VOA标准英语 Archaeologists Closing In on Possible Site of Cleopa

A team of archaeologists from Egypt and the Dominican Republic believe that they are on the verge¹ of locating the burial site of legendary² Egyptian Queen Cleopatra and her illustrious Roman consort³, Marc Antony. The team, doing excavations⁵ near the famous Egyptian port city of Alexandria, uncovered a number of coins, funerary masks and gold-covered mummies indicating they could be close to discovering the site.

Cleopatra and Mark Antony were buried together, after a disastrous⁶ defeat at the Battle of Actium in 30 B.C., according to the Roman historian Plutarch. Marc Antony is believed to have committed suicide with his sword and Cleopatra is reputed to have poisoned herself.
　
Zahi Hawas

Excavation⁴ work near the temple of Taposiris Magna has been underway for three years.

The head of Egypt's Council of Antiquities⁷, Dr. Zahi Hawas describes what his team and another team from the Dominican Republic have been doing.

"We started our excavation about three years ago," he said. "We found about 22 coins, has the shape of Cleopatra, two statues of Cleopatra, another statue of a king and we found also tunnels in the area that shows that the temple has been used for burial, but the most important discovery that we made this week, [is] that we discovered the big large cemetery⁸. About 20 tombs have been found, cut in the rock, and in one of them, about 10 mummies, some of them were covered with gold."

Kathleen Martinez, who leads an archaeological team from the Dominican Republic participating in the excavations, has found three sites near the Taposiris temple, 50 kilometers west of the ancient port city of Alexandria, where she believes Antony and Cleopatra could be buried.

Hawas says he is excited about the prospects⁹, after years of searching.

"The discovery of the tombs around the temple can show that there is [are] important persons that could be buried inside the temple," he said. "We made a survey to [of] the whole temple by radar¹⁰, and the radar showed three spots that we are going to excavate¹¹, this week, and we hope that we will be able to discover the tomb of Cleopatra and Marc Antony, and this discovery in my opinion will be the most important discovery of the 21st Century."

Dr. Hawas also says that coins, bearing the likeness¹² of Queen Cleopatra, reveal that she was quite a "beauty", contradicting a recent study by a British University team, which contended that she was ugly and had a crooked¹³ nose.

1 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

2 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

3 consort   

v.相伴；结交

参考例句：

• They went in consort two or three together.他们三三两两结伴前往。
• The nurses are instructed not to consort with their patients.护士得到指示不得与病人交往。

4 excavation   

n.挖掘，发掘；被挖掘之地

参考例句：

• The bad weather has hung up the work of excavation.天气不好耽误了挖掘工作。
• The excavation exposed some ancient ruins.这次挖掘暴露出一些古遗迹。

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 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

7 antiquities   

n.古老( antiquity的名词复数 )；古迹；古人们；古代的风俗习惯

参考例句：

• There is rest and healing in the contemplation of antiquities. 欣赏古物有休息和疗养之功。 来自辞典例句
• Bertha developed a fine enthusiasm for the antiquities of London. 伯沙对伦敦的古迹产生了很大的热情。 来自辞典例句

8 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。

9 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

10 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

11 excavate   

vt.挖掘，挖出

参考例句：

• They plan to excavate a large hole.他们计划挖个大洞。
• 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。

12 likeness   

n.相像，相似（之处）

参考例句：

• I think the painter has produced a very true likeness.我认为这位画家画得非常逼真。
• She treasured the painted likeness of her son.她珍藏她儿子的画像。

13 crooked   

adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He crooked a finger to tell us to go over to him.他弯了弯手指，示意我们到他那儿去。
• You have to drive slowly on these crooked country roads.在这些弯弯曲曲的乡间小路上你得慢慢开车。