环球英语 — 87：The Rosetta Stone

　　Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight¹ program. I’m Rebekah Schipper.
Voice 2
And I’m Liz Waid.
Voice 1
On July 15, 1799, French Army engineer Captain Pierre-Fran?ois Bouchard discovered something that would change the world.
Voice 2
In 1798, the French Army invaded² Egypt. About a year later, Captain Bouchard was leading a building project. He and his crew were building a fort³ near an old Egyptian port city called Rosetta. Today people call this city Rashid. There, they found a large stone. Different writings covered the stone. Captain Bouchard did not know what the writings said. But he sensed that the stone was very important. So, he brought it to the Institute of Egypt. There, history experts could study it.
Voice 1
This simple discovery would help to solve ancient mysteries. What was this mysterious ancient stone? Why was it important? Today’s Spotlight is on this stone - the Rosetta stone.
Voice 2
While in Egypt, the French Army discovered many important ancient objects. But, the British Army invaded Egypt a few years after the French Army. They demanded many of the ancient objects and artifacts. The French resisted. But, after many struggles, the British Army finally possessed⁴ the stone. They brought it to the British Museum. And the stone has been there since 1802.
Voice 1
So, what exactly does the stone look like? Well, the stone is a kind of very hard rock called granodiorite. It is dark grey and pink in color. At its highest point, the Rosetta stone is over one hundred fourteen [114] centimeters tall. It is about seventy-two [72] centimeters wide. And it is almost twenty-eight [28] centimeters thick. The stone weighs just over seven hundred sixty [760] kilograms.
Voice 2
So, what makes this stone special? First, the stone is very old. Experts believe that the Rosetta stone is over two thousand [2000] years old. And it has stayed in a good state for many years. Second, the Rosetta stone shows a message. The message on the stone is a royal command from an Egyptian Pharaoh. But the message is not the reason the stone is important. The stone is important because the message is in three separate languages.
Voice 1
Two thousand [2000] years ago rulers of Egypt used these three separate ways of writing to communicate commands to their people. The Rosetta stone shows examples of each of these ancient ways of writing. The bottom part of the stone shows the Pharaoh’s message in the ancient Greek language. At that time, the rulers of Egypt communicated using Greek. The middle part shows the message in Demotic⁵, the common written language of Egypt. And the top part shows the message in hieroglyphic⁶. Demotic and hieroglyphic were different ways of writing the same spoken language. Hieroglyphic was the language the people used to write important or religious documents.
Voice 2
Hieroglyphic is an ancient Egyptian writing system. In fact, it is one of the oldest forms of writing in the world. It was a common form of writing for almost thirty five hundred [3500] years. It uses small pictures and symbols to communicate a message. Writers often painted these pictures, or hieroglyphs⁷, on different surfaces. Or, they cut them into stone. Hieroglyphic was a very complex language.
Voice 1
Hieroglyphic was also a lost language. That is, by the fourth [4th] century, Egyptian writers used hieroglyphic less and less. And finally, no one used it to communicate. Before they found the Rosetta stone, history experts had found ancient examples of hieroglyphic writing. They attempted to translate the hieroglyphs. But each attempt ended in failure. Some experts even began to believe that the hieroglyphs did not mean anything! One of the reasons all the attempts failed was because experts had no clues to help them begin translation - until they found the Rosetta stone.
Voice 2
Greek was a very common ancient language. So, experts could read the Greek writings on the Rosetta stone. They could compare the Greek writing to the hieroglyphic writing. But unlocking⁸ this ancient secret was still not an easy job!
Voice 1
In 1808, French language expert Jean-Fran?ois Champollion received a copy of the Rosetta stone writings. He was eighteen [18] years old. For fourteen [14] long, hard years he worked to translate the hieroglyphics⁹. After a time, he recognized that the hieroglyphs were symbols for the sound of the Egyptian language. And, finally in 1822, he succeeded in translating the hieroglyphs. This translation was like a key to unlocking many ancient secrets! Experts around the world celebrated¹⁰ the event.
Voice 2
Since 1802, the stone has been at the British Museum in London with only one break. Near the end of World War One, the museum moved it. The stone stayed in a safe place for two [2] years to avoid harm. Then the museum brought it back.
Voice 1
But many people say that Britain, and the British Museum, is not where the stone should be. In July, 2003, Egypt demanded the return of the Rosetta stone. Doctor Zahi Hawass is the Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme¹¹ Council¹² of Antiquities¹³. He works¹⁴ closely¹⁵ with many ancient artefacts. Doctor Hawass is leading the effort to get the stone back. He believes that the British took the stone illegally. He says:
Voice 3
“The Rosetta stone is one of the most important pieces in the British Museum, but it is more important for Egypt. It is an important piece of our Egyptian national and historical identity¹⁶ and was shamefully¹⁷ and secretly taken out of the country.”
Voice 2
But the British Museum does not want to get rid of the stone. Vivian Davies manages ancient Egyptian artifacts at the British Museum. He says that the Rosetta stone is too important to give away. The museum uses it to share Egyptian culture. It is a part of ancient human history.
Voice 4
“...It is absolutely necessary to our purpose as a museum that not only presents Egyptian antiquities, but also Egyptian antiquities as a part of the civilization of the world.”
Voice 1
So, who owns this important piece of history? Should the Rosetta stone stay in the British Museum? Or does the Rosetta stone belong in Egypt? Who is right in this struggle?
Voice 2
Many museums and universities struggle over this question, and questions like it. Places in the West have many objects that they got through force. Many people enjoy the objects where they are now. But the countries that gave the objects have a right to them too. Sometimes problems like this do not have a clear answer. What do you think about these issues? Where do you think the Rosetta stone belongs?
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 invaded   

v.侵入，侵略( invade的过去式和过去分词 )；涌入；侵袭；侵犯

参考例句：

• Troops invaded on August 9th that year. 军队是在那年的8月9日入侵的。
• The diseased tissue can be easily invaded by these microorganisms. 有病的组织容易被微生物侵袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 fort   

n.要塞，堡垒，碉堡

参考例句：

• The fort can not be defended against an air attack.这座要塞遭到空袭时无法防御。
• No one can get into the fort without a pass.没有通行证，任何人不得进入要塞。

4 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

5 demotic   

adj. 民众的，通俗的；n.（古埃及）通俗文字

参考例句：

• It is television's demotic style of language.这是电视通俗的语言风格。
• The socioligist maintained that a demotic society would lower the nation's standards.这个社会学家认为平民社会会降低国家的素质。

6 hieroglyphic   

n.象形文字

参考例句：

• For centuries hieroglyphic word pictures painted on Egyptian ruins were a mystery.几世纪以来，刻划在埃及废墟中的象形文字一直是个谜。
• Dongba is an ancient hieroglyphic language.东巴文是中国一种古老的象形文字。

7 hieroglyphs   

n.象形字（如古埃及等所用的）( hieroglyph的名词复数 )；秘密的或另有含意的书写符号

参考例句：

• Hieroglyphs are carved into the walls of the temple. 寺庙的墙壁上刻着象形文字。 来自辞典例句
• This paper discusses the fundamental distinctions between the hieroglyphs andforerunner of writing. 英汉象形文字的比较是建立在象形文字具体内涵的基础上。 来自互联网

8 unlocking   

n.接通，开放，解锁v.开锁( unlock的现在分词 )；开启；揭开；开着，解开

参考例句：

• Unlocking DaVinci's Code separates the facts from the fiction. 《解开达西密码》将事实与小说区隔开来。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年5月号
• All of these questions will be answered on Unlocking DaVinci's Code. 这些问题将于《解开达文西密码》中一一解答。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年5月号

9 hieroglyphics   

n.pl.象形文字

参考例句：

• Hieroglyphics are carved into the walls of the temple. 寺庙的墙壁上刻着象形文字。
• His writing is so bad it just looks like hieroglyphics to me. 他写的糟透了，对我来说就像天书一样。

10 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

11 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

12 council   

n.理事会，委员会，议事机构

参考例句：

• The town council passed a law forbidding the distribution of handbills.市议会通过法律，禁止散发传单。
• The city council has declared for improving the public bus system.市议会宣布同意改进公共汽车系统。

13 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

14 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

15 closely   

adv.紧密地；严密地，密切地

参考例句：

• We shall follow closely the development of the situation.我们将密切注意形势的发展。
• The two companies are closely tied up with each other.这两家公司之间有密切联系。

16 identity   

n.身份，本体，特征；同一(性)，一致

参考例句：

• He never revealed his identity.他从未暴露过自己的身份。
• He showed his identity card and went in.他把工作证亮了一下就进去了。

17 shamefully   

可耻地； 丢脸地； 不体面地； 羞耻地

参考例句：

• He misused his dog shamefully. 他可耻地虐待自己的狗。
• They have served me shamefully for a long time. 长期以来，他们待我很坏。