Section4:Ireland 纠错
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Part A :

Good morning everyone.

大家早上好。

Last week we were looking at the hunter - gatherers in Ireland, across the Irish Sea from England.

上周我们看过爱尔兰的猎人,从英国横跨爱尔兰海。

Today, we're going to move on to the period between four and six thousand years ago, known as the Neolithic period, which is when a total farming economy was introduced in Ireland.

今天,我们将看四到六千年前,在爱尔兰的新石器时代,是当完全农业经济在爱尔兰发展的时期。

Now, there are several hypotheses about the origins of the first Neolithic settlers in Ireland but most of these contain problems.

现在,有几个关于爱尔兰的第一个新石器时代定居者的起源的假说,但其中大部分包含问题。

For instance, there are considerable archaeological difficulties about the theory that they came from England.

例如,他们从英国来的理论有相当大的考古学上的困难。

The evidence doesn't really add up.

证据并没有真正的有联系。

But there are even greater practical problems about the theory that they came directly from continental Europe.

但关于它们直接来自欧洲大陆的理论,甚至还有更大的实际问题。

For one thing, it's not clear just how sufficient numbers of men and women could have been transported to Ireland to establish a viable population.

首先,并不清楚,有多少男人和女人可以被运到爱尔兰建立一个可统计的人群。

As you know, the hunter - gatherer economy which existed beforehand was based on small scattered groups.

你知道,以前存在的狩猎经济是基于小人群。

The farming economy would almost certainly have required much larger communities to do all the work needed to plant and tend sufficient crops to sustain them through the year.

农业经济几乎肯定会需要更大的社区来做所有的工作,并有足够的作物来支撑他们度过一年。

The early farmers kept various animals, including cattle and sheep.

早期农民养了各种各样的动物,包括牛羊。

There's also evidence of pigs, but it is possible that these could have been descended from the native wild species.

也有关于猪的证据。但是也有可能,这些是从本地野生物种的后裔。

Now, we know from modern farming that if the level of breeding stock falls below about three hundred females, the future of the species locally is at risk.

现在,我们知道,如果从现代农业育种低于约三百女性的水平,未来当地物种是危险的。

So we must assume that from the beginnings of Neolithic farming the number of breeding sheep would have considerably exceeded three hundred, and the national cattle herd must have been of a similar size.

因此,我们必须假定,从新石器时代开始,养殖绵羊的数量将大大超过三百,而全国牲畜群也必须有类似的规模。

The question is how these were brought to the area and where they came from.

问题是这些动物如何被带到了这个地区,他们来自哪里。

It's usually suggested that the Neolithic settlers used skin - covered boats to transport livestock.

通常有人建议,新石器时代的居民用过的皮盖船运送牲畜。

But this method would have severely restricted the range of the colonising fleets.

但这种方法将严重限制殖民舰队的范围。

The sheer volume of animal transport necessary means it's unlikely that this livestock could have been brought from anywhere further than England.

动物运输的绝对数量决定了这些动物是不可能出了英国以外的从任何地方带来的。

What about crops?

农作物呢?

Well, two main cereal crops were introduced to Ireland during this time: wheat and barley, both in several varieties.

在这段时间里,主要的谷类作物被介绍到爱尔兰:小麦和大麦,几个品种都有。

The main evidence for their presence consists of impressions on pottery, where a cereal grain accidentally became embedded in the surface of a pot before it was fired.

他们的存在的主要证据包括在陶器上的印记,在那里一个谷物意外地进入一个锅,在它被烧烤之前。

The grain itself was destroyed by the firing, but it left an impression on the pot which could be studied and identified by botanists.

粮食本身被烧毁了,但它留下的对锅的印记可让植物学家研究和确定。

Part B :

Let's turn our attention now to the farming technology available at that time.

让我们把注意力从现在的农业技术转向当时的农业技术。

Before the cereal crops could be planted, it would have been necessary to clear the forest and to break the ground by ploughing.

在种植谷类作物之前,有必要清除森林,然后用犁耕来打破地面。

The stone blade of a plough has been discovered during excavation in County Mayo in western Ireland.

在西爱尔兰的县,发现了一个犁的石头刀片。

The body of the plough would have been of wood and could have been drawn by people, but it's also likely that cattle were used.

犁身本来是可以用木头的,而且可能是被人用的,但也有可能是牛来拉的。

Now, the cultivation of crops and the husbandry of livestock brought about changes in people's lifestyle such as the type of shelters they made.

现在,农作物和畜牧业的种植业带来了人们生活方式的改变,比如他们所制造的庇护所的类型。

For one thing, instead of moving from place to place they needed permanent dwellings.

需要一提的是,他们不是从一个地方搬到地方,而是需要永久的住所。

The stone axes used to chop down trees to make these dwellings were far superior to any that the Stone Age hunter - gatherers used.

使用的石斧砍树来建造这些住宅都有远优于石器时代的狩猎采集者使用的工具。

To make the axes, sources of suitable stone had to be found and systematically exploited.

为了制造这些斧子,合适的石头的来源必须被发现和系统地利用。

These so - called 'axe factories' were really quarries rather than factories, as the manufacture of the axes wasn't regularly performed on the quarry site.

这些所谓的“斧头工厂“实际上是采石场而不是工厂,因为斧头的制造不是发生在采石场。

However, after the axe had been chipped into shape, they needed water and sand for grinding and polishing, so a high mountainside wouldn't have been an appropriate place for this.

然而,在斧子被削成需要的形状,它们需要水和砂磨和抛光,那么高的山就不是一个合适的地方。

So this final stage of the manufacture must have been carried out close to water and sure enough, there's ample evidence of this at coastal sites.

因此,这最后阶段的制造必须接近足够的水,有充分的证据是在沿海地区。

Now it's clear that these Neolithic axes were transported all over Ireland, as well as to Scotland and the south of England.

现在很清楚,这些新石器时代的斧子被运输到全在爱尔兰,苏格兰和英国南部。

It's not really surprising that axes from 'axe factories' in England have also been found in Ireland.

在爱尔兰,在英国的“斧头工厂”里的斧头也没有特别令人惊讶。

At the very least, this indicates that there was a link between the two islands during that period.

至少,这表明,在这期间,这两个岛屿之间有联系。

One of the most useful innovations of the colonisers was pottery making, which was quite unknown to Irish hunter - gatherers.

其中的殖民者最有用的发明是陶器制作,这是爱尔兰猎人不熟悉的。

The pottery was probably made by shaping clay into a ball with the hand, and then hollowing it until the walls were the right thickness.

陶器可能是通过塑造的一天用手塑造成球形,然后掏空它直到球壁是正确的厚度。

After firing, the outside was often polished.

烧陶后,外壁经常是抛光了的。

This would have helped the pots to retain water, as they weren't glazed.

这将有助于盆装水,因为他们没有釉。

Now we know that the clay used usually came from local sources, which suggests that manufacture was on a fairly small scale, even though thousands of fragments are usually found at Neolithic sites.

现在我们知道,粘土的通常来自当地的来源,这表明,制造是一个相当小的规模,即使在新石器时代遗址发现数以干计的碎片。

In the course of time decoration began to appear.

在后来开始出现装饰。

At first this looked like a series of stitches and was just around the tops of the pots.

起初,这看起来像一系列的针,只是围绕着容器的口处。

This could have been an imitation of earlier vessels which were made of leather sewn onto wood.

这可能是模仿早期的船只,这是由皮革制成的皮革制缝在木材上。

Then eventually pots with decoration all over...

最终整个容器都会被装饰……

Question 31 - 34

Choose the correct letter A, B or C

31 According to the speaker,it is not clear

awhen the farming economy was introduced to Ireland.

bwhy people began to farm in Ireland.

cwhere the early Irish farmers came from.

显示答案 正确答案: C

32 What point does the speaker make about breeding animals in Neolithic Ireland?

aThe numbers must have been above a certain level.

bThey were under threat from wild animals

cSome species died out during this period.

显示答案 正确答案: A

33 What does the speaker say about the transportationg of animals?

aLivestock would have limited the distance the farmers could sail.

bNeolitic boats were too primitive to have been used.

cProbably only a few breeding animals were imported.

显示答案 正确答案: A

34 What is the main evidence for cereal crops in Neolithic Ireland?

athe remains of burnt grains in pots

bthe marks left on pots by grains

cthe patterns painted on the surface of pots

显示答案 正确答案: B

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