考古学家中一个由来已久的理论，巨石阵的建造者使用树干制成的雪橇和滚轮从普雷塞利山区运送蓝石。然后，他们将巨石转移到木筏上，先沿着威尔士海岸漂流，然后沿着埃文河运向索尔兹伯里平原。或者，他们可能用一系列船只拖曳石头。更近期的考古学理论认为，他们使用超大号柳条篮子，搭配球轴承和长凹槽板用牛来拉动运送蓝石。
第5段
As early as the 1970s, geologists have been adding their voices to the debate over how Stonehenge came into being. Challenging the classic image of industrious builders pushing, carting, rolling or hauling giant stones from faraway Wales, some scientists have suggested that it was glaciers, not humans, that carried the bluestones to Salisbury plain. Most archaeologists have remained sceptical about this theory, however, wondering how the forces of nature could possibly have delivered the exact number of stones needed to complete the circle.
早在上世纪70年代，地质学家就开始参与巨石阵建造方式的争论。一些科学家挑战传统观念中勤劳的建筑工人从遥远的威尔士推、拉、滚或拖曳巨石到索尔兹伯里平原的情景，提出了一个不同的观点：巨石是由冰川而非人类运送到索尔兹伯里平原的。然而，大多数考古学家对这个理论持怀疑态度，他们好奇自然力量运送的石头数量为什么恰好足够完成圆环。
第6段
The third phase of construction took place around 2000 BCE. At this point, sandstone slabs – known as ‘sarsens’ – were arranged into an outer crescent or ring; some were assembled into the iconic three-pieced structures called trilithons that stand tall in the centre of Stonehenge. Some 50 of these stones are now visible on the site, which may once have contained many more. Radiocarbon dating has revealed that work continued at Stonehenge until roughly 1600 BCE, with the bluestones in particular being repositioned multiple times.
建造的第三阶段发生在公元前约2000年左右。这时，沙岩石板，也被称为“萨森石”，在外部被排列成新月形或圆形；其中一些被搭建成了巨石阵中心耸立的标志性的三块结构，被称为“三块石”。现在，在该遗址上大约可以见到50块这样的石头，而曾经可能有更多的石头存在。放射性碳测定显示，在公元前约1600年左右，巨石阵的建造工作仍在进行，特别是蓝石被多次重新放置。
第7段
But who were the builders of Stonehenge? In the 17th century, archaeologist John Aubrey made the claim that Stonehenge was the work of druids, who had important religious, judicial and political roles in Celtic society. This theory was widely popularized by the antiquarian William Stukeley, who had unearthed primitive graves at the site. Even today, people who identify as modern druids continue to gather at Stonehenge for the summer solstice. However, in the mid-20th century, radiocarbon dating demonstrated that Stonehenge stood more than 1,000 years before the Celts inhabited the region.
但是，究竟是谁建造了巨石阵呢？在17世纪，考古学家约翰·奥布里声称巨石阵是德鲁伊的作品。他们在凯尔特社会中担任重要的宗教、司法和政治角色。这个理论文章来自老烤鸭雅思被考古学家威廉·斯图克利广为宣传。他在遗址上发现了原始的墓穴。即使在今天，自认为是现代德鲁伊的人仍然在夏至时节在巨石阵聚集。然而，20世纪中叶，放射性碳测定显示巨石阵存在的时间要比凯尔特人在该地区定居的时间早1000多年。
第8段
Many modern historians and archaeologists now agree that several distinct tribes of people contributed to Stonehenge, each undertaking a different phase of its construction. Bones, tools and other artefacts found on the site seem to support this hypothesis. This article is from laokaoya website. The first stage was achieved by Neolithic agrarians who were likely to have been indigenous to the British Isles. Later, it is believed, groups with advanced tools and a more communal way of life left their mark on the site. Some believe that they were immigrants from the European continent, while others maintain that they were probably native Britons, descended from the original builders.
许多现代历史学家和考古学家如今都认同这样一个观点，即几个不同的部落共同参与了巨石阵的建造，每个部落承担建造的不同阶段。在遗址上发现的骨骼、工具和其他文物似乎支持这一假设。第一阶段是由新石器时代的农民完成的，他们可能是不列颠群岛的土著居民。后来，据信，使用先进工具和过着更加群居生活的人们也在这个遗址上留下了痕迹。一些人认为他们是欧洲大陆的移民，而另一些人则认为他们可能是当地的不列颠人，是原始建造者的后裔。
第9段
If the facts surrounding the architects and construction of Stonehenge remain shadowy at best, the purpose of the striking monument is even more of a mystery. While there is consensus among the majority of modern scholars that Stonehenge once served the function of burial ground, they have yet to determine what other purposes it had.
如果说有关巨石阵的建造者和建筑过程仍然模糊的话，这座引人注目的纪念物的目的更是一个谜。尽管大多数现代学者一致认为巨石阵曾经是一个墓地，但他们仍然无法确定它还有哪些其他用途。
第10段
In the 1960s, the astronomer Gerald Hawkins suggested that the cluster of megalithic stones operated as a form of calendar, with different points corresponding to astrological phenomena such as solstices, equinoxes and eclipses occurring at different times of the year. While his theory has received a considerable amount of attention over the decades, critics maintain that Stonehenge’s builders probably lacked the knowledge necessary to predict such events or that England’s dense cloud cover would have obscured their view of the skies.
20世纪60年代，天文学家杰拉德·霍金斯提出一种理论，即巨石阵的石块其实是一种日历，不同位置对应着不同时间的天文现象，如夏至、春分、日食等。尽管他的理论几十年来引起了相当大的关注，但批评者认为巨石阵的建造者可能缺乏预测这些事件所需的知识，或者英国常年存在的浓密云层会遮挡他们对天空的观测。
第11段
More recently, signs of illness and injury in the human remains unearthed at Stonehenge led a group of British archaeologists to speculate that it was considered a place of healing, perhaps because bluestones were thought to have curative powers.
最近，英国一群考古学家在巨石阵出土的人类遗骸中发现了疾病和伤痛的痕迹，这使他们猜测巨石阵可能被认为是一个治疗之地，这或许是因为人们认为蓝石具有治愈的力量。
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