(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
8,000 Years of London History Discovered Underground
The Crossrail project, an underground railway tunnel, is designed to reduce traffic in London. But the project has also provided Britain's capital city with a view into its 8,000-year-old history.
Jackie Keily is the curator of "The Archaeology of Crossrail" exhibition at the Museum of London Docklands. She says, "The great thing about the Crossrail project is that it's allowed us to basically sort of take a slice through London."
The underground project to connect Heathrow airport to the financial district has unearthed over 10,000 artifacts. One of the highlights, Keily says, is a bronze medallion dating from the year 245 AD. During this time, southern Britain was ruled by the Romans.
"It's a medallion that would have been given by the emperor to a high-ranking official, probably in Rome. And it's quite fascinating that it's travelled right across the Empire to be here in London."
Another interesting find are Roman "hipposandals." These are metal shoes for pack animals. They were used for animals, such as oxen or horses, as they moved goods around the rain-covered streets of early-day London.
Hundreds of human skulls were also found beneath what is now the financial district of London. Did they belonged to the losers of gladiator battles at the nearby Roman amphitheater?
One very unusual artifact was a skeleton of a woman with her head removed and placed between her leg bones. It is displayed as it was found, buried beneath what is now Liverpool Street station.
The Crossrail also travels through several graveyards, many dating to major disease outbreaks, like the Black Death' plague of 1348. An estimated 1.5 million people died across Britain because of the plague.
There are also lighter aspects of London life on display. A bowling ball was found in the moat of a sixteenth century house. Hundreds of leather shoes have also been unearthed. These are around 500 years old.
According to Keily, the shoes connect people, in a way, to people in the past.
"The earlier shoe at the very bottom has got this really long, elongated, pointed toe. Whereas the ones above are much more like the ones we imagine Henry the Eighth wearing, they've got these broad toes. So very fashionable shoes that Londoners were wearing."
Despite the detailed archaeological work, construction of Crossrail remains on schedule. The first trains will take passengers through these tunnels in late 2018.
I'm Phil Dierking.
词汇解析
1.underground railway 地铁
London's subway, the world's first underground railway network, first opened in 1863.
伦敦地铁是世界上第一个地下铁路网，于1863年首次启动。
2.leather shoes 皮鞋
The store had quite an array of leather shoes in stock.
这个商店有相当一批皮鞋现货。
3.leather shoes 疾病爆发
The store had quite an array of leather shoes in stock.
这个商店有相当一批皮鞋现货。
4.bowling ball 保龄球
After the collision, the bowling ball continues unaltered.
在碰撞之后，保龄球继续不受影响。
内容解析
1.According to Keily, the shoes connect people, in a way, to people in the past.
in a way 某种程度上；有点
She was afraid in a way that was quite new to her
她感到从未有过的害怕。
He dresses in a way that lets everyone know he's got authority
他的穿着打扮让大家都知道他已经掌权了。
2.Hundreds of human skulls were also found beneath what is now the financial district of London.
financial district 金融区
First Canadian Place is the focal point of the country's busiest business and financial district.
加拿大第一广场的焦点我国最繁忙的商业金融区。
We met in a bar in the financial district.
我们是在金融区的一间酒吧遇到的。
参考译文
伦敦地下建设项目挖出8000年历史
“交叉型铁轨工程”的目的是为了缓解伦敦交通压力。不过，该工程有幸让伦敦见证了自身8000年的历史。
杰基·凯利（Jackie Keily）是伦敦道克兰博物馆“交叉铁路考古学”展览馆馆长。她表示，“交叉铁路工程伟大之处在于能够让我们大致了解一下伦敦。”
这一连接希斯罗机场与金融区的地下铁路工程已经出土了10000多种史前文物。凯利表示，最令人称奇的是公元245年的一枚铜章。当时的罗马人统治着英国南部。
“铜章可能是罗马皇帝授予某位高官的。不可思议的是，这个铜章居然被人从罗马帝国带至伦敦。”
另一件有趣的文物是罗马的“河马凉鞋。”这种金属鞋是为驮兽特制的。早期，伦敦的牛或马在湿漉漉的大街上驮运货物时会穿这种鞋。
伦敦金融区地下还出土了数百个人类头骨。这些遗骨或许就是古罗马剧场附近角斗场上的失败者？
其中一件罕见的文物是一具女性骨架，她的头骨被放置在腿骨旁边。她长眠在如今的利物浦街车站下，现被原封不动的放在展览馆中。
交叉铁路轨道还经过多处墓地，有的历史源头甚至可追溯到重大疫情爆发时期，如1348年的黑死病瘟疫。英国死于这场瘟疫的人约150万。
另外，还有很多反映伦敦轻松愉悦生活的史前文物。16世纪的一间住宅的壕沟里发现了保龄球。此外还出土了数百只皮鞋。这些文物的历史约有500年。
凯利认为，从某种程度来说，这些鞋成为古今之人联系的纽带。
“最底端的是早期的鞋，脚趾部分又长又尖。上面的鞋更像是亨利八世所穿，脚趾部分略宽。如此看来，当时伦敦人穿的鞋子还是很时尚的。”
虽然考古工作冗杂，不过交叉铁路轨道工程的进度依旧如期进行。2018年末，第一辆火车将搭载乘客穿过地道。
菲尔·迪尔金为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
