2006年VOA标准英语-Study Finds Ancient Greek Astronomical Computer

By David McAlary
Washington
30 November 2006

An ancient piece of Greek technology recovered from a shipwreck¹ more than 100 years ago is amazing scientists who have analyzed² it in detail. Fragments of bronze gearwheels, now green and crumbling³ from millennia⁴ of underwater corrosion⁵, have long been thought to be parts of a 2,100-year-old astronomical⁶ calculator. VOA's David McAlary reports that the new examination shows the mechanism⁷ to have been far more sophisticated for its time than anyone had thought.

 
Restored Antikythera mechanism 
This is what the ancient Greek device probably sounded like. The noise comes from a recent reconstruction⁸ based on pieces recovered by sponge divers⁹ exploring a 2,100-year-old shipwreck off the Greek island Antikythera in 1901.

Astronomer¹⁰ Mike Edmunds of Cardiff University in Wales is part of the British, Greek, and American team that made the copy and analyzed the original so-called Antikythera Mechanism.

"This is a unique device," said Mike Edmunds. "Nothing like a device of this complication is known for 1,000 years afterwards until you get to the medieval cathedral clocks."

 
Antikythera Mechanism 
The Greek device contains a complicated arrangement of at least 30 precision, hand-cut bronze gears and three pointing styluses housed inside a wooden case covered with inscriptions¹¹. Because the machine is fragmented, its specific functions have been controversial.

Scientists have been trying to copy it ever since its discovery, but Edmunds' team was able to do so after using high resolution X-ray scanning technology to examine the pieces. They were also able to decipher twice as many of the inscriptions as had been read by the late Yale University scholar Derek Price, who studied it decades ago.

Team member Xenophon Moussas, a physicist¹² at the University of Athens, described the device to Nature magazine, which has published the group's paper on it.

"We can count something like 30 gears, which helped astronomers¹³ of the second century BC, we believe now, to calculate the positions of the sun, perhaps to work out the time of eclipses of the moon and and possibly of the sun as well," said Xenophon Moussas. "Since we discovered inside the mechanisms¹⁴ very many hidden writings, which are the manual of this ancient computer, we know for sure that many parts of the text refer to the motion of the planets."

In a Nature magazine commentary, Francois Charette of Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, says the research shows the Antikythera Mechanism to be the most sophisticated such object yet found from the ancient and medieval periods. He points out that the archaeological record to date shows it was a long time before gearing mechanisms so advanced re-emerged.

 
Antikythera Mechanism 
The curator of mechanical engineering of the Science Museum of London, Michael Wright, had previously¹⁵ studied the device. He told Nature magazine that much skill went into it.

"I can tell you from having examined the original that the man who made it was a highly skilled mechanic," said Michael Wright. "He knew exactly what he was doing. The other thing I can tell you about it is that the man who designed it certainly knew his astronomy."

The paper on the device shows the Antikythera Mechanism is based on a mathematical model of the moon's motion developed by the astronomer Hipparchus of Rhodes 2,100 years ago. Mike Edmunds at Cardiff University speculates that the ancient Greek scientist even helped design it.

"It's very tempting¹⁶ to think so," he said. "We haven't actually found his sort of fingerprints¹⁷ or actually 'Hipparchus made this' [inscribed] on the mechanism, but whoever did build this was extremely intelligent. It's just beautifully designed. I think that is one of the most surprising things that comes out of this."

Francois Charette at Ludwig-Maximilians University writes that the long interval¹⁸ between the design of the Antikythera Mechanism and the advent¹⁹ of medieval gearing makes it obvious that the technical sophistication available to some parts of the Greco-Roman world was simply not transmitted further. The gear-wheel, he says, had to be re-invented.

1 shipwreck   

n.船舶失事，海难

参考例句：

• He walked away from the shipwreck.他船难中平安地脱险了。
• The shipwreck was a harrowing experience.那次船难是一个惨痛的经历。

2 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

4 millennia   

n.一千年，千禧年

参考例句：

• For two millennia, exogamy was a major transgression for Jews. 两千年来，异族通婚一直是犹太人的一大禁忌。
• In the course of millennia, the dinosaurs died out. 在几千年的时间里，恐龙逐渐死绝了。

5 corrosion   

n.腐蚀，侵蚀；渐渐毁坏，渐衰

参考例句：

• Corrosion is not covered by the warranty.腐蚀不在保修范围之内。
• Zinc is used to protect other metals from corrosion.锌被用来保护其他金属不受腐蚀。

6 astronomical   

adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的

参考例句：

• He was an expert on ancient Chinese astronomical literature.他是研究中国古代天文学文献的专家。
• Houses in the village are selling for astronomical prices.乡村的房价正在飙升。

7 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

8 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

9 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。

10 astronomer   

n.天文学家

参考例句：

• A new star attracted the notice of the astronomer.新发现的一颗星引起了那位天文学家的注意。
• He is reputed to have been a good astronomer.他以一个优秀的天文学者闻名于世。

11 inscriptions   

（作者）题词( inscription的名词复数 )； 献词； 碑文； 证劵持有人的登记

参考例句：

• Centuries of wind and rain had worn away the inscriptions on the gravestones. 几个世纪的风雨已磨损了墓碑上的碑文。
• The inscriptions on the stone tablet have become blurred with the passage of time. 年代久了，石碑上的字迹已经模糊了。

12 physicist   

n.物理学家，研究物理学的人

参考例句：

• He is a physicist of the first rank.他是一流的物理学家。
• The successful physicist never puts on airs.这位卓有成就的物理学家从不摆架子。

13 astronomers   

n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

16 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

17 fingerprints   

n.指纹( fingerprint的名词复数 )v.指纹( fingerprint的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Everyone's fingerprints are unique. 每个人的指纹都是独一无二的。
• They wore gloves so as not to leave any fingerprints behind (them). 他们戴着手套，以免留下指纹。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 interval   

n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息

参考例句：

• The interval between the two trees measures 40 feet.这两棵树的间隔是40英尺。
• There was a long interval before he anwsered the telephone.隔了好久他才回了电话。

19 advent   

n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临

参考例句：

• Swallows come by groups at the advent of spring. 春天来临时燕子成群飞来。
• The advent of the Euro will redefine Europe.欧元的出现将重新定义欧洲。