雅思最新OG中TEST 1 Passage 1 阅读原文及题目
2014-04-26 23:12阅读：
The Dover Bronze-Age Boat
A beautifully preserved boat, made around 3,000 years ago and
discovered by chance in a muddy hole, has had a profound impact on
archaeological research.
It was 1992. In England, workmen were building a new road through
the heart of Dover, to connect the ancient port and the Channel
Tunnel, which, when it opened just two years later, was to be the
first land link between Britain and Europe for over 10,000 years. A
small team from the Canterbury Archaeological Trust (CAT) worked
alongside the workmen, recording new discoveries brought to light
by the machines.
At the base of a deep shaft six metres below the modern streets a
wooden structure was revealed. Cleaning away the waterlogged site
overlying the timbers, archaeologists realized its true nature.
They had found a prehistoric boat, preserved by the type of
sediment in which it was buried. It was then named the Dover
Bronze-Age Boat.
About nine m
etres of the boat’s length was recovered; one end lay beyond the
excavation and had to be left. What survived consisted essentially
of four intricately carved and stitched to the others. The seams
had been made watertight by pads of moss, fixed by wedges and yew
stitches.
The timers that closed the recovered end of the boat had been
removed in antiquity when it was abandoned, but much about its
original shape could be deduced. There was also evidence for
missing upper side planks. The boat was not a wreck, but had been
deliberately discarded, dismantled and broken. Perhaps it had been
‘ritually killed’ at the end of its life, like other Bronze-Age
objects.
With hindsight, it was significant that the boat was found and
studied by mainstream archaeologists who naturally focused on its
cultural context. At the time, ancient boats were often considered
only from a narrower technological perspective, but news about the
Dover boat reached a broad audience. In 2002, on the tenth
anniversary of the discovery, the Dover Bronze-Age Boat Trust
hosted a conference, where this meeting of different traditions
became apparent. Alongside technical papers about the boat, other
speakers explored its social and economic contexts, and the
religious perceptions of boats in Bronze-Age societies. Many
speakers came from overseas, and debate about cultural connections
was renewed.
Within seven years of excavation, the Dover boat had been conserved
and displayed, but it was apparent that there were issues that
could not be resolved simply by studying the old wood. Experimental
archaeology seemed to be the solution: a boat reconstruction,
half-scale or full-sized, would permit assessment of the different
hypotheses regarding its build and the missing end. The possibility
of returning to Dover to search for the boat’s unexcavated northern
end was explored, but practical and financial difficulties were
insurmountable - and there was no guarantee that the timbers had
survived the previous decade in the changed environment.
Detailed proposals to reconstruct the boat were drawn up in 2004.
Archaeological evidence was beginning to suggest a Bronze-Age
community straddling the Channel, brought together by the sea,
rather than separated by it. In a region today divided by language
and borders, archaeologists had a duty to inform the general public
about their common cultural heritage.
The boat project began in England but it was conceived from the
start as a European collaboration. Reconstruction was only part of
a scheme that would include a major exhibition and an extensive
educational and outreach programme. Discussions began early in 2005
with archaeological bodies, universities and heritage organizations
either side of the Channel. There was much enthusiasm and support,
and an official launch of the project was held at an international
seminar in France in 2007. Financial support was confirmed in 2008
and the project then named BOAT 1550BC got under way in June
2011.
A small team began to make the boat at the start of 2012 on
the Roman Lawn outside Dover museum. A full-scale reconstruction of
a mid-section had been made in 1996, primarily to see how
Bronze-Age replica tools performed. In 2012, however, the hull
shape was at the centre of the work; so modern power tools were
used to carve the oak planks, before turning to prehistoric tools
for finishing. It was decided to make the replica half-scale for
reasons of cost and time, and synthetic materials were used for the
stitching, owing to doubts about the scaling and tight
timetable.
Meanwhile, the exhibition was being prepared ready for opening in
July 2012 at the Castle Museum in Boulogne-sur-Mer. Entitled
‘Beyond the Horizon: Societies of the Channel & North Sea 3,500
years ago’, it brought together for the first time a remarkable
collection of Bronze-Age objects, including many new discoveries
for commercial archaeology and some of the great treasure of the
past. The reconstructed boat, as a symbol of the maritime
connections that bound together the communities either side of the
Channel, was the centerpiece.
Questions 1-5
Complete the flow-chart below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the text for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.
Key events
1992- the boat was discovered during the construction of a
1……
ê
2002- an international 2…… was held to gather information
ê
2004- 3……for the reconstruction were produced
ê
2007- the 4…… of BOAT 1550BC took place
ê
2012- the Bronze-Age 5……featured the boat and other objects
