考满分 toefl

1 .Listen to part of a lecture in an archaeology class.

听一段考古学课程的演讲

1 .One of the important aspects of the field of archaeology, one of the things that excites me about the field, is that seemingly insignificant things can suddenly change the way we think about a culture.

考古领域的一个重要方面......关于这个领域一件能让我兴奋的事情......就是看似微不足道的事情可能会突然改变我们对文化的思考方向。

2 .We are always making new discoveries that have the potential to challenge widely held beliefs.

些新的发现有潜力去挑战被广泛接受的信念

1 .Take something like the banana, for example.

以香蕉为例。

2 .It turns out that this ordinary fruit may be forcing scientists to rewrite major parts of African history.

事实证明，这个普通的水果可能迫使科学家们重新改写非洲历史的重要组成部分！

3 .We know the bananas were introduced to Africa via Southeast Asia.

我们知道，香蕉是从东南亚引进到非洲的。

4 .And until recently, we thought we knew when they were introduced - about 2,000 years ago.

直到最近，我们一直以为，香蕉是大约2000年前被引进的，

1 .But discoveries in Uganda, that's In Eastern Africa, are throwing that into question.

但在乌干达的一些发现，在东非，对这一事实提出质疑。

2 .Scientists studying soil samples there discovered evidence of bananas in sediment that was 5000 years old.

科学家研究土壤样本发现，在地层中有香蕉存在了5000年的历史证据！

1 .Now, let me explain that it's not easy to find traces of ancient bananas.

现在，让我来解释一下，为何不容易找到古老的香蕉的踪迹。

2 .The fruit is soft and doesn't have any hard seeds that might survive over the ages.

这种水果是软的，没有硬的种子能够存活多年。

3 .So after 5000 years, you might think there would be nothing left to study.

所以，经过5,000年，你可能会认为没有物质残余进行研究。

4 .Well, fortunately for archaeologists, all plants contain what are called phytoliths in their stems and leaves.

究。幸运的是，所有的植物的茎叶里都含有所谓的植物岩

1 .Phytoliths are microscopic structures made of silica, and they do not decay.

植物岩是由二氧化硅组成的微观结构，并且它们不衰减。

2 .When plants die and rot away, they leave these phytoliths behind.

当植物死亡，腐烂，它们留下了这些植物岩。

3 .Because different plants produce differently shaped phytoliths, scientists can identify the type of plant from ancient remains.

由于不同的植物产生不同形状的植物岩，科学家可以从古代残留物中确定是哪种植物类型。

1 .So, those scientists in Uganda, dug down to sediments that were 5000 years old.

因此，这些科学家在乌干达，挖掘5000年的历史沉淀。

2 .And what do you think they found?

那么，你认为他们发现了什么？

3 .Banana phytoliths.

香蕉植物岩！

4 .Obviously this meant that we had to rethink our previous notions about when bananas first arrived in Africa.

显然，这意味着我们不得不重新思考我们先前对香蕉首次引入非洲的观念。

5 .But, well, this discovery had other implications for history.

但是，这个发现对于历史还有其他含义。

1 .As soon as bananas appear in the archaeological record, we know we have contact between Africa and Southeast Asia.

当香蕉出现在考古记录中，我们知道非洲和东南亚之间有联系。

2 .It would appear now that this contact occurred much earlier than previously thought.

现在看来，这种联系发生的时间比我们之前认为的要早得多。

1 .Although... now here's where the uncertainty comes in.

虽然......有些不确定的地方......

2 .We don't really have any solid evidence of trade between the peoples of these two regions that long ago.

我们真的没有很多牢靠的证据证明这两个地区的人们在那么早就有贸易往来。

3 .Presumably, if people were bringing bananas to Africa, they'd also be bringing other things too: pottery, tools... all sorts of objects made for trade or daily use.

据推测，如果有人带着香蕉去非洲，他们还会带去其他的一些东西：陶器，工具......种种日常使用的物品。

4 .But any such evidence is missing from the archaeological record.

但是，任何此类证据没有在考古记录中找到。

1 .The early appearance of bananas also suggests that agriculture began in this part of Africa earlier than scientists imagined.

香蕉的提前出现也表明，农业在非洲的这个地区开始的时间比科学家想象的要早。

2 .You see, bananas, at least the edible kind, can't grow without human intervention.

看，香蕉，可以食用的品种，不能在没有人为干预的情况下生长。

3 .They have to be cultivated.

它们必须得栽培

4 .People need to plant them and care for them.

人们需要种植、照料。

5 .So if bananas were present in Uganda 5000 years ago, we would have to assume... that... that... that someone planted them.

所以，如果香蕉5000年前在乌干达就出现过，我们将不得不猜想...那…那里有人栽种。

1 .But, there are questions about this too.

不过，关于这一点也有问题。

2 .We know that bananas can be a staple food that can support large populations, as they did in Uganda in the more recent past.

。我们知道，香蕉可以是养活大量人口的主食，因为在乌干达的近况就是香蕉确实作为他们的主食。

3 .If bananas were grown thousands of years ago, why don't we see evidence of large populations thriving in the area earlier?

如果香蕉在几千年前就被种植，我们为什么不看看在这个地区早期是否有大量人口兴旺的证据？

1 .So we are left with this mystery.

所以，我们只剩下这个谜

2 .We have what appears to be strong biological evidence that bananas were being cultivated in Uganda as early as 5000 years ago.

我们似乎有很牢靠的生物证据表明香蕉早在5000年前就在乌干达种植了，

3 .But we are missing other kinds of evidence that would conclusively prove that this is so.

但我们缺少其他种类的能够证明这一点的证据。

1 .Clearly, more research needs to be done.

显然，需要更多的研究。

2 .Perhaps by some young scholars from this university?

或许这个学校的一些新的学者能给出答案？

3 .At least give it some thought.

至少思考看看。