VOA慢速英语2020 澳大利亚西海岸发现7,000年前的工具（在线收听）

Scientists say they have found Australias first underwater archeological areas off the countrys west coast.

科学家称，他们在澳大利亚西海岸发现了该国第一个水下考古区。 

The sites are believed to be 7,000 years old. The area where they were found was once dry land.

这些遗址被认为已有7,000年的历史。被发现的这块区域曾是一片旱地。 

Archeologists say study of the hundreds of found objectswill increase understanding of the culture and technological development of Australias aboriginal people.

考古学家表示，研究这些新发现的数百件物品，将增进对澳大利亚原住民文化和技术发展的了解。 

The two ancient sites are now underwater in the Dampier Archipelago island group.Divers from Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia, made the discovery.

这两个古老的遗址位于现在的丹皮尔群岛水下。这一发现来自弗林德斯大学的潜水员，该大学位于南澳大利亚州首府阿德莱德。

The area was already well known for its rich ancient history and its rock-art carvings.However, the two sites are the first confirmed underwater places holding evidence of human civilization in Australia and the area around it.

该地区曾以其丰富的古代历史以及岩石雕刻艺术而闻名。但是，这两处遗址是第一个经过确认的，有证据表明在澳大利亚及其周围地区拥有人类文明的水下遗址。

Michael OLeary is a marine geoscientist and co-director of the project to study the tools.He told Reuters that his team wants to study "the skill, the technology, how they made these tools,to see if they represent a different cultural approach to tool making that we havent yet identified in Australia."

海洋地貌学家迈克尔·奥莱里是该项目的共同负责人，负责研究这些工具。他告诉路透社，他的团队希望可以研究“他们当时的技能、技术、以及他们是如何制造这些工具的，以了解这些工具是否代表了不同的工具制造方法的文化，而这种方法是我们此前尚未在澳大利亚发现的。”

Archeologist Jonathan Benjamin also leads the project.He said the scientists have found cutting and grinding tools that are thousands of years old.

考古学家乔纳森·本杰明也是该项目的负责人。他称，科学家已经发现了数千年前的切割和研磨工具。

"You can start to recreate what the people were doing and how they were making their life way in their economy," Benjamin said.

本杰明说：“你可以开始再现当时的经济情况下，人们在做什么以及他们是如何生活的。” 

Information from the discovery is being studied to find out how old the objects are.However, the radiocarbon dating method and study of sea-level changes show the areas are at least 7,000 years old.

研究人员正在研究从这一发现中所得的信息，以查明这些物品的年代。但是，放射性碳年代测定和海平面变化研究表明该地区至少有7,000年的历史。

Benjamin said the majority of objects remain on the seabed. The ones taken have been scanned for further research.They will then be given to the indigenous landowners, the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation.

本杰明表示，大多数物体仍留在海床上。被拿走的物品已进行了扫描以便进行进一步的研究。之后，他们会将这些物品交给土著土地所有者，也就是Murujuga原住民组织。

Im Mario Ritter Jr.

小马里奥·里特报道。