考研英语美文赏读（37）：考古发现 金字塔建造之谜终于破解

　　摘要：考研英语作为一门考研公共课，虽然大家都学了英语十几年，却仍经常有总分过线挂在英语上的情况，因此英语复习不单单是单词、做题。阅读作为考研英语的大头，仅仅做考研真题或许没法满足你的阅读量，因此帮帮之后会不定时推出一篇英文美文，这些文章都与考研英语阅读同源，多读必有好处。

　　►Constructed around 4,500 years ago, the Great Pyramid of Giza is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the only one that remains largely intact.

　　胡夫金字塔建于4500年前，是世界古代七大奇迹之一。在七大奇迹之中，唯有胡夫金字塔得以保存完好至今。

　　For centuries, there has been considerable debate about how exactly the ancient Egyptians built the structure with researchers proposing several different theories.

　　几个世纪以来，关于古埃及人如何修建金字塔，研究人员提出了几种不同的理论。但是关于问题解释一直存在极大争议。

　　Now, a team from the French Institute for Oriental Archaeology in Cairo and the University of Liverpool, England, has uncovered evidence that casts new light on the mysterious construction process of the pyramid—which was built as a tomb for the Pharaoh Khufu (2609 BC-2584 BC).

　　现在，一支研究团队有了新的发现，此次发现进一步揭开了埃及金字塔修建的神秘面纱。此金字塔是为法老胡夫(公元前2609 年-公元前2584年 )修建的坟墓。这支研究团队由开罗的法国东方考古研究院和英国利物浦大学组成。

　　According to a statement from the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, the archaeologists found the remains of a unique system for transporting and removing stone blocks from an alabaster quarry, called Hatnub, in the Eastern Desert..

　　埃及古迹部门的一份声明称，考古学家们发现了从雪花石膏采石场运送石块的独特设施的遗迹。这个名为 Hatnub 采石场位于东部沙漠。

　　Although, the Great Pyramid is mostly made from limestone, the Egyptians commonly used alabaster for some features, such flooring, as well as statues, coffins, tiles, vases and other objects.

　　尽管金字塔大部分由石灰岩构成，埃及人也常使用雪花石膏来塑造一些特殊部位，例如地板、雕塑、棺木，地砖、花瓶和其他物品。

　　The system that the archaeologists discovered to remove the alabaster was composed of a central ramp, surrounded by two staircases which contained several post holes.

　　考古学家发现用来移动雪花石膏的系统由一个主要的斜坡以及两侧包含了桩孔的楼梯构成。

　　“Using a sled which carried a stone block and was attached with ropes to these wooden posts, ancient Egyptians were able to pull up the alabaster blocks out of the quarry on very steep slopes of 20 percent or more,” Yannis Gourdon, one of the directors of the archaeological mission, told LiveScience.

　　一位考古任务的负责人 Yannis Gourdon 对 LiveScience 说：“把石块放在有绳子的滑板上，然后把滑板放在这些可旋转的木桩之上，拉动绳子就可以让埃及人将雪花石膏从采石场运上一个坡度为20%及以上的陡峭斜坡。”

　　The ropes attached to the sled make it easier to pull the sled up the ramp, according to the researchers, who say this is the first time that such a system has been discovered in an ancient Egyptian quarry.

　　据首次在采石场发现这个系统的调查者说，在绳索的作用下，这些滑板更容易在斜坡上拉动。

　　The findings could provide insights into the enduring mystery of how the massive limestone blocks, which make up the majority of the pyramid, were hauled up its sides.

　　这个发现为“如何将金字塔主体的石灰岩材料向上运输”的难题提供了思路。

　　“This kind of system has never been discovered anywhere else," Gourdon said. "The study of the tool marks and the presence of two inscriptions led us to the conclusion that this system dates back at least to Khufu’s reign, the builder of the Great Pyramid in Giza.”

　　Gourdon 说，这种系统在以前从未在任何地方出现过，通过碑文和工具标号可以推断出这个系统的形成时间至少可以推测到胡夫（胡夫金字塔的主人）统治时期。

　　“That means that during the time of Khufu, ancient Egyptians knew how to move huge blocks of stone using very steep slopes,” he added.

　　他补充道，“这意味着，在胡夫时期，古埃及人知道如何用非常陡峭的斜坡移动巨大的石块。“

　　Therefore, they could have used it for the construction [of] his pyramid, Gourdon said.

　　“因此，他们可以用它来建造他的金字塔，” Gourdon 说。

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