新概念英语第三册课文Lesson 3 An unknown goddess 无名女神

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新概念英语第三册课文Lesson 3 An unknown goddess 无名女神

Some time ago, an interesting discovery was made by archaeologists on the Aegean island of Kea. An American team explored a temple which stands in an ancient city on the promontory of Ayia Irini. The city at one time must have been prosperous, for it enjoyed a high level of civilization. Houses, often three storeys high, were built of stone. They had large rooms with beautifully decorated walls. The city was even equipped with a drainage system, for a great many clay pipes were found beneath the narrow streets.

The temple which the archaeologists explored was used as a place of worship from the 15th century B.C. until Roman times. In the most sacred room of the temple, clay fragments of 15 statues were found. Each of these represented a goddess and had, at one time, been painted.

The body of one statue was found among remains dating from the 15th century B.C. Its missing head happened to be among remains of the 5th century B.C. This head must have been found in Classical times and carefully preserved. It was very old and precious even then. When the archaeologists reconstructed the fragments, they were amazed to find that the goddess turned out to be a very modern-looking woman. She stood three feet high and her hands rested on her hips.

She was wearing a full-length skirt which swept the ground. Despite her great age, she was very graceful indeed, but, so far, the archaeologists have been unable to discover her identity.

New words and expressions 生词与短语

goddess(title) /'gɔdis/ n.女神

sacred(1. 10)/'seikrid/ adj.宗教的，神圣的

archaeologist(1. 1) /'a:ki'ɔldʒist/ n.考古学家

fragment(1. 10) /'frægmənt/n.碎片

Aegean(1. 2) /i:'dʒi:ən/ adj.爱琴海的

remains(1. 12)/ri'menz/ n.遗物，遗迹，废墟

explore(1. 2) /ik'splɔ:/ v.考察，勘探

classical(1. 13)/'klæsikəl/ adj.(希腊和罗马)古文化的

promontory(1. 3) /'prɔməntəri/ n.海角

prosperous(1. 4) /'prɔspərəs/ adj.(经济上)繁荣

reconstruct(1. 14) /'ruikn'strkt/ v.修复的，昌盛的

rest(1. 16)/rest/ v.倚放，放置

civilization(1. 5) /'sivəl-ai'zeiʃən/ n.文明

hip(1. 16) /hip/ n.屁股，臀部

storey(1. 5) /'stɔ:ri/ n.楼层

full-length(1. 16) /'ful'leŋθ/adj.(裙衣)拖地长的

drainage(1. 7)/'dreinidʒ/ n.排水

graceful(1. 17) /'greisfəl/ adj.优雅的

worship(1. 9) /'wə:ʃip/ n.祟拜

identity(1. 17) /ai'dentiti/ n.身份

Notes on the text 课文注释

1 the Aegean island of Kea,爱琴海的基亚岛。爱琴海是东地中海的一部分，位于希腊半岛和小亚细亚之间，它包括希腊半岛以外的许多岛屿。基亚岛位于希腊半岛东南方的海域里。

2 Ayia irini,阿伊亚.依里尼，意为“圣依里尼”，Irini是希腊文，意为“和平”。

3 The city at one time must have been prosperous,for it enjoyed a high level of civilization.这座古城肯定一度很繁荣，因为它曾享有高度的文明。must have been是对过去的推测。at one time,一度。

4 Roman times,罗马时代。指古罗马(约公元前200 -公元400)时期，那时罗马人在欧洲建立了帝国。

5 date from,追溯到。

6 Classical times,指古希腊，古罗马时代。

7 the goddess turned out to be...,那位女神原来是...。

本文参考译文

不久之前，在爱琴海的基亚岛上，考古工作者有一项有趣的发现。一个美国考古队在阿伊亚.依里尼海角的一座古城里考察了一座庙宇。这座古城肯定一度很繁荣，因为它曾享有高度的文明，房子一般有3层楼高，用石块修建。里面房间很大，墙壁装饰华丽。城里甚至还敷设了排水系统，因为在狭窄的街道底下发现了许许多多陶土制作的排水管道。

考古工作者考察的这座庙宇从公元前15世纪直到罗马时代一直是祭祀祈祷的场所。在庙中最神圣的一间殿堂里发现了15尊陶雕像的碎片。每一尊雕像代表一位女神，而且一度上过色。其中有一尊雕像，她的躯体是在公元前15世纪的历史文物中发现的，而她那身异处的脑袋却碰巧是在公元前5世纪的文物中找到的。她的脑袋一定是在古希腊罗马时代就为人所发现，并受到精心的保护。却使在当时，它也属历史悠久的珍奇之物。考古工作者把这些碎片重新拼装起来后，惊奇地发现那位女神原来是一位相貌十分摩登的女郎。

她身高3英尺，双手叉腰。身穿一条拖地长裙，尽管上了年纪，但体态确实优美。不过，考古工作者至今未能确定这位女神的身份。

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