剑桥雅思18阅读真题电子版Test2 Passage1

剑桥雅思18共收集了雅思真题4套，羊驼雅思整理了第二套阅读真题答案及解析Test 2 Reading，以下是阅读第一篇文章Passage1的文章原文，供烤鸭们复习参考。

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READING PASSAGE  1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13. which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.

Stonehenge

For centuries, historians and archaeologists have puzzled over the many mysteries of Stonehenge, a prehistoric monument that took an estimated 1,500 years to erect. Located on Salisbury Plain in southern England, it is comprised of roughly 100 massive upright stones placed in a circular layout.

Archaeologists believe England's most iconic prehistoric ruin was built in several stages, with the earliest constructed 5,000 or more years ago. First, Neolithic* Britons used primitive tools, which may have been fashioned out of deer antlers, to dig a massive circular ditch and bank, or henge. Deep pits dating back to that era and located within the circle may have once held a ring of timber posts, according to some scholars.

Several hundred years later, it is thought, Stonehenge's builders hoisted an estimated 80 bluestones, 43 of which remain today, into standing positions and placed them in either a horseshoe or circular formation. These stones have been traced all the way to the Preseli Hills in Wales, some 300 kilometres from Stonehenge. How, then, did prehistoric builders without sophisticated tools or engineering haul these boulders, which weigh up to four tons, over such a great distance?

According to one long-standing theory among archaeologists, Stonehenge's builders fashioned sledges and rollers out of tree trunks to lug the bluestones from the Preseli Hills. They then transferred the boulders onto rafts and floated them first along the Welsh coast and then up the River Avon toward Salisbury Plain; alternatively, they may have towed each stone with a fleet of vessels. More recent archaeological hypotheses have them transporting the bluestones with supersized wicker baskets on a combination of ball bearings and long grooved planks, hauled by oxen.

As early as the 1970s, geologists have been adding their voices to the debate over how Stonehenge came into being. Challenging the classic image of industrious builders pushing, carting, rolling or hauling giant stones from faraway Wales, some scientists have suggested that it was glaciers, not humans, that carried the bluestones to Salisbury Plain. Most archaeologists have remained sceptical about this theory, however, wondering how the forces of nature could possibly have delivered the exact number of stones needed to complete the circle.

The third phase of construction took place around 2000 BCE. At this point, sandstone slabs- known as 'sarsens'- were arranged into an outer crescent or ring; some were assembled into the iconic three-pieced structures called trilithons that stand tall in the centre of Stonehenge. Some 50 of these stones are now visible on the site, which may once have contained many more. Radiocarbon dating has revealed that work continued at Stonehenge until roughly 1600 BCE, with the bluestones in particular being repositioned multiple times.

But who were the builders of Stonehenge? In the 17th century, archaeologist John Aubrey made the claim that Stonehenge was the work of druids, who had important religious, judicial and political roles in Celtic** society,. This theory was widely popularized by the antiquarian William Stukeley, who had unearthed primitive graves at the site.

Even today, people who identify as modern druids continue to gather at Stonehenge for the summer solstice. However, in the mid-20th century, radiocarbon dating demonstrated that Stonehenge stood more than 1,000 years before the Celts inhabited the region.

Many modern historians and archaeologists now agree that several distinct tribes of people contributed to Stonehenge, each undertaking a different phase of its construction, Bones, tools and other artefacts found on the site seem to support this hypothesis. The first stage was achieved by Neolithic agrarians who were likely to have been indigenous to the British lsles. Later, it is believed, groups with advanced tools and a more communal way of life left their mark on the site. Some believe that they were immigrants from the European continent, while others maintain that they were probably native Britons, descended from the original builders.

If the facts surrounding the architects and construction of Stonehenge remain shadowy at best, the purpose of the striking monument is even more of a mystery. While there is consensus among the majority of modern scholars that Stonehenge once served the function of burial ground, they have yet to determine what other purposes it had.

In the 1960s, the astronomer Gerald Hawkins suggested that the cluster of megalithic stones operated as a form of calendar, with different points corresponding to astrological phenomena such as solstices, equinoxes and eclipses occurring at different times of the year. While his theory has received a considerable amount of attention over the decades, critics maintain that Stonehenge's builders probably lacked the knowledge necessary to predict such events or that England's dense cloud cover would have obscured their view of the skies.

More recently, signs of illness and injury in the human remains unearthed at Stonehenge led a group of British archaeologists to speculate that it was considered a place of healing, perhaps because bluestones were thought to have curative powers.

* Neolithic - The era, also known as the New Stone Age, which began around 12,000 years ago and ended around 3500 BCE

** Celtic - The Celts were people who lived in Britaln and northwest Europe during the lron Age from 600 BCE to 43 CE

参考译文

巨石阵

几个世纪以来，历史学家和考古学家一直对巨石阵的许多谜团感到困惑，这座史前纪念碑估计花了1500年的时间才建成。它位于英格兰南部的索尔兹伯里平原，由大约100个巨大的直立的石头呈圆形排列。

考古学家认为，英格兰最具标志性的史前遗迹是分几个阶段建造的，最早的一座建于5000年或更长时间前。首先，新石器时代的英国人使用可能由鹿角制成的原始工具挖掘了一个巨大的圆形沟渠和堤岸，或横河。据一些学者称，位于圆圈内的深坑可以追溯到那个时代，可能曾经有一圈木柱。

据认为，几百年后，巨石阵的建造者将大约80块青石(其中43块至今仍保留)吊成站立姿势，并将其放置成马蹄形或圆形。这些石头一直被追踪到威尔士的普雷塞利山，距离巨石阵约300公里。那么，没有复杂工具或工程的史前建造者是如何将这些重达四吨的巨石拖到这么远的地方的呢?

根据考古学家长期以来的一种理论，巨石阵的建造者用树干制作雪橇和滚筒，从普雷塞利山拖出青石。然后，他们把巨石转移到木筏上，让它们先沿着威尔士海岸，然后沿埃文河向上驶向索尔兹伯里平原;或者，他们可能会用一队船只拖走每块石头。最近的考古假说认为，他们用超大的柳条篮在球轴承和长槽木板的组合上运输青石，由牛拖运。

早在20世纪70年代，地质学家就一直在为巨石阵是如何形成的争论发声。一些科学家质疑了勤劳的建筑工人从遥远的威尔士推、拉、滚或拖运巨石的经典形象，他们认为是冰川而不是人类将青石带到了索尔兹伯里平原。然而，大多数考古学家仍然对这一理论持怀疑态度，他们想知道自然力量是如何提供确切数量的完成这个圆圈需要石头。

第三阶段的建设发生在公元前2000年左右。此时，被称为“萨尔森斯”的砂岩板被排列成一个外新月或环;其中一些被组装成标志性的三件式结构，称为巨石阵中心高耸的三石。现在可以在现场看到大约50块这样的石头，这些石头可能曾经包含过更多的石头。放射性碳测年显示，巨石阵的工作一直持续到公元前1600年左右，尤其是蓝石被多次重新定位。

但是巨石阵的建造者是谁呢?在17世纪，考古学家约翰·奥布里声称巨石阵是德鲁伊教徒的作品，他们在凯尔特社会中扮演着重要的宗教、司法和政治角色。这一理论得到了广泛的推广。

古物学家威廉·斯图克利(William Stukeley)在该遗址发掘了原始坟墓。

即使在今天，那些被认为是现代德鲁伊的人仍然会在夏至聚集在巨石阵。然而，在20世纪中叶，放射性碳测年表明，巨石阵比凯尔特人居住在该地区早了1000多年。

许多现代历史学家和考古学家现在都认为，几个不同的部落对巨石阵做出了贡献，每个部落都经历了不同的建造阶段，在遗址上发现的骨头、工具和其他文物似乎支持了这一假设。第一阶段是由新石器时代的农耕者实现的，他们可能是英国本土人。后来，人们相信，拥有先进工具和更社区化生活方式的团体在网站上留下了自己的印记。有些人认为他们是来自欧洲大陆的移民，而其他人则认为他们可能是英国本土人，是原始建筑商的后裔。

如果围绕巨石阵的建筑师和建筑的事实充其量只是模糊的，那么这座引人注目的纪念碑的目的就更加神秘了。虽然大多数现代学者都认为巨石阵曾经具有墓地的功能，但他们还没有确定它还有什么其他用途。

在20世纪60年代，天文学家杰拉尔德·霍金斯提出，巨石群是一种日历形式，不同的点对应于占星术现象，如至点、春分和日食发生在不同的时间年。虽然他的理论在几十年来受到了相当多的关注，但批评者认为，巨石阵的建造者可能缺乏预测此类事件所需的知识，或者英格兰的密集云层可能会挡住了他们对天空的视线。

最近，巨石阵出土的人类遗骸中的疾病和受伤迹象促使一群英国考古学家推测，巨石阵被认为是一个治疗的地方，也许是因为青石被认为具有治疗能力。

*新石器时代-这个时代，也被称为新石器时代，大约始于12000年前，结束于公元前3500年左右

**凯尔特人-凯尔特人是公元前600年至公元43年爱尔兰时代居住在不列颠和西北欧的人