太阳科普 第2期

 This is Orkney to live here is to know the importance of the sun.  这是奥克尼，住在这里的人对太阳的重要性了然于心

In the summer the days are long and full of light.  夏季时，这里的白昼漫长明亮

In December it's a different story.  但到了12月就完全变了样

It's midwinter.  现在时值隆冬

It's about 11 in the morning and it's still not light completely.  已经上午十一点了，天还只是濛濛亮

There's a strong wind coming in off the Atlantic.  大西洋上吹来阵阵强风

And it's cold and it's wet and  天气又冷又湿

that's pretty much typical of this time of the year up here.  这里每年一到这个时节，就会这样

Yet despite the cold,in the stone age,  尽管寒冷，五千年前的石器时代

5000 years ago a civilisation¹ thrived here.  曾有文明在这里兴盛发展

The island is covered in the remains² of their society.  岛上遍布那个社会留下来的遗迹

The ruins are full of mystery.  废墟弥漫着神秘的气息

We know little about the people who lived here.  我们对住在这里的人所知甚少

But they did leave evidence of the important role  但由他们留下的线索可以判断

the sun played in their lives.  太阳在他们生活中所扮演的重要角色

MaesHowe - a thousand years older than the pyramids  年代比金字塔还早一千年的梅萧韦古墓葬

is one of finest examples of stone age architecture.  是最杰出的石器时代建筑典范之一

On entering MaesHowe you have to crouch³ right down  进梅萧韦古墓葬时，得要拱背弯腰

and you're confronted with a passage  眼前的通道

which seems to actually go on and on and on,  似乎没完没了

slightly, feel an impression of going uphill, up a slope.  你有种走上坡路的感觉

And coming through clearly another doorway⁴.  穿过另一道门

Suddenly the whole thing opens out into the most amazing chamber⁵.  然后眼前豁然开朗，看到一座惊人的石室

This alone is probably the highest and largest enclosed space  这可能是新石器时代，奥克尼人看过

the Neolithic⁶ Orkadians would have experienced.  最大、最高的室内空间

When it was excavated⁷,  十九世纪

when it was first entered back in the 19th century the clay floor  这里刚被人发现的时候，这里的黏土地板上

was littered with broken pieces of human skull⁸.  布满了人类颅骨的碎片

This is a place of the dead.  这是个属于死者的地方

This is a house of the dead.  是亡灵之屋

Most of the time the occupants of  墓穴中的死者多半处于

the tomb were left in complete darkness.  伸手不见五指的黑暗中

Then at sunset on the Winter Solstice  但是到了冬至…

the shortest day of the year  即一年中最短的一天在落日时分

something amazing happens.  会发生一件惊人的事

The light of the setting sun shines straight up  落日的余晖射进入口隧道

the entrance tunnel and illuminates⁹ the interior.  照亮墓穴内部

Well the significance is that it's marking  其重要性是标示了一年中

the shortest time of the year,  白昼最短、日照最少的一天

with the least light,and from that point on,  从这天开始

slowly and gradually,the light is going to increase,  日照会渐渐增加

the days are going to grow longer.  白昼会越来越长

So what's happening here,is that the dead,  也就是说他们在一年中

the ancestors, are being awoken on that shortest day.  白昼最短的一天，唤醒往生的祖先

 

1 civilisation   

n.文明，文化，开化，教化

参考例句：

• Energy and ideas are the twin bases of our civilisation.能源和思想是我们文明的两大基石。
• This opera is one of the cultural totems of Western civilisation.这部歌剧是西方文明的文化标志物之一。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 crouch   

v.蹲伏，蜷缩，低头弯腰；n.蹲伏

参考例句：

• I crouched on the ground.我蹲在地上。
• He crouched down beside him.他在他的旁边蹲下来。

4 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

5 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

6 neolithic   

adj.新石器时代的

参考例句：

• Cattle were first domesticated in Neolithic times.新石器时代有人开始驯养牛。
• The monument was Stone Age or Neolithic.该纪念碑是属于石器时代或新石器时代的。

7 excavated   

v.挖掘( excavate的过去式和过去分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘

参考例句：

• The site has been excavated by archaeologists. 这个遗址已被考古学家发掘出来。
• The archaeologists excavated an ancient fortress. 考古学家们发掘出一个古堡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

9 illuminates   

v.使明亮( illuminate的第三人称单数 )；照亮；装饰；说明

参考例句：

• The light shines on from over there and illuminates the stage. 灯光从那边照进来，照亮了舞台。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sun illuminates the sky. 太阳照亮了天空。 来自《简明英汉词典》