原文已被隐藏，你可用 快捷键 - 或点击 显示原文 按钮来查看原文
第一段
1 .For my presentation today, I’m going to talk about the Céide Fields in the northwest of Ireland, one of the largest Neolithic sites in the world.
在今天的演讲中，我将介绍位于爱尔兰西北部的塞尔德田野，这是世界上最大的新石器时代遗址之一。
2 .I recently visited this site and observed the work that is currently being done by a team of archaeologists there.
我最近参观了这个遗址，并观察了考古队目前正在那里开展的工作。
3 .The site was first discovered in the 1930s by a local teacher, Patrick Caulfield.
该遗址于 20 世纪 30 年代由当地教师帕特里克·考尔菲尔德首次发现。
4 .He noticed that when local people were digging in the bog, they were constantly hitting against what seemed to be rows of stones.
他注意到，当地人在沼泽地里挖掘时，不断撞击到似乎是一排排的石头。
5 .He realised that these must be walls and that they must be thousands of years old for them to predate the bog which subsequently grew over them.
他意识到这些一定是城墙，而且这些墙壁一定有数千年的历史，在沼泽形成之前就已经存在了。
6 .He wrote to the National Museum in Dublin to ask them to investigate, but no one took him seriously.
他写信给都柏林国家博物馆，要求他们进行调查，但是没有人把他的话当回事。
7 .It wasn’t until 40 years later, when Patrick Caulfield’s son Seamus, who had become an archaeologist by then, began to explore further.
直到 40 年后，帕特里克·考尔菲尔德的儿子西莫才开始进一步探索，这时的西莫已经成为了一位考古学家。
8 .He inserted iron probes into the bog to map the formation of the stones, a traditional method which local people had always used for finding fuel buried in the bog for thousands of years.
他将铁探测针插入沼泽，绘制石头的形成图。千百年来，当地人一直用这种传统方法寻找埋在沼泽中的燃料。
9 .Carbon dating later proved that the site was over 5,000 years old and was the largest Neolithic site in Ireland.
碳年代测定法后来证明，该遗址距今已有 5000 多年的历史，是爱尔兰最大的新石器时代遗址。
10 .Thanks to the bog which covers the area, the remains of the settlement at Céide Fields, which is over 5,000 years old, are extremely well-preserved.
由于该地区被沼泽覆盖，塞尔德田野定居点的遗迹保存完好，距今已有 5000 多年的历史。
11 .A bog is 90 percent water; its soil is so saturated that when the grasses and heathers that grow on its surface die, they don’t fully decay but accumulate in layers.
沼泽里90% 都是水；因为沼泽中土壤水分饱和，当生长在其表面的草和石楠死亡后，它们不会完全腐烂，而是层层堆积。
12 .Objects remain so well preserved in these conditions because of the acidity of the peat and the deficiency of oxygen.
由于泥炭的酸性和氧气的匮乏，物件在这种条件下保存得十分完好。
13 .At least 175 days of rain a year are required for this to happen; this part of Ireland gets an average of 225 days.
要做到这一点，每年至少需要 175 天的降雨；爱尔兰这一地区的年平均降雨天数为 225 天。
第二段
1 .The Neolithic farmers at Céide would have enjoyed several centuries of relative peace and stability.
塞尔德新石器时代的农民应该享受了几个世纪的相对和平与稳定。
2 .Neolithic farmers generally lived in larger communities than their predecessors, with a number of houses built around a community building.
新石器时代的农民通常比他们的祖先生活在更大的社群中，社群建筑周围建有许多房屋。
3 .As they lived in permanent settlements, Neolithic farmers were able to build bigger houses.
由于他们确定了永久定居点，新石器时代的农民可以建造更大的房屋。
4 .These weren’t round as people often assume, but rectangular with a small hole in the roof that allowed smoke to escape.
这些房屋并不像人们通常认为的那样是圆形的，而是长方形的，屋顶上有一个小洞，可以让烟雾排出。
5 .This is one of many innovations and indicates that the Neolithic farmers were the first people to cook indoors.
这也是新石器时代的许多创新之一。同时表明新石器时代的农民是第一批在室内做饭的人。
6 .Another new technology that Neolithic settlers brought to Ireland was pottery.
新石器时代定居者带到爱尔兰的另一项新技术是制陶。
7 .Fragments of Neolithic pots have been found in Céide and elsewhere in Ireland.
在塞尔德和爱尔兰其他地方发现了新石器时代的陶器碎片。
8 .The pots were used for many things; as well as for storing food, pots were filled with a small amount of fat and when this was set alight, they served as lamps.
这些陶罐有很多用途：除了储存食物，陶罐里还装有少量油脂，点燃后可以作为灯具。
9 .It’s thought that the Céide Fields were mainly used as paddocks for animals to graze in.
人们认为，塞尔德田野主要是供牲畜吃草的围场。
10 .Evidence from the Céide Fields suggests that each plot of land was of a suitable size to sustain an extended family.
来自塞尔德田野的证据表明，每块土地的面积都适合维持一个大家庭的生活。
11 .They may have used a system of rotational grazing in order to prevent over-grazing and to allow for plant recovery and regrowth.
他们可能使用了轮牧制度，以防止过度放牧，并使植物得以恢复和重新生长。
12 .This must have been a year-round activity as no structures have been found which would have been used to shelter animals in the winter.
由于没有发现用于牲畜冬季栖息的建筑，因此这种轮牧活动肯定是全年进行的。
13 .However, archaeologists believe that this way of life at Céide ceased abruptly. Why was this?
然而，考古学家认为，塞尔德的这种生活方式突然终止了。这是为什么呢？
14 .Well, several factors may have contributed to the changing circumstances.
有几个因素可能导致了环境的变化。
15 .The soil would have become less productive and led to the abandonment of farming.
土壤的生产力降低，导致人们放弃耕作。
16 .The crop rotationsystem was partly responsible for this as it would have been very intensive and was not sustainable.
轮作制度是造成这种情况的部分原因，因为这种制度的生产周期非常密集，无法可持续。
17 .But there were also climatic pressures too. The farmers at Céide would have enjoyed a relatively dry period, but this began to change and the conditions became wetter as there was a lot more rain.
但气候压力也是原因之一。塞尔德的农民曾经度过了一段相对干燥的时期，但由于雨水增多，这种情况开始发生变化，环境变得更加潮湿。
18 .It was these conditions that encouraged the bog to form over the area which survives today.
正是这些条件促进了沼泽的形成，从而保护了沼泽下的遗迹。
19 .So now I\\\'d like to show you some...
现在我想展示下...