玛雅日历中的秘密

山东 孙启禄

1Two pieces of an ancient wall may preserve the earliest evi⁃dence of the Maya calendar (玛雅日历).The pieces are deco⁃rated with a dot and line above a deer head—representing one of the dates from the 260⁃day calendar—and they are from a temple built between 2,300 and 2,200 years ago in what is now Guate⁃mala in Central America.

2Several ancient communities living across the Americas—including the Aztecs,Maya,Mixtecs and Zapotecs—tracked the time using cycles of 13 days symbolized by num⁃bers,alongside cycles of 20 days named after gods.In this calendar,a specific day is as⁃signed (分配) both a number and a name,producing 260 unique days before the cycle re⁃peats.It is thought that people used the calendar to decide when to hold ceremonies,to mark important dates or to attempt to predict future events.

3Until now,most previous early evidence for the calendar used by these ancient people had been found on stone monuments dating back to around 100 BC.David Stuart at the University of Texas at Austin and his colleagues have now found evidence that the Maya people may have used this calendar over a century earlier.

4The team previously discovered the San Bartolo archaeological site,which includes a pyramid called Las Pinturas—meaning“the paintings”—back in 2001.Excavations then revealed that the Maya completed several phases of construction,with earlier struc⁃tures eventually knocked down to form the foundations of the pyramid.When the re⁃searchers were sorting through pieces of plaster(灰泥)collected from the pyramid's founda⁃tions,they realized that two pieces fit perfectly together to form a date symbol.“That was a stunner (令人震惊的事情)—we believe that this is the earliest example of the use of the Maya calendar,showing the day 7 Deer,”says Stuart.

5“Early evidence of the calendar has been debated,but in this study the two pieces present clear evidence of the 260⁃day calendar use.This is very important work,”says Takeshi Inomata at the University of Arizona.

一、阅读自测

1.What does the underlined word“they”in paragraph 1 refer to?

A.The dates. B.The pieces.

C.The deer. D.The dot and line.

2.What is the second paragraph mainly about?

A.The formation of the Maya calendar.

B.Different ways of keeping time at that time.

C.The communities living across the Americas.

D.The time to hold ceremonies and mark important dates.

3.How did the researchers feel when they fitted the pieces together?

A.They were discouraged. B.They were surprised.

C.They were ignorant. D.They were at a loss.

4.What is Takeshi Inomata's attitude towards the discovery?

A.Negative. B.Critical. C.Doubtful. D.Positive.

二、语篇解码

本文是一篇新闻报道。在一幅古代中美洲壁画的两个碎片中，考古学家在黑点和实线下方看到动物头部的痕迹——这些符号代表“七鹿”，是260天日历中的一天。这两个碎片被认为是玛雅日历的最早证据。

三、语言学习

（一）语料荟萃

（二）语句分析

1.It is thought that people used the calendar to decide when to hold ceremonies,to mark important dates or to attempt to predict future events.人们认为，（当时）人们使用日历来决定何时举行仪式，标记重要日期或试图预测未来事件。

【点石成金】本句是一个主从复合句。It is thought that...意为“人们认为……”。It是形式主语，that 引导的是主语从句；when to hold ceremonies 是“疑问词+to do”的结构，在句中作宾语。

2.Excavations then revealed that the Maya completed several phases of construction,with earlier structures eventually knocked down to form the foundations of the pyramid.考古发现，玛雅人完成了几个阶段的建造，早期的建筑最终被拆毁，形成了金字塔的基础。

【点石成金】本句是一个主从复合句。Excavations then revealed 是主句，that the Maya completed...pyramid 是宾语从句，with earlier structures eventually knocked down...pyramid 是“with+宾语+宾补”的结构，由于earlier structures 和knock down 有逻辑上的动宾关系，所以用V⁃ed形式作宾语补足语。

四、语言运用

（一）例句仿写

1.人们认为丝绸大约在公元前400年沿着丝绸之路出口。

_____________________along the Silk Road routes in about 400 BC.

2.小女孩站在大厅中间，眼睛盯着墙上的画。

The little girl was standing in the middle of the hall,_____________________.

（二）写作实践

假定你是学校网站英语专栏的小记者，请你根据以下信息写一篇报道，刊登在学校的英语网站上。内容如下：

1.玛雅日历的最早证据被发现；

2.对证据的描述；

3.专家的观点。注意：

1.词数80左右；

2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。