Step 1: Intensive reading.
Try to answer the question below while you’re reading:
Question: How did the archaeologists know that the statue was a goddess?
Vocabulary:
goddess n .女神
sacred adj.宗教的，神圣的
archaeologist n .考古学家
fragment n .碎片
Aegean adj .爱琴海的
remains n .遗物，遗迹，废墟
explore v .考察，勘探
classical adj.（ 希腊和罗马）古文化的
promontory n .海角
prosperous adj.（经济上）繁荣的
reconstruct v.修复
rest v .倚放，放置
civilization n .文明
hip n.屁股，臀部
storey n .楼层
full-length adj.（裙衣）拖地长的
drainage n.排水
graceful adj .优雅的
worship n .崇拜
identity n .身份
Passage:
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.
不久之前，在爱琴海的基亚岛上，考古工作者有一项有趣的发现。一个美国考古
队在阿伊亚.依里尼海角的一座古城里考察了一座庙宇。这座古城肯定一度很繁
荣，因为它曾享有高度的文明，房子一般有 3 层楼高，用石块修建。里面房间很
大，墙壁装饰华丽。城里甚至还铺设了排水系统，因为在狭窄的街道底下发现了
许许多多陶土制作的排水管道。
Notes:
1 the Aegean island of Kea,爱琴海的基亚岛。爱琴海是东地中海的一部分，位于希
腊半岛和小亚细亚之间，它包括希腊半岛以外的许多岛屿。基亚岛位于希腊半岛
东南方的海域里。
2 Ayia irini,阿伊亚.依里尼，意为“圣依里尼” ，Irini 是希腊文，意为“和平”。
The temple which the archaeologists explored was used as a place of worship from
the 15th century B.C. until Roman times. In the most sacred room of the temple, clay
fragments of 15 statues were found. Each of these represented a goddess and had, at
one time, been painted.
考古工作者考察的这座庙宇从公元前 15 世纪直到罗马时代一直是祭祀祈祷的场
所。在庙中最神圣的一间殿堂里发现了 15 尊陶雕像的碎片。每一尊雕像代表一
位女神，而且一度上过色。
Notes:
3 The city at one time must have been prosperous, for it enjoyed a high level of
civilization.这座古城肯定一度很繁荣，因为它曾享有高度的文明。must have been
是对过去的推测。at one time,一度。
4 Roman times,罗马时代。指古罗马（约公元前 200 -公元 400）时期，那时罗马
人在欧洲建立了帝国。
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 5th 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.
其中有一尊雕像，她的躯体是在公元前 15 世纪的历史文物中发现的，而她那身
异处的脑袋却碰巧是在公元前 5 世纪的文物中找到的。她的脑袋一定是在古希腊
罗马时代就为人所发现,并受到了精心的保护。即使在当时,它也属历史悠久的珍
奇之物。考古工作者把这些碎片重新拼装起来后惊奇地发现那位女神原来是一位
相貌十分摩登的女郎。
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.
她身高 3 英尺，双手叉腰。身穿一条拖地长裙，尽管上了年纪，但体态确实优美。
不过，考古工作者至今未能确定这位女神的身份。
Notes:
5 date from,追溯到。
6 Classical times,指古希腊，古罗马时代。
7 the goddess turned out to be..., 那位女神原来是...。
3.2【阅读理解】An unknown goddess
Step 2: Comprehension questions.
Comprehension:
1 Where was this interesting discovery made? (On the Aegean island of Kea.)
2 What did the American team explore? (A temple which stands in an ancient city.)
3 It's in a place called Ayia Irini, isn't it? (Yes, it is.)
4 How do we know the city must have been prosperous? (Because it enjoyed a high
level of civilization.)
5 How high were some of the houses? (Three storeys.)
6 What were they built of? (Stone.)
7 They weren't made of wood, were they? (No, they weren't.)
8 What were these houses like? (They had large rooms and were beautifully
decorated.)
9 What was the city equipped with? (A drainage system.)
10 How long had the temple they explored been used as a place of worship? (From
the fifteenth century B.C. until Roman times.)
11 They found fragments of statues. How many statues? (Fifteen.)
12 What did these statues represent? (Goddesses.)
13 What was interesting about the body and head of one of the statues? (The body
was among remains dating from the fifteenth century and the head among the remains
of the fifth century B.C.)
14 When had the head been found and preserved? (In Classical times.)
15 What did the archaeologists do to the fragments? (They reconstructed them.)
16 And what was the result? (The goddess turned out to be a very modern-looking
woman.)
17 What did she look like? (She was three feet high and her hands rested on her hips.
18 What was she wearing? ( a full-length skirt.)
3.3【拓展写作】An unknown goddess
Step 3: Composition
Write an imaginary account of how the archaeologists explored the sacred room of the
ancient temple. Expand the following into a paragraph of about 150 words.
After walking around the ancient city, the archaeologists...This temple... On entering
the sacred room, the archaeologists...After this, workmen began digging and soon
discovered … They also found…The archaeologists carefully …They were
astonished to find that ... The goddess was ... She ... Although the archaeologists...
they were unable to find out her name.
Key to composition
A possible answer
After walking around the ancient city, the archaeologists discovered an ancient temple.
This temple had obviously been a place of worship because it contained a sacred room.
On entering the sacred room, the archaeologists found the clay fragments of fifteen
statues, each of which was a goddess which had once been painted. After this,
workmen began digging and soon discovered the head of a statue among remains
dating from the fifth century B.C. They also found the body of this statue among
remains from the fifteenth century B.C. The archaeologists carefully put the
fragments together. They were astonished to find that the figure was a goddess. The
goddess was a modern-looking woman. She had her hands on her hips and she was
wearing a full-length skirt. Although the archaeologists tried very hard to identify her,
they were unable to find out her name.
课外练习：
1 The interesting discovery made by the archaeologists was .
(a)that the city had once been prosperous
(b)that the temple had been used as a place of worship
(c)they found the fifteen statues had been painted
(d) that they were not the first to have found the head of the goddess
2 The city 'enjoyed a high level of civilization' This is confirmed by the fact that
______.
(a)some of the houses were built only one storey high
(b) great number of fragments were found in the temple
(c)the city had been built on clay
(d)advanced techniques had been employed in building and decorating
3 In seeking to establish the identity of the reconstructed statue, the archaeologists
________.
(a)tried to determine which goddess it represented
(b)pieced together the fragments they found
(c)discovered that it was more modern than any of the other statues
(d)wondered whether it belonged to the fifth or the fifteenth century
4 The city had once known .
(a) prosperity
(b)the prosperous
(c) the prosperity
(d) prosperity
5 The temple used as place of worship since Roman time.
(a)was
(b) has not been
(c) had been
(d) was not
6 They found that the goddess turned out to be ...
(a)surprisingly
(b) with surprise
(c)to their surprise
(d) surprise
7 being very old, she was very graceful.
(a)Although
(b)In spite of
(c)Even
(d) Even though
8 So far, the archaeologists to discover her identity.
(a)have been impossible
(b)have not been able
(c)cannot have been
(d)could not
9 In the most room of the temple ...
(a)holy
(b) religious
(c)frightening
(d) colourful
10 The head was carefully preserved. It was .
(a)well done
(b)conserved
(c)maintained
(d) in good condition
11 The goddess to be a very modern-looking woman.
(a)appeared
(b)proved
(c) resolved
(d) changed
12 But, the archaeologists have been unable...
(a)beforehand
(b)until now
(c) for long time
(d) at this distance
答案：1d 2d 3a 4d 5b 6c 7b 8b 9a 10d 11b 12b
3.1【故事精讲】The double life of Alfred Bloggs