人教版英语课本原文(必修1~选修9)

　　A VISIT TO THE ZHOUKOUDIAIN CAVES

　　A group of students (S) from England has come to the Zhoukoudian caves for a visit. An archaeologist (A) is showing them round.

　　A:  Welcome to the Zhoukoudian caves here in China. It is a great pleasure to meet you students from England, who are interested in archaeology. You must be aware that it's here that we found evidence of some of the earliest people who lived in this part of the world. We've been excavating here for many years and ...

　　S1: I'm sorry to interrupt you but how could they live here? There are only rocks and trees.

　　A: Good question. You are an acute observer. We have found human and animal bones in those caves higher up the hill as well as tools and other objects. So we think it is reasonable to assume they lived in these caves, regardless of the cold.

　　S2: How did they keep warm? They couldn't have mats, blankets or quilts like we do. It must have been very uncomfortable.

　　A: We've discovered fireplaces in the centre of the caves where they made fires. That would have kept them warm, cooked the food and scared wild beasts away as well. We have been excavating layers of ash almost six metres thick, which suggests that they might have kept the fire burning all winter. We haven't found any doors but we think they might have hung animal skins at the cave mouth to keep out the cold during the freezing winter.

　　S3: What wild animals were there all that time ago?

　　A: Well, we've been finding the bones of tigers and bears in the caves, and we think these were their most dangerous enemies. Now what do you think this tells us about the life of these early people? (shows picture of a sewing needle)

　　S2.: Gosh! That's a needle. Goodness, does that mean they repaired things?

　　A: What else do you think it might have been used for?

　　S4: Let me look at it. It's at most three centimetres long. Ah yes, it seems to be made of bone. I wonder how they made the hole for the ...

　　S2: (interrupting) Do you mean that they made their own clothes? Where did they get the material?

　　A: They didn't have material like we have today. Can you guess what they used?

　　Sl: Wow! Did they wear clothes made entirely of animal skins? How did they prepare them? I'm  sure they were quite heavy to cut and sew together.

　　A: Our evidence suggests that they did wear clothes made from animal skins. We continue discovering tools that were sharpeners for other tools. It seems that they used the sharpened stone tools to cut up animals and remove their skin. Then smaller scrapers were probably used to remove the fat and meat from the skin. After that they would rub an ample amount of salt onto the skin to make it soft. Finally, they would cut it and sew the pieces together. Quite a difficult and messy task! Now look at this. (shows a necklace)

　　S2:Why, it's a primitive necklace. Did early people really care about their appearance like we do? It's lovely!

　　A:Yes, and so well preserved. What do you think it's made of?.

　　S4et me see. Oh, I think some of the beads are made of animal bones but others are made of shells.

　　A:How clever you are! One bone is actually an animal tooth and the shells are from the seaside. Can you identify any other bones?

　　S1:This one looks very much like a fish bone. Is that reasonable?

　　A:Yes, indeed, as the botanical analyses have shown us, all the fields around here used to be part of a large shallow lake. Probably there were fish in it.

　　S3:But a lake is not the sea. We are miles from the sea, so how did the seashells get here?

　　Aerhaps there was trade between early peoples or they travelled to the seaside on their journeys. We know that they moved around, following the herds of animals. They didn't grow their own crops, but picked fruit when it ripened and hunted animals. That's why they are called hunters and gatherers. Now, why don't we go and visit the caves?

　　THE  FEAST: 18,000 BC

　　Worried about the preparations for her feast, Lala quickly turned for home with her collection of nuts, melons and other fruit. It was the custom of family groups to separate and then gather again at different sites for reunions as they followed the animal herds across the grasslands. A wrinkle appeared on her forehead. If only it could be just like last year! At that time she had been so happy when Dahu chose her as the future mother of his children. He was the best toolmaker in the group and it was a great honour for her to be chosen. She remembered the blood pulsing through her veins. She had felt so proud as the group shouted loudly to applaud his choice. If only she had looked ahead and planned better this year! Then she wouldn't have been feeling so worried now.

　　Having heard wolves howling in the forest, Lala accelerated her walk up the path to the caves fearing that there might be wild beasts lying in wait for her. She had no man with his spear to protect her. She had almost reached her destination when a delicious smell arrested her progress and she stopped. So the men had brought home the meat for the feast! The smell of cooking meat filled the air surrounding her, and her senses became dizzy with hunger. She could see her mother and the older children preparing the deer and pig meat over the fire. Her aunts were making clothes with animal skins. Abruptly she sat down, only to be scooped up by her laughing, shouting sister, Luna. Lala smiled with relief. It was good to have her family around her.

　　Just then a tall man came up behind her. He had a large, square face, with strongly pronounced eyebrows and cheekbones. Over his shoulder he carried several fish and some pieces of wood under his arm. Lala smiled and handed some stone scrapers over to Dahu, who smiled and went outside the cave to begin his task.

　　First he looked carefully at the scrapers and then went to a corner of the cave and pulled out some more tools. They were in a pile with other sharp arrowheads and stone axe-heads. He chose one large stone and began to use it like a hammer striking the edge of the scraper that needed sharpening. Now and then Dahu would stop, look at it and try it against his hand before continuing his task. He stopped when he felt the scrapers were sharp enough to cut up the meat and scrape the fish. As he passed them to Lala, the first of the guests from the neighbouring caves began to arrive for dinner. Lala's spirits rose. Yes, it was going to be just as wonderful as last year! She smiled to herself gaily and went out of the cave to welcome her friends and neighbours.