VOA标准英语2010年-Ancient Shipwrecks Found Off Central I

Newly discovered underwater treasures in the Italian seas near the Pontine Islands

A team of marine¹ archeologists using sonar scanners has discovered new underwater treasures in the Italian seas.  Trading vessels² dating from the first century BC to the 5th through 7th centuries AD were found in the waters of the Pontine Islands.  Their cargoes³ were found to be intact.

Italian culture authorities and the Aurora⁴ Trust, a U.S. foundation which promotes underwater exploration in the Mediterranean⁵, discovered four shipwrecks⁶ resting on the seabed.  The discovery was made in a beautiful stretch of sea off the tiny rock of Zannone, part of the Pontine Islands in central Italy.

After the discovery, the team of marine archaeologists used sonar scanners for the exploration and filmed the targets lying on the seabed.  The remains⁹ of the ships, up to 18 meters long, were found and documented at a depth of between 100-150 meters.

 

Annalisa Zarattini is an underwater archaeologist with Italy's culture ministry¹⁰.  She says the deeper a wreck⁷ is found, the higher the chance that it is better preserved.  These, she adds, are in such good condition after so many centuries because they have not been disturbed by fishermen or illegal archaeology¹¹ hunters.

Zarattini says Italy's seas are an incredible museum which help uncover history.

Traveling with her on a finance police boat, which helps the ministry patrol the waters, she described this latest find.

"We identified four Roman wrecks⁸, four ships that probably sunk during a storm at different time periods," said Zarattini.

In Roman times, the Pontine islands belonged to Emperor Augustus.

"This area was a crossroads in the Mediterranean, with a secure port that the emperor had built and where crews on the vessels knew they could take refuge during storms," she added.

The ships cargoes were found completely intact.  In their wealth of amphorae, the vessels carried goods from North Africa, Italy and Spain.  These included wine, olive oil, fruit and garum, a pungent¹² fish sauce used in Roman cooking.  One of the main concerns archaeologists have is that these treasures may be illegally lifted from where they have been found.  To prevent any illegal activities, finance police naval¹³ units patrol the waters. 

Colonel Virgilio Giusti is involved in these operations and says no object can be removed from the seabed without previous authorization¹⁴.

"Controls are carried out to ensure that the amphorae are not removed by divers¹⁵ to keep for themselves or to sell them illegally," said Giusti.

Italy recently signed a new agreement with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) requiring that the wrecks remain in their place.  The country has 7,500 kilometers of coastline and many more treasures are believed to remain undiscovered.  Culture authorities say they have plans for further exploration.  They believe the wrecks will be a huge draw for tourists.  As technology improves, they say, ordinary people, and not just expert scuba¹⁶ divers, will be able to go down and see the remains for themselves.

 

1 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 cargoes   

n.（船或飞机装载的）货物( cargo的名词复数 )；大量，重负

参考例句：

• This ship embarked cargoes. 这艘船装载货物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The crew lashed cargoes of timber down. 全体船员将木材绑牢。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 aurora   

n.极光

参考例句：

• The aurora is one of nature's most awesome spectacles.极光是自然界最可畏的奇观之一。
• Over the polar regions we should see aurora.在极地高空,我们会看到极光。

5 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

6 shipwrecks   

海难，船只失事( shipwreck的名词复数 )； 沉船

参考例句：

• Shipwrecks are apropos of nothing. 船只失事总是来得出人意料。
• There are many shipwrecks in these waters. 在这些海域多海难事件。

7 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。

8 wrecks   

n.沉船( wreck的名词复数 )；（事故中）遭严重毁坏的汽车（或飞机等）；（身体或精神上）受到严重损伤的人；状况非常糟糕的车辆（或建筑物等）v.毁坏[毁灭]某物( wreck的第三人称单数 )；使（船舶）失事，使遇难，使下沉

参考例句：

• The shores are strewn with wrecks. 海岸上满布失事船只的残骸。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• My next care was to get together the wrecks of my fortune. 第二件我所关心的事就是集聚破产后的余财。 来自辞典例句

9 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。

10 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

11 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。

12 pungent   

adj.（气味、味道）刺激性的，辛辣的；尖锐的

参考例句：

• The article is written in a pungent style.文章写得泼辣。
• Its pungent smell can choke terrorists and force them out of their hideouts.它的刺激性气味会令恐怖分子窒息，迫使他们从藏身地点逃脱出来。

13 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

14 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

15 divers   

adj.不同的；种种的

参考例句：

• He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。
• Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。

16 scuba   

n.水中呼吸器

参考例句：

• I first got hooked on scuba diving when I was twelve.12岁时我开始迷上了带水中呼吸器潜水。
• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。