An unknown goddess
原文
Lesson 3
An unknown goddess
How did the archaeologists know that the statue was a goddess?
Some time ago, an interesting discovery was made by archaeologists on the Aegean island of Kea.
An American team explored a temple which stands in an ancient city on the promontory of Ayia Irini.
The city at one time must have been prosperous, for it enjoyed a high level of civilization.
Houses -- often three storeys high -- were built of stone.
They had large rooms with beautifully decorated walls.
The city was even equipped with a drainage system, for a great many clay pipes were found beneath the narrow streets.
The temple which the archaeologists explored was used as a place of worship from the fifteenth century B.C. until Roman times.
In the most sacred room of the temple, clay fragments of fifteen statues were found.
Each of these represented a goddess and had, at one time, been painted.
The body of one statue was found among remains dating from the 15th century B.C.
Its missing head happened to be among remains of the fifth century B.C.
This head must have been found in Classical times and carefully preserved.
It was very old and precious even then.
When the archaeologists reconstructed the fragments, they were amazed to find that the goddess turned out to be a very modern-looking woman.
She stood three feet high and her hands rested on her hips.
She was wearing a full-length skirt which swept the ground.
Despite her great age, she was very graceful indeed, but, so far, the archaeologists have been unable to discover her identity.
译文
第3课
一位未知的女神
考古学家是如何知道这座雕像是女神的呢？
不久前，考古学家在爱琴海的基阿岛上有了一个有趣的发现。
一支美国团队考察了一座寺庙，这座寺庙位于阿伊亚·伊里尼（Ayia Irini）海岬上的一座古城里。
这座城市曾经一定非常繁荣，因为它拥有高度发达的文明。
房屋通常有三层楼高，是用石头建造的。
房间宽敞，墙壁装饰精美。
这座城市甚至配备了排水系统；因为在狭窄的街道下方发现了大量的陶土管道。
考古学家们探索的那座寺庙，从公元前15世纪起就被用作礼拜场所，一直使用到罗马时代。
在寺庙最神圣的房间里，发现了十五座雕像的陶土碎片。
每一尊雕像都代表一位女神，而且曾经都上过色。
一尊雕像的躯干是在可追溯至公元前15世纪的遗迹中被发现的。
它缺失的头部恰好在公元前5世纪的遗迹中被发现。
这个头部很可能是后来在古典时期被发现的，并且被精心保存了下来。
即使在那个时候，这尊雕像也已经非常古老且珍贵了。
当考古学家重新拼凑这些碎片时，他们惊讶地发现，这座女神的形象实际上是一位看起来非常现代的女性。
她身高三英尺，双手叉腰。
她穿着一条及地的长裙。
尽管年代久远，她的姿态依然十分优雅；不过到目前为止，考古学家还未能确定她的身份。