第 3 课 · An Unknown Goddess

An unknown goddess

一位不知名的女神

Some time ago, an interesting discovery was made by archaeologists on the Aegean island of Kea.

不久以前，考古学家在爱琴海的基亚岛上有一个有趣的发现。

An American team explored a temple which stands in an ancient city on the promontory of Ayia Irini.

一支美国考古队考察了一座神庙，这座神庙坐落在阿伊亚·伊里尼海角的一座古城里。

The city at one time must have been prosperous, for it enjoyed a high level of civilization.

这座古城想必当年一度十分繁荣，因为它曾享有高度的文明。

Houses -- often three storeys high -- were built of stone.

房子一般都有三层楼高，是用石头砌成的。

They had large rooms with beautifully decorated walls.

房间宽敞，墙壁装饰得很漂亮。

The city was even equipped with a drainage system, for a great many clay pipes were found beneath the narrow streets.

这座古城甚至还配备了排水系统，因为在狭窄的街道底下发现了大量的陶土排水管。

The temple which the archaeologists explored was used as a place of worship from the fifteenth century B.C. until Roman times.

考古学家考察的这座神庙，从公元前15世纪直到罗马时代一直被用作敬神的场所。

In the most sacred room of the temple, clay fragments of fifteen statues were found.

在神庙最神圣的一个房间里，发现了15尊雕像的陶土残片。

Each of these represented a goddess and had, at one time, been painted.

每一件残片代表的都是一位女神，而且这些雕像当初都上过颜色。

The body of one statue was found among remains dating from the 15th century B.C.

其中一尊雕像的躯体，是在公元前15世纪的遗迹中找到的。

Its missing head happened to be among remains of the fifth century B.C.

而它那丢失的脑袋，却碰巧在公元前5世纪的遗迹中被发现。

This head must have been found in Classical times and carefully preserved.

这颗脑袋想必早在古典时代就被人发现，并被小心地保存了下来。

It was very old and precious even then.

即使在当时，它也已是一件古老而珍贵的宝物了。

When the archaeologists reconstructed the fragments, they were amazed to find that the goddess turned out to be a very modern-looking woman.

考古学家把这些碎片拼接复原之后，惊讶地发现这位女神原来是一位模样非常摩登的女子。

She stood three feet high and her hands rested on her hips.

她身高三英尺（约0.9米），双手叉腰。

She was wearing a full-length skirt which swept the ground.

她穿着一条及地的长裙。

Despite her great age, she was very graceful indeed, but, so far, the archaeologists have been unable to discover her identity.

尽管年代久远，她却姿态十分优雅；然而直到今天，考古学家仍未能查明她的身份。