人們認(rèn)為來(lái)自倫敦的一位家具管理員解開(kāi)了冰河時(shí)期洞穴壁畫(huà)里一系列標(biāo)記的謎團(tuán)。此發(fā)現(xiàn)有助于理解為什么當(dāng)時(shí)的狩獵采集者會(huì)畫(huà)洞穴壁畫(huà)。

Archaeologists have long puzzled over series of dots, lines, and marks shaped like a letter 'Y', placed on or near the often-beautiful depictions of Palaeolithic animals in European caves – creatures like mammoths, bison and horses.

長(zhǎng)期以來(lái)，考古學(xué)家一直對(duì)一系列點(diǎn)、線(xiàn)和形狀像字母 “Y” 的標(biāo)記感到困惑，這些點(diǎn)、線(xiàn)和標(biāo)記多出現(xiàn)在歐洲洞穴中如猛犸象、野牛和馬的美麗的舊石器時(shí)代動(dòng)物壁畫(huà)上方或附近。

Ben Bacon, an enthusiast, studied thousands of images – pursuing a theory the marks could depict a lunar calendar linked to the animal's life cycles. The branching 'Y' sign, he postulated, could mean giving birth.

本·培根是一位考古愛(ài)好者，他研究了數(shù)千幅壁畫(huà)圖像，并提出一種理論，即這些標(biāo)記描繪了與動(dòng)物生命周期有關(guān)的陰歷。他推測(cè)，上方分支的 “Y” 形標(biāo)記可能代表生育。

Bringing in academics and using statistical analysis, the team are shown striking correlations between the sequences and the months that such animals would have mated and given birth. They argue it's the first proto-writing system in human history.

通過(guò)邀請(qǐng)學(xué)術(shù)人員參與研究和使用統(tǒng)計(jì)分析，該考古團(tuán)隊(duì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，這些符號(hào)序列與動(dòng)物的交配和分娩月份之間存在著顯著的相關(guān)性。他們認(rèn)為這是人類(lèi)歷史上第一套原始書(shū)寫(xiě)系統(tǒng)。

詞匯表

archaeologists 考古學(xué)家
puzzled 困惑了
depictions 描繪
enthusiast 愛(ài)好者
lunar calendar 陰歷
life cycles 生命周期
correlations 相關(guān)性
mated 交配了
proto-writing system 原始書(shū)寫(xiě)系統(tǒng)

閱讀理解：請(qǐng)?jiān)谧x完上文后，回答下列問(wèn)題。

1. What have archaeologists long puzzled over about Ice Age cave paintings?

2. Where have these marks been seen?

3. What did enthusiast Ben Bacon think the 'Y' sign might mean?

4. True or false? Ben Bacon thought the marks illustrated an animal's life cycle.

答案  

1. What have archaeologists long puzzled over about Ice Age cave paintings?
A series of dots, lines, and marks shaped like a letter 'Y'.

2. Where have these marks been seen?
These marks have been seen on or near the often-beautiful depictions of Palaeolithic animals in European caves.

3. What did enthusiast Ben Bacon think the 'Y' sign might mean?
He thought the 'Y' sign could mean giving birth.

4. True or false? Ben Bacon thought the marks illustrated an animal's life cycle.
False. Ben Bacon thought the marks could depict a lunar calendar linked to the animal's life cycles.