普通高中课程标准实验教科书 英语选修8 Unit 5 Meeting your anc

A group of students (S) from England has come to the Zhoukoudian caves for a visit. An archaeologist (A) is showing them round.
A:  Welcome to the Zhoukoudian caves here in China. It is a great pleasure to meet you students from England, who are interested in archaeology¹. You must be aware that it's here that we found evidence of some of the earliest people who lived in this part of the world. We've been excavating² here for many years and ...
S1: I'm sorry to interrupt you but how could they live here? There are only rocks and trees.
A: Good question. You are an acute³ observer. We have found human and animal bones in those caves higher up the hill as well as tools and other objects. So we think it is reasonable to assume they lived in these caves, regardless of the cold.
S2: How did they keep warm? They couldn't have mats, blankets or quilts like we do. It must have been very uncomfortable.
A: We've discovered fireplaces⁴ in the centre of the caves where they made fires. That would have kept them warm, cooked the food and scared wild beasts away as well. We have been excavating layers of ash almost six metres thick, which suggests that they might have kept the fire burning all winter. We haven't found any doors but we think they might have hung animal skins at the cave mouth to keep out the cold during the freezing winter.
S3: What wild animals were there all that time ago?
A: Well, we've been finding the bones of tigers and bears in the caves, and we think these were their most dangerous enemies. Now what do you think this tells us about the life of these early people? (shows picture of a sewing needle)
S2.: Gosh! That's a needle. Goodness, does that mean they repaired things?
A: What else do you think it might have been used for?
S4: Let me look at it. It's at most three centimetres long. Ah yes, it seems to be made of bone. I wonder how they made the hole for the ...
S2: (interrupting) Do you mean that they made their own clothes? Where did they get the material?
A: They didn't have material like we have today. Can you guess what they used?
Sl: Wow! Did they wear clothes made entirely⁵ of animal skins? How did they prepare them? I'm  sure they were quite heavy to cut and sew together.
A: Our evidence suggests that they did wear clothes made from animal skins. We continue discovering tools that were sharpeners for other tools. It seems that they used the sharpened stone tools to cut up animals and remove their skin. Then smaller scrapers were probably used to remove the fat and meat from the skin. After that they would rub an ample⁶ amount of salt onto the skin to make it soft. Finally, they would cut it and sew the pieces together. Quite a difficult and messy task! Now look at this. (shows a necklace)
S2:Why, it's a primitive⁷ necklace. Did early people really care about their appearance like we do? It's lovely!
A:Yes, and so well preserved. What do you think it's made of?.
S4:Let me see. Oh, I think some of the beads⁸ are made of animal bones but others are made of shells.
A:How clever you are! One bone is actually an animal tooth and the shells are from the seaside. Can you identify any other bones?
S1:This one looks very much like a fish bone. Is that reasonable?
A:Yes, indeed, as the botanical analyses have shown us, all the fields around here used to be part of a large shallow lake. Probably there were fish in it.
S3:But a lake is not the sea. We are miles from the sea, so how did the seashells get here?
A:Perhaps there was trade between early peoples or they travelled to the seaside on their journeys. We know that they moved around, following the herds⁹ of animals. They didn't grow their own crops, but picked fruit when it ripened¹⁰ and hunted animals. That's why they are called hunters and gatherers. Now, why don't we go and visit the caves?

1 archaeology   

n.考古学

参考例句：

• She teaches archaeology at the university.她在大学里教考古学。
• He displayed interest in archaeology.他对考古学有兴趣。

2 excavating   

v.挖掘( excavate的现在分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘

参考例句：

• A bulldozer was employed for excavating the foundations of the building. 推土机用来给楼房挖地基。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A new Danish expedition is again excavating the site in annual summer digs. 一支新的丹麦探险队又在那个遗址上进行一年一度的夏季挖掘。 来自辞典例句

3 acute   

adj.严重的，激烈的，敏锐的，急性的，尖的

参考例句：

• A period of acute depression can sometimes follow childbirth.分娩之后可能会有一段时间的急性抑郁期。
• The publication comes as the answer to an acute demand.这一出版物是为满足急需而出版的。

4 fireplaces   

壁炉( fireplace的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The shop was an old converted house with many large, disused fireplaces and tall, narrow chimneys. 那是一座老式的、经过改造的房子，店里有许多废置不用的大壁炉和又高又窄的烟囱。 来自新概念英语第三册
• When the central- heating was installed, the fireplaces were walled up. 安装暖气设备之后，便把壁炉封闭起来了。

5 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

6 ample   

adj.充分的，富裕的，宽敞的，宽大的

参考例句：

• Let's produce ample food and clothing with our own hands.自己动手，丰衣足食。
• The supply is ample and prices are stable.供应充沛，物价稳定。

7 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

8 beads   

n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链

参考例句：

• a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
• Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。

9 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。

10 ripened   

v.成熟，使熟( ripen的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They're collecting the ripened reddish berries. 他们正采集熟了的淡红草莓。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The branches bent low with ripened fruits. 成熟的果实压弯了树枝。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》