英语听力：自然百科 意大利的死亡祭礼

 In Fontanelle, Italy, a large ancient cemetery¹ with an unusual history is about to reopen. It is a place where the living try to reconnect with lost loved ones through the skulls³ of strangers.

 

The site is an ancient rock quarry⁴. Ancient Greeks mined stones here to build, among other things, the great temples and homes of Naples. The huge caves left by excavations⁵ eventually became common graves for victims of disease and other causes during the 1600s, and for those who couldn't afford a proper burial.

 

It was during the 1600s that Fontanelle officially started its function as a mass grave. The plague of 1656 killed many of Naples residents, and Fontanelle was used as the burial site for the deceased.

According to the Associated Press, it is estimated that Fontanelle houses the remains⁶ of almost one million people, nearly all anonymous⁷. Fontanelle became the site of another unusual custom after a priest and others put thousands of accumulated bones in the caves in order.    

  

According to the Underground Naples Association, women, whose husbands, sons or brothers were killed in faraway countries began adopting the anonymous skulls of the necropolis as if they were their own relatives.

 

"The cult⁸ of the dead started here at the cemetery of Fontanelle between the First and Second World Wars. Women used to come here and chose a random⁹ skull² found alongside these caves. They would it up and take care of the skull, and they used to light up a candle for the dead next to it. All this is in exchange in order to get information about their beloved ones who died and never came back."

 

According to a popular local custom that is rarely practiced today, some believe the skulls were considered purgatory¹⁰ souls waiting to rise to heaven. Only the prayers of those who were still alive could release them from the purgatory. So the skulls needed to be adopted. The adoption¹¹ included cleaning the skulls, praying for them, and putting flowers nearby and lighting¹² candles.

 

"I used to buy flowers and votive lamps together with my friends and colleagues every Monday. Then we used to put flowers and lamps in front of the skulls we wanted to take care of."

 

"Why were you doing this?"

 

"Because they were dead, as well as our were dead."

 

The Associated Press reports some people believe their prayers had extraordinary results, such as pregnancies¹³, recovery from illness or miracles. The underground cemetery was eventually closed. Today it is being restored and is scheduled to reopen in 2009.

1 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

2 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。

3 skulls   

颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜

参考例句：

• One of the women's skulls found exceeds in capacity that of the average man of today. 现已发现的女性颅骨中，其中有一个的脑容量超过了今天的普通男子。
• We could make a whole plain white with skulls in the moonlight! 我们便能令月光下的平原变白，遍布白色的骷髅！

4 quarry   

n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找

参考例句：

• Michelangelo obtained his marble from a quarry.米开朗基罗从采石场获得他的大理石。
• This mountain was the site for a quarry.这座山曾经有一个采石场。

5 excavations   

n.挖掘( excavation的名词复数 )；开凿；开凿的洞穴（或山路等）；（发掘出来的）古迹

参考例句：

• The excavations are open to the public. 发掘现场对公众开放。
• This year's excavations may reveal ancient artifacts. 今年的挖掘可能会发现史前古器物。 来自辞典例句

6 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。

7 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

8 cult   

n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜

参考例句：

• Her books aren't bestsellers,but they have a certain cult following.她的书算不上畅销书，但有一定的崇拜者。
• The cult of sun worship is probably the most primitive one.太阳崇拜仪式或许是最为原始的一种。

9 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

10 purgatory   

n.炼狱；苦难；adj.净化的，清洗的

参考例句：

• Every step of the last three miles was purgatory.最后3英里时每一步都像是受罪。
• Marriage,with peace,is this world's paradise;with strife,this world's purgatory.和谐的婚姻是尘世的乐园，不和谐的婚姻则是人生的炼狱。

11 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

12 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

13 pregnancies   

怀孕，妊娠( pregnancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Since the wartime population needed replenishment, pregnancies were a good sign. 最后一桩倒不失为好现象，战时人口正该补充。
• She's had three pregnancies in four years. 她在四年中怀孕叁次。