外研版选修七第六模块课文及翻译-Microsoft-Word-文档

1Module6TheWorld’sCulturalHeritagePart1TheAmazingCavesofZhoukoudianZhoukoudianisasmallvillageabout50kilometressouth-westofBeijing.Inthe1920s,archaeologistsdiscoveredsomeprehistorichumanbonestherewhichchangedChina’sknowledgeofitshistory.TheycamefromanunknownspeciesofmanandwerethefirstevidenceofprimitivehumanlifeinChinathousandsofyearsago.Theremainswere…threeteeth!In1929,acompleteskullwasalsodiscovered.Eventually,archaeologistsfoundalmost200items,includingsixskullsandmorethan150teeth.Thesediscoveriesprovedtheexistenceofahumanspecieswholivedintheareabetween700,000and200,000yearsago.FoursiteswhereBeijingManandhisrelationslivedwerediscoveredonthenorthernfaceofDragonBoneHill(Longgushan).Theylivedinthelimestonecavesinthearea.However,thelifespanofBeijingManwasshort.About70%ofthepeopleprobablydiedbeforetheageof14.fewerthan5%livedtotheageof50.Evenso,theywerequitesophisticated.Asheswerefoundalongsidethefossilswhichshowedtheyusedfireforcoolingfoodandalsoforlight,warmthandprotectionfromwildbeasts.Thisistheearliestevidenceoftheusefireanywhereintheworld.Theyalsomadetoolsofbonesandsharpenedstones.Unfortunately,whenJapaninvadedChinain1937,excavationsattheBeijingManSitestoppedandmostofthefossilsdisappeared,includingaBeijingManskull.Theyhaveneverbeenfound.Afterthepeople’sRepublicofChinawasestablishedin1949,theworkstartedagainandZhoukoudianbecameanimportanttouristattraction.ZhoukoudianwaslistedasaworldheritagesiteinDecember1987.IthasnotonlygivenusimportantinformationaboutprehistoricAsiansocieties,butalsohasprovidedamazingevidenceabouttheprocessofevolution.惊人的周口店山顶洞周口店是位于北京西南约50公里的一个小村庄。20世纪20年代考古学家在那里发现了史前人类的遗骨，这一发现改变了中国人对自身历史的认识。那是一种未知人种的的遗骨，是许多年前原始人生活在中国的第一证据。遗留物是…三颗牙齿！1929年，一个完整的头盖骨也被发掘出来。最终，考古学家逐渐发现了约两百件遗物，包括六个头盖骨和150多颗牙齿。这些发现证明：在大约20万到70万年前就有人类生活在该地区。人们在龙骨山的北坡发现了北京人及其近亲居住过的四处遗址。他们生活在该地区的石灰岩洞中。然而，北京人的寿命很短，约70%的北京人可能都活不到14岁。活到50岁的人不到5%。尽管如此，北京人进化程度已经很高。跟化石一起发现的灰烬表明他们用火来做饭、照明、取暖和抵御野兽。这是世界上使用火种的最早证据。他们还使用骨头和尖石做成工具。不幸的是，1937年日军侵华时，北京人遗址的挖掘工作被迫中断，大多数化石不翼而飞，其中包括一个北京人头盖骨，他们至今下落不明。1949年中华人民共和国成立之后，挖掘工作重新开始，周口店成了重要的旅游景区。1987年12月，周口店被列入世界文化遗产。它不仅为我们提供了史前亚洲社会的重要信息，而且为我们提供了人类进化历程惊人的证据。Part2BeijingManHeritageSiteinDanger2TheZhoukoudianBeijingManSiteisoneofthemostimportantworldheritagesitesinChina.Sincethediscoverywasmadeinthe1920s,Zhoukoudianhasbecomeanimportantplaceforarchaeologistsfromallovertheworld.Atthesiteinthesouth-westsuburbofBeijing,thereis,forexample,theearliestevidenceoftheuseoffirebyhumans.Ithasalsobeenprovedthatpeoplelivedtherecontinuouslybetween500,000and10,000yearsago.Today,however,Zhoukoudianisinserousdanger.Partsofthecavehavebeenbadlyaffectedbyrainandexposuretotheair.Someareasarealmostcompletelycoveredinweeds,causingseriousdamage.Pollutionfromnearbycementfactorieshasalsocontributedtotheproblem.Thesiteisextremelyexpensivetomaintainanditwillcostbetweenthreeandfivemillionyuantorepairit.Atthemoment,visitorsarenotallowedtovisitthecaves.ZhoukoudianisontheWorldCulturalHeritageList,organizedbyUNESCO,theUnitedNationsEducational,ScientificandCulturalOrganization.Thelistisconstantlychecked.Anysitewhichisseriouslydamagedorwhichisnotproperlyprotectedisanendangeredheritage,andUNESCOisveryquicktodosomethingaboutsituationslikethis.Theyhaverecommendedthatthesitebeclosedandrepaired.Ifnothingisdonetorepairit,itcouldberemovedfromthelist.ThisisaveryseriousmatterandtheChineseAcademyofSciencesistryingtoraisepublicawarenessaboutit.Theyhavesuggestedthatthegeneralpublicbeencouragedtohelpwiththeproblem.AprofessorattheAcademyhasproposedthatafundbeestablishedtoraisemoney.DrZhuMingoftheAcademysaid,“Wehaverequestedthatthegovernmentgetinvolved,butwealsoneedassistancefromordinarypeople.Theycanhelpbycontributiontothecostofrepairingthecaves.Theyareapreciouspartofourculturalheritage–itisofvitalimportancethatwedosomething.Ifnot,itwillbeacatastrophe.”面临危险的北京人遗址周口店北京人遗址是中国最重要的世界遗产之一。自20世纪20年代被发现以来，周口店对于全世界考古学家来说已经成了一个重要的地方。比如，在北京西南郊区的遗址处，有人类使用火种的最早证据。它还证明了1万到50万年前，那里一直有人类生存。然而，今日的周口店却面临着巨大的危险。部分山洞因受到雨水的侵蚀和空气接触，损坏严重。一些地方杂草丛生，破败不堪。附近水泥厂产生的污染对此也难辞其咎。维护遗址需要高额的费用，修复费用在三百万到五百万之间。目前，已经禁止游客参观这些山洞。周口店已被联合国教科文组织列入《世界文化遗产名录》。名单上的各处遗产需经常接受检查。任何破坏严重或保护不利的遗产都是濒危遗产，联合国教科文组织会及时采取行动。该组织提议关闭这些遗址并进行维修。若不进行修复，这些遗址就有可能被除名。形势相当严峻，中国科学院正在努力唤醒公众的保护意识。他们建议鼓励公众来帮助解决这一问题。中科院的一位教授提议设立基金会来筹集资金。来自中科院的朱明博士说：“我们已经要求政府参与，但我们同样需要普通大众的协助。他们可以通过捐献养护洞穴的费用来帮忙。它们是我们文化遗产中极其宝贵的部分——因此我们采取行动就显得尤其重要，否则就会造成灾难性的后果。”3ReadingandwritingAttheSuzhouconferenceinJune2004,oneofthedelegatespraisedChina’sworkonheritagesites,“Chinahasdoneexcellentworkinprotectingworldheritage,bothtangibleandintangible.”Tangibleculturalheritageincludesmuseumsandmonuments–thingsyoucanseeandtouch.Butwhatisintangibleculturalheritage?Intangibleculturalheritage,whichisalsocalledlivingculturalheritage,consistsofthefollowingfeatures:1OralHeritageThisincludeslanguages,spokenliterature,music,dance,games,customsandknowledgeoftraditionalcraftwork.Italsoincludestheculturalplaceswherepopularandtraditionalculturalactivitiestakeplace(forexample,sitesforstory–tellingandfestivals,etc).2LivingHumanTreasuresLivinghumantreasuresarepeoplewhohavethekno