考满分 toefl

1 .<-NARRATOR:->Listen to part of a lecture in an archaeology class.

旁白：听一段节选自考古学课堂的讲座。

1 .<-FEMALE PROFESSOR:->One of the important aspects of the field of archaeology, uh, 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.

教授：考古学领域的一个重要方面，使我对这一领域感兴趣的一件事是，看似无关紧要的事情能突然改变我们对文化的看法。

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

我们总是有新的发现，它有可能完全挑战人们普遍持有的信念。

3 .Take something like the banana, for example. It turns out that this ordinary fruit may be forcing scientists to rewrite major parts of African history.

以香蕉举例。事实证明，这种普通的水果可能迫使科学家重写非洲历史的主要部分！

1 .We know that bananas were introduced to Africa via Southeast Asia, and until recently we thought we knew when they were introduced: about 2,000 years ago.

我们知道香蕉是通过东南亚引入非洲的，直到最近，我们也以为我们知道它们是什么时候被引进的：大约2000年前。

2 .But discoveries in Uganda- that's in eastern Africa- are throwing that into question.

但是在东非乌干达的一些发现却开始使它陷入质疑。

3 .Scientists studying soil samples there discovered evidence of bananas in sediment that was 5,000 years old.

研究那里土壤样品的科学家发现了5000年前香蕉沉淀物的证据。

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

现在让我解释一下，找到古代香蕉的踪迹不是那么容易。

2 .The fruit is soft and doesn't have any hard seeds that might survive over the ages, so after 5,000 years you might think there would be nothing left to study.

这种水果很软，而且没有任何硬的种子能使它存活多年。因此5000年后，你可能会以为没有任何东西可以研究了。

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

但是对于考古学家来说，很幸运的是所有的植物在它们的茎和叶子上都有一种被称为植物岩的物质。

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

植物岩是由二氧化硅形成的微小结构，而且它们不腐烂。

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

当植物死掉或者腐烂的时候，它们会留下植物岩。

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

因为不同种植物会产生形状不同的植物岩，科学家可以从这种古老的残余物质判断是哪种植物遗留下来的。

1 .So those scientists in Uganda dug down to sediments that were 5,000 years old-and what do you think they found?

因此在乌干达的科学家挖到5000年前的沉淀物，你们猜他们发现了什么？

2 .Banana phytoliths.

香蕉植物岩！

3 .Obviously, this meant that we had to rethink our previous notions about when bananas first arrived in Africa, but-well, this discovery had other implications for history.

很明显，这意味着我们要重新思考之前的观点，关于香蕉首次抵达非洲的时间了，但是这个发现还有其他跟历史相关的含意。

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

香蕉刚出现在考古记录里，我们便知道非洲和东南亚有过交流。

2 .It would appear now that this contact occurred much earlier than previously thought, al-although-now here is where the uncertainty comes in-we don't really have any solid evidence of trade between the peoples of these two regions that long ago.

现在表明似乎这个交流比我们之前想象得要早很多，但是现在这里有不确定因素-我们没有任何真正的确凿证据能够表明这两个地域的人民在那么久远之前有过贸易往来。

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-but any such evidence is missing from the archaeological record.

据推测，如果人们把香蕉带到非洲，他们应该也会带其他的物品：瓷器、工具、各种用做贸易或日常生活的物品，但是考古记录没有这方面的证据。

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

香蕉早期的出现也表明农业在非洲这部分开始的时间比科学家们想象得要早。

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

你看，香蕉至少是可食用的种类，必须要在人的干预下才能生长。

3 .They have to be cultivated-uh, people need to plant them and care for them.

它们必须要人类耕种才能生长，人们需要种植它们并照顾它们。

4 .So if bananas were present in Uganda 5,000 years ago, w-we'd have to assume th-th-that someone planted them.

所以如果香蕉5000年前就出现在乌干达的话，我们应该可以假定是有人类耕种的。

5 .But there are questions about this, too.

但是这个理论也有一些问题。

6 .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一种够养活很多人的主食，就像它们近些年在乌干达那样。

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

如果香蕉几千年前就种植了，那为什么我们没有看到在这一地区大量人口增长的证据呢？

1 .So we're left with this mystery.

所以这还是未解答的谜团。

2 .We have what appears to be strong biological evidence that bananas were being cultivated in Uganda as early as 5,000 years ago, but we're missing other kinds of evidence that would conclusively prove that this is so.

我们有看似强有力的生物证据表明香蕉早在5000年前就在乌干达耕种了，但是我们缺少其他可以最后证明这个结论的一些证据。

3 .Clearly, more research needs to be done- perhaps by some young scholar from this university?

很明显，还需要做更多的研究。或许这个大学的一些年轻学者可以做？

4 .At least give it some thought.

至少思考一下它。