SC-L30 Stonehenge A Riddle

Stonehenge: A Riddle by Mia Lewis 《巨石陣：一個謎》作者：Mia Lewis

Stonehenge is a circle of tall stones.巨石陣是一圈高高的石頭。It is about 80 miles west of London, in England.它在英國倫敦以西大約 80 英里處。This circle of stones has fascinated people for thousands of years.這一圈石頭已經讓人們著迷了好幾千年。There are many other stone circles all over Europe.在歐洲各地還有許多其他的石圈。This one, however, is the most famous.不過，這一個是最有名的。

People study Stonehenge.人們研究巨石陣。They write about it.他們寫文章介紹它。They talk about it.他們談論它。Experts have ideas about who built it.專家對於是誰建造它，有一些想法。Even so, no one really is sure of who built it, or why.即使如此，沒有人真的確定是誰建造的，或是為什麼要建造。

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Discovering Dates **《找出年代》**

Archaeologists try to figure out how old ruins are.考古學家試著弄清楚遺跡有多古老。They dig carefully.他們小心地挖掘。They look at the tools the builders used.他們觀察建造者使用過的工具。If the tools are made of stone or bone, the builders probably worked before metal was used.如果工具是石頭或骨頭做的，那這些建造者很可能是在金屬被使用之前就開始工作了。

As people dig, they look for materials that were once part of living things.當人們挖掘時，他們會尋找曾經屬於生物的材料。They look for wood or bone.他們找木頭或骨頭。These can be tested to see how old they are.這些可以拿去檢測，看看有多老。The digging and the tests have helped scientists figure out when Stonehenge was built.挖掘和檢測幫助科學家找出巨石陣是在什麼時候建成的。It was a long time ago!那是很久很久以前的事！

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Three Stages **《三個階段》**

The stones at Stonehenge no longer stand as they once did.巨石陣的石頭不再像以前那樣直立著。Many are missing.很多都不見了。Some have fallen.有些倒下了。The ones that are left reveal a lot.留下來的那些透露了很多資訊。They show that Stonehenge was carefully planned and built at a very slow pace.它們顯示巨石陣是經過仔細規劃，而且以非常慢的速度建造的。It was built over a long period of time.它是在很長的一段時間裡建成的。

The stones were set up in three main stages.石頭主要分三個階段架設起來。The stages were many years apart.每個階段相隔很多年。They are often called Stonehenge I, Stonehenge II, and Stonehenge III.它們常被稱為巨石陣 I、巨石陣 II、巨石陣 III。Each stage was different.每個階段都不一樣。

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Stonehenge! **《巨石陣！》**

Many people **underestimated** the age of Stonehenge.很多人**低估**了巨石陣的年代有多古老。Archaeologists now think that workers began building about 3100 B.C.E.考古學家現在認為，工人大約在西元前 3100 年開始建造。That’s more than 5,000 years ago!那是 5,000 多年前！They began by digging a round ditch.他們一開始先挖了一條圓形的壕溝。The ditch, **extending** about twenty feet from side to side, was about six feet deep.這條壕溝，從一側到另一側**延伸**大約 20 英尺寬，深度大約 6 英尺。

Workers dug fifty-six holes inside the ditch.工人在壕溝內挖了 56 個洞。They filled in the holes with dirt.他們又用泥土把洞填回去。Nobody is sure what the purpose of the holes was.沒有人確定這些洞的用途是什麼。

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Stonehenge II **《巨石陣 II》**

The second building stage took place around 2100 B.C.E.第二個建造階段大約發生在西元前 2100 年。Workers put about eighty rocks in the center of the site.工人在遺址中央放了大約 80 塊石頭。These rocks are called bluestones, because of their color.這些石頭因為顏色的關係，被稱為藍石（bluestones）。

The bluestones are the smallest rocks at Stonehenge.藍石是巨石陣裡最小的石頭。Still, each one weighs several tons.不過，每一塊仍然重達好幾噸。They probably came from mountains in Wales, about 240 miles away.它們可能來自威爾斯的山區，距離大約 240 英里。There were no carts with wheels back then.在那個年代，沒有裝輪子的推車。Maybe the stones were carried over water.也許石頭是走水路運來的。Maybe workers used log rollers to drag the stones over land.也許工人用木頭滾輪，在陸地上把石頭拖過來。No one is sure.沒有人確定。

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Stonehenge III **《巨石陣 III》**

More giant stone blocks were added to Stonehenge between 2000 B.C.E. and 1500 B.C.E.在西元前 2000 年到西元前 1500 年之間，巨石陣又加上了更多巨大的石塊。Workers built a circle of upright stones.工人建起一圈直立的石頭。They put a ring of flat stones on top.他們在上面放上一圈平坦的石板。One flat stone topped each pair of upright stones.每兩根直立的石頭上方，就放一塊平石當作頂端。Nobody knows exactly how the builders lifted the heavy stones.沒有人確切知道建造者是怎麼把那些沉重的石頭抬上去的。

In the more recent past, people took stones from Stonehenge to build houses.在比較近的過去，人們從巨石陣拿走石頭去蓋房子。Now half of the stones are fallen or missing.現在有一半的石頭倒了或不見了。Even so, Stonehenge is an awesome sight.即使如此，巨石陣仍然是一個令人讚嘆的景象。

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More Questions **《更多問題》**

Scientists have reasoned that Stonehenge was very important in its time.科學家推論，巨石陣在當時非常重要。Many workers were needed to carry the stones.需要很多工人來搬運那些石頭。Many more were needed to shape the stones and put them up.還需要更多人把石頭加工成形，並把它們豎立起來。New rocks were added over a fifteen-hundred-year period.在長達一千五百年的期間裡，人們又陸續加入新的石頭。

Maybe the building was for important religious events.也許這座建築是為了重要的宗教活動而建的。Again, no one knows for sure.不過，再次強調，沒有人能確定。Undoubtedly, people will keep coming up with ideas about Stonehenge.毫無疑問，人們會一直提出各種關於巨石陣的想法。My bet is that the circle of stones will remain a riddle.我猜這一圈石頭會一直是個謎。

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Discovering the Past **探索過去**

Our plan was to search for signs of an ancient civilization.我們的計畫是尋找古代文明的線索。At the site, there were mounds of earth **extending** over a large area.在那個地點，有一些土堆**延伸**到很大的一片區域。The mounds stretched from the river all the way to the bottom of a cliff.那些土堆從河邊一路延伸到懸崖底下。

There was **undoubtedly** something under those mounds.那些土堆下面**毫無疑問**有東西。We began to dig.我們開始挖掘。We went at a slow **pace**.我們用很慢的**速度**進行。We didn’t want to damage whatever was there.我們不想破壞底下不管是什麼東西。

Before too long, we realized that we had **underestimated** how important our discovery would be.沒多久，我們就發現自己**低估**了這次發現會有多重要。We thought we might find a few old pots and coins.我們原本以為可能只會找到幾個舊陶罐和一些錢幣。Instead, we discovered the remains of a whole town!結果，我們發現的竟然是一整座城鎮的遺跡！

The town was completely covered with layers of dirt.那座城鎮完全被一層又一層的泥土覆蓋著。From the items we found, we **reasoned** that the town was thousands of years old!從我們找到的物品來看，我們**推論**這座城鎮已經有好幾千年的歷史了！We decided to call more experts for help.我們決定找更多專家來幫忙。

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