2015-10-09 BBC:巨石阵行动:被埋藏的秘密-31

 Archaeologist S* Carson has investigated the significance of megalith to prehistoric¹ peoples. -You can commemorate² anncestors too, with a standing³ stone. You can also use them to show a person's change of status and that person's ability to mobilize a large label force to raise the stones. And the stones could be used to safeguard a person's future. For example, the stone is used to offer protection over a field of crops.

These three fuctions of standing stones can co-exist on an enormous sideline con*. And it's this symbolic⁴ use of standing stones that characterizes the Neolithic⁵ Age 5 to 6,000 years ago.  When the Neolithic Age reached Britain, over one thousand stone monuments were built from Ox to C*. In the Stonehenge region, one of the earliest examples of the ceremonial uses of stone is the West Kennet Burial Chamber⁶. -We see a whole host of changes accompanying shifts from hunt-gathers in m* to farmers in the Neolithic. And that involved communal⁷ building projects, like Stonehenge ultimately, but before that, projects like West Kennet.

1 prehistoric   

adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的

参考例句：

• They have found prehistoric remains.他们发现了史前遗迹。
• It was rather like an exhibition of prehistoric electronic equipment.这儿倒像是在展览古老的电子设备。

2 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

5 neolithic   

adj.新石器时代的

参考例句：

• Cattle were first domesticated in Neolithic times.新石器时代有人开始驯养牛。
• The monument was Stone Age or Neolithic.该纪念碑是属于石器时代或新石器时代的。

6 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

7 communal   

adj.公有的，公共的，公社的，公社制的

参考例句：

• There was a communal toilet on the landing for the four flats.在楼梯平台上有一处公共卫生间供4套公寓使用。
• The toilets and other communal facilities were in a shocking state.厕所及其他公共设施的状况极其糟糕。