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听力文本
Mexico Experts Find 2,000 Ruin Sites near Maya Train Route
Experts in Mexico said Wednesday they have found more than 2,000 pre-Hispanic ruins along the proposed path of the president's "Maya Train" project on the Yucatan peninsula.
Scientists discovered the ruins using LiDAR elevation mapping technology. LiDAR involves shooting a laser at the ground through heavy vegetation to get a detailed image of the surface.
The discovery could slow down the train project, which has already caused arguments and protests in the area. Critics of the project say it threatens indigenous communities and water supplies.
The information from the mapping technology showed a total of 2,187 "archeological monuments" along 366 kilometers of the planned path. That covers about 25 percent of the total train route. Experts already knew about the existence of some of the ruins, but some are new.
The Maya had a large number of city-states throughout Yucatan and Central America between 2,000 B.C. and A.D. 900. Their ancestors still live on the peninsula and across Central America.
The term "monument" can mean many things, such as a pre-Hispanic Maya home, or the remains of a religious building.
Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History said at least 91 of the discovered ruins were large structures like plazas, or temple bases. Maya houses were generally small wooden structures with stone bases that were easily destroyed.
The institute said in a statement that the builders of the train route would have to take "measures" to avoid damaging the ruins. It did not say whether that meant parts of the route will have to be replanned.
In July, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador opened the building of the "Maya Train," his own special project. It is expected to run about 1,500 kilometers around Yucatan.
The train will connect Caribbean hotels to areas far from the beaches that have archeological ruins. The train will have 15 stations to bring visitors and – hopefully -- economic growth to the mostly poor area.
The government says it will cost as much as $6.8 billion, but others say it could cost much more.
Critics say there was not enough study of the effects the train project will have on the environment and archeological ruins.
Some Maya communities have taken legal steps to stop the project, arguing that it will cause environmental damage.
I'm Susan Shand.
重点解析
1.structure n.结构
Severe deforestation has accelerated soil erosion and reduced productivity.
严重的乱砍滥伐加快了水土流失，降低了生产力。
2.route n. 路线
All escape routes were blocked by armed police.
所有逃跑的路都被武警封锁了。
3.legal adj.法律的
Our legal system inherited laws from the English system.
我们的司法体系沿袭了英国的法律体系。
4.damage n.损害
Jackson doesn't want to damage his reputation as a political personality.
杰克逊不想损害自己政界名人的声誉。
5.Some Maya communities have taken legal steps to stop the project, arguing that it will cause environmental damage.
take steps to 采取措施
The directors will take steps to insure against possible failure.
董事们将采取措施，以防可能出现的失败。
We should take steps to prevent war.
我们应当采取措施制止战争。
6.The discovery could slow down the train project, which has already caused arguments and protests in the area.
slow down 减速
The car slowed down as they passed Customs.
过海关的时候，车速慢了下来。
You will need to slow down for a while.
你需要放松一段时间。
参考译文
墨西哥专家发现玛雅古城遗址
墨西哥专家星期三说，他们在尤卡坦半岛上总统的“玛雅火车”项目的拟议路线上发现了2000多处西班牙裔前遗迹。
科学家们使用激光雷达高程测绘技术发现了这些废墟。激光雷达通过茂密的植被向地面发射激光，以获得地表的详细图像。
这一发现可能会减缓火车项目的进度，该项目已经在该地区引发了争论和抗议。该项目的批评者说，它威胁到土著社区和供水。
来自测绘技术的信息显示，沿着规划的路线366公里，总共有2187个“考古古迹”。这覆盖了大约25%的火车路线。专家们已经知道一些废墟的存在，但有些是新的。
公元前2,000到公元900年间，玛雅人在尤卡坦半岛和中美洲拥有大量的城邦。他们的祖先仍然生活在半岛和整个中美洲。
“纪念碑”这个词可以指很多东西，比如西班牙裔前的玛雅人的家，或者宗教建筑的遗迹。
墨西哥国家人类学和历史研究所表示，发现的废墟中至少有91处是像广场或寺庙基地这样的大型建筑。玛雅人的房屋一般都是小木结构，底部是石头，很容易被摧毁。
该研究所在一份声明中说，火车线路的建设者将不得不采取“措施”，以避免破坏废墟。该公司没有说明这是否意味着部分线路将不得不重新规划。
7月，墨西哥总统安德烈斯·曼努埃尔·洛佩斯·奥布拉多(Andrés Manuel López Obrador)为他自己的特别项目“玛雅列车”(Maya Train)揭幕。预计它将围绕尤卡坦运行约1500公里。
这列火车将把加勒比海的酒店与远离考古遗址的海滩地区连接起来。这列火车将有15个车站，为大多数贫困地区带来游客和-希望-经济增长。
政府表示，这将耗资高达68亿美元，但其他人表示，成本可能会高得多。
批评人士说，对于火车项目将对环境和考古遗址产生的影响，没有进行足够的研究。
一些玛雅社区已经采取法律措施阻止该项目，认为它会造成环境破坏。
苏珊·尚德为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
