Lesson 3 An unknown goddess 无名女神

How did the archaeologists know that the statue was a goddess?

1. 原文

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.

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…。

explore /ɪkˈsplɔː(r)/

• v．考察，勘探，探讨，探究

promontory /ˈprɒməntri/

• n.岬，海角；隆起，隆突

ancient /ˈeɪnʃənt/

• adj. 古代的，远古的；古老的，年代久远的；老的，老掉牙的
• n.（尤指埃及、希腊和罗马的）古代人；<古>老头

prosperous /ˈprɒspərəs/

• adj.繁荣的，富足的

storey /ˈstɔːri/

• n.楼层，层

decorated /ˈdekəreɪtɪd/

• adj. 装饰的，修饰的；哥特式建筑的
• v. 装饰，修饰；粉刷或裱糊（房间），装修；授予（某人）勋章（decorate 的过去式和过去分词）

drainage /ˈdreɪnɪdʒ/

• n. 排水系统；排水，排泄；排出的水，污水

clay /kleɪ/

• n. 黏土，陶土；（网球场的）硬固泥地，红土网球场；<文>肉体；似黏土的东西；黄棕翼欧洲蛾
• v. 用黏土处理
• clay pipe 陶土制作的管道
• clay fragments 粘土的片段

worship /ˈwɜːʃɪp/

• v. 敬奉（神）；爱慕，崇拜
• n. 敬神，拜神；崇拜，爱慕；<英> 阁下（对地位高的人的尊称）

sacred /ˈseɪkrɪd/

• adj. 神的，神圣的；宗教的，宗教性的；受尊重的，受崇敬的；不可侵犯的，不容干涉的

Its missing head happened to be among remains of the 5th century B.C

• happen to do：碰巧做某事；偶然做。【例】Do you happen to know him [her] ?说不定你认识他[她]？/ I happened to meet her on Ginza.我碰巧在银座和她相遇。
• happen to be：碰巧在（某处）；碰巧是【例】The man who bumped against me happened to be my former teacher. 撞上我的那个人恰巧是我以前的老师。
• among remains 是状语，“在遗迹中”；of the fifth century B.C. 是定语，“公元前五世纪的”。

remains /rɪˈmeɪnz/

• n. 剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗骸；古迹，遗迹
• v. 仍然是，保持不变；逗留，留下；剩余，余留（remain 的第三人称单数形式）

Classical times ：古希腊罗马时代

rested /ˈrestɪd/

• adj. 精力充沛的；休息得好的
• v. 休息（rest 的过去分词）；静止
• rest on 依赖于，依靠于

they were amazed to find that the goddess turned out to be a very modern-looking woman

turn out 为短语动词，当表示“结果，原来（情况是）”的意思时，可接形容词、副词、名词、不定式（常用 to be）、从句（用先行词 it 作主语），间或接介词短语等其他结构。如：

• The day turned out fine.结果这天天气很好。
• She’ll put the blame on us if it turns out badly.如果结果不好，她会怪我们。
• The English evening turned out a great success.结果英语晚会开得很成功。
• This turned out to be a great help to the weavers.结果这对纺织工人很有好处。
• It turned out that he was Xiao Zhang’s father.原来他是小张的爸爸。
• But it didn’t turn out like that.但结果并不如此。

2. 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。