一起听英语 32 100件讲述人类历史的古物
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    大英博物馆陈列出了100件展品,通过这100件展品,我们可以探索人类历史的秘密。

    Dan: Hello and welcome to this week's 6 Minute English. I'm Dan and today I'm

    joined by Kate.

    Kate: Hi Dan.

    Dan: Hi Kate. Now in today's programme we’re talking about a new exhibition at

    the British Museum in London, which is attempting to define the whole of

    human history through 100 objects.

    Kate: Yes, well from stone-age tools to the modern credit card, the museum says

    certain key objects can demonstrate man's development up until the present

    day – in particular our important advances in art, technology, religion, warfare

    and trade.

    Dan: So Kate, this week's question for you is: How many objects are there in the

    whole of the British Museum collection? Is it:

    a) 8 million

    b) 11 million

    c) 13 million

    Kate: That's a hard one. I've got absolutely no idea. But I'm going to go for c, the

    largest number: 13 million.

    Dan: Well, we'll see if you're right at the end of the programme.

    6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2010

    Page 2 of 5

    Kate: Now the museum has spent four years organising the exhibition. So Dan how

    did they choose the final 100 objects that are being put on display?

    Dan: Well, the museum's director, Neil MacGregor, says that they've chosen the

    objects that give us an idea of how different cultures have interacted; that is,

    how they worked together or formed relationships.

    Kate: So let's have a listen to the first extract as he explains how scientific

    developments have changed the significance of certain objects. How does he

    describe the effect that scientific discoveries have had on our understanding?

    Extract 1

    Most of us, I think, if we come back to a museum that we visited as a child, have the

    sense that we've changed enormously, while the things have remained serenely the same.

    But of course they haven't. Thanks to constant research into new scientific techniques,

    what we can know about them is constantly growing.

    Kate: OK, well he says that what we know about the objects is constantly growing.

    The word constant here means continuous or frequent. So to say that what we

    know is constantly growing means that it is always expanding or getting

    bigger in size.

    Dan: He also said that we might think things remain serenely the same. Serene

    means calm, tranquil or steady. So here he means we think things have steadily

    remained the same.

    The impact of science on our understanding of historical objects is

    demonstrated in one of the first pieces in the collection, an ancient Egyptian

    mummy – the preserved body of ancient Egyptian priest, which has been

    wrapped in linen in preparation for the afterlife.

    6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2010

    Page 3 of 5

    Kate: In the next clip we're going to hear from a specialist from the museum's ancient

    Egypt and Sudan department as he explains how new analysis of mummies can

    provide information on trade in the ancient world, and show that cultures

    interacted far more than we originally thought.

    Dan: He uses the word mummification, which means the process of preserving the

    bodies as mummies, by wrapping them in strips of material. And also the term

    chemical composition. What does he mean by that Kate?

    Kate: Well, the chemical composition is the basic make-up of chemicals in a

    particular object. Let's have a listen; how do the mummies help us to

    understand trading in the ancient world?

    Extract 2:

    We can also look at substances used in mummification; we can test them; we can look at

    the chemical composition of them; find out what materials were being used; maybe now

    we can look at where they were coming from. We can compare these chemical make-ups

    with substances found in different parts of the Mediterranean, and begin to reconstruct

    the trading networks that supplied these things to Egypt.

    Dan: So an object that we thought was uniquely Egyptian – a mummy – can give us

    information about interaction across the ancient world by analysing what

    materials are being used and where they've come from. What these objects

    show is that we share more history than we originally thought.

    Kate: We also heard the words reconstruct and network. To reconstruct something

    means to rebuild it or recreate it.

    Dan: And a network means a system of connections and contacts, in this context,

    trading contacts in the ancient world.

    6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2010

    Page 4 of 5

    Kate: So as our knowledge of the world gets better, we are gaining a deeper

    understanding of how cultures have worked together to get to where we are

    today.

    Dan: The Egyptian writer Ahdaf Soueif describes the history of the world as a 'joint

    project'. Which area of history does she say she'd focus on to help people

    understand their relationship with each other?

    Extract three:

    If I could decree a universal education programme I would make every child in the

    world learn a brief history of the entire world that focussed on the common ground. It

    would examine how people perceive their relationship to each other, to the planet, and to

    the universe.

    Dan: She said she'd focus on the common ground of history. Common ground

    usually means an area of shared understanding. So by examining the common

    ground of cultures and history, people could gain a wider understanding of the

    history of the world.

    Kate: Oh it's all fascinating stuff, but we’re almost out of time unfortunately, so let’s

    go over some of the vocabulary we’ve come across today:

    interact

    constant

    serenely

    mummy

    mummification

    reconstruct

    network

    common ground

    6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2010

    Page 5 of 5

    Dan: And let's go back to today's question. I asked you Kate how many objects there

    are in the whole of the British Museum collection? Is it:

    d) 8 million

    e) 11 million

    f) 13 million

    Kate: And I took a wild guess at c, 13 million.

    Dan: And again you'd be exactly right. Thirteen million objects in the whole of the

    British Museum.

    Kate: Oh, you'll have to start making your questions a bit harder Dan.

    Dan: Well, we'll see about that.

    So from all of us here at BBC Learning English, thanks very much for

    listening, and goodbye!

    Kate: Goodbye!

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