Lesson 38 The first calender最早的日历 动词不定式

Future historians will be in a unique position when they come to record the history of our own times.

future husband ^未婚夫

• husband-to-be → fiancé
• bride-to-be → fiancée
• future-proof ^{前瞻性、（产品）不会过时的}
• future-oriented ^{面向未来的、未来导向的}

modern historians ^{当代的历史学家}

• today's historians = historians of today ^{当今的历史学家}
• modern society ^现代社会
• modern chinese ^现代汉语
• modern science ^{现代科学；近代科学}

position ^{n.situation 处境; 状况(in + 冠词 + adj. + position 处于adj.状况)}

• She's in the enviable position of being able to choose who she works with.
• When two of your best friends argue it puts you in a very awkward position.
• He's going to be in a very difficult position if things go badly for him.  ^{他处境将非常困难，如果情况变糟的话。}
• Companies should be made to reveal more about their financial position. ^{应该要求各公司披露更多的财务状况资料。}

come to do sth. ^{来做某事、（逐渐）开始}

• I've come to like her over the months.  ^{这几个月来，我开始喜欢上她了。}
• He soon made a name for himself and came to be known to the Italians as Giovanni Acuto.

造句：With the assistance of computers, contemporary scientists are in a unique position when they come to make complicated calculations.^{在计算机的帮助下，当代的科学 家在开始进行复杂运算的时候处于得天 独厚的地位。}

They will hardly know which facts to select from the great mass of evidence that steadily accumulates.

“疑问词 + to do” ^{可以视为名词性从句的缩略形式}

mass ^{a large quantity or number 大量的、许多的}

• a mass of ... / masses of ... = a lot of... / lots of ... ^{可数、不可数}
• the great mass of evidence
• custom, taken the world over, is a mass of detailed behavior more astonishing than what any one person can ever evolve in individual actions, no matter how aberrant. ^NCE4-44
• This caused the construction of gigantic buildings where too large masses of human beings are crowded together. ^NCE4-16

ever-doing ^{adj.不断...的 steadily accumulate = the ever-accumulating sth.}

• We have to ask ourselves very seriously what will happen if this two-fold use of knowledge with its ever-increasing power continues. NCE4-22
• evidence that steadily accumulates → the ever-accumulating evidence

What is more, they will not have to rely solely on the written word.

what is more ^{书面不缩写（'s、'd）} / what's more ^口语

• could not find his fifty pence piece anywhere, and what is more, he could not get his arm out.

rely on ... ^{依赖于，依靠于}

• You can always rely on him for help. ^{你总是可以依靠（rely on ...）他来帮忙。}
• She is banking on her experience to get the job. ^{她依靠（bank on ...）自己的经验来获得这份工作。}
• The success of the project hinges on their cooperation. ^{项目的成功取决于（hinge on ...）他们的合作。}
• We need to build on our previous successes. ^{我们需要在之前的成功基础上（build on ...）继续努力。}
• The outcome depends on how well we prepare. ^{结果取决于（depend on ...）我们准备得多好。}
• You can count on me to finish the work on time. ^{你可以指望（count on ...）我按时完成工作。}
• The decision rests on the committee's approval. ^{这个决定取决于（rest on ...）委员会的批准。}
• His future rides on the results of this exam. ^{他的未来取决于（ride on ...）这次考试的结果。}

the written word = written language ^书面语

• a written agreement / statement ^{书面协议、申明}

Films, videos, CDs and CD-ROMs are just some of the bewildering amount of information they will have.

bewildering ^{adj. 使人困惑的；令人产生混乱的}

• There is a bewildering variety of software available.^{各种可供挑选的软件使人目不暇接。}
• This is wrong it seems that and bewildering.^{这似乎是错误的和令人困惑的。}
• This is really painful and bewildering.^{这令我非常困惑和痛苦！}

They will be able, as it were, to see and hear us in action.

as it were  ^{用来做比喻“可以说是、仿佛是、好像是” 注意不是 "as it was"}

• The Han nationality and the minority nationalities are all, as it were, members of the same family.
• He is, as it were, a walking dictionary. ^{可以说，他是一本活字典。}
• I'd understood the words, but I didn't, as it were, understand the question. ^{我已经理解了这些词，但我似乎还不理解这个问题。}
• The trend, as it were, is not new. ^{某种程度上来说，这并不是新的潮流。}
• In the warmth, as it were, another memory unfolded. ^{仿佛，确实有一段回忆在温暖中展开。}

Reading is thought to be a kind of conversation between the reader and the text. The reader puts questions, as it were, to the text and gets answers. In the light of these he puts further questions, and so on.

But the historian attempting to reconstruct the distant past is always faced with a difficult task.  ^简单句

reconstruct ^{vt.重建（rebuild）；改造；修复（restore）；重现}

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

be faced with ... ^{面临着...（通常指棘手的问题）}

• ... for then man was faced with a real need to understand something about the seasons.
• They were expecting their sixth child and were faced with even more pressing economic problems. ^NCE3-45
• We are faced with a difficult choice. ^{我们面临着困难的抉择。}
• After buying a new chain I was faced with the insurmountable task of putting the confusing jigsaw puzzle together again. ^NCE3-46
• They are faced with a mountain of bureaucracy. ^{他们面临着一大堆的官僚制度。}

But if the animals are confronted with situations they have no control over, they later behave passively when faced with experiences they can control.

He has to deduce what he can from the few scanty clues available.

deduce ... from ... ^{从...推断出...}

• We can deduce a lot from what people choose to buy.从^{人们选购的东西可以作出多方面的推断。}
• Well we can certainly deduce one thing from Jobs' response - he was born to Tweet! ^{通过乔布斯的答复，我们可以推测出一点——他生来就是用Tweet的！}
• We can deduce a conclusion from the premises. ^{我们可以从这个前提推出结论。}

名词 + able ^{有其它形容词时常后置}

Even seemingly insignificant remains can shed interesting light on the history of early man.

shed / throw / cast light on sth. ^揭示了

Figuring out how humans acquire language may shed light on why some children learn to read and write later than others.

• Groundbreaking research by two French geophysicists promises to shed some light on the mystery.
• The investigation shed light on the causes of the accident. ^{调查揭示了事故的原因(shed light on sth.)。}
• The new evidence throws light on the case. ^{新证据揭示了案件的真相(throw light on sth.)。}
• His explanation cast light on the complex issue. ^{他的解释揭示了这个复杂的问题（cast light on sth.）。}

Up to now, historians have assumed that calendars came into being with the advent of agriculture, for then man was faced with a real need to understand something about the seasons.

come into being ^开始存在

To be or not to be, that is the question. — William Shakespeare 'Hamlet'

• I think therefore I am. — René Descartes

the advent of sth. / sb. ^{某事/某人的出现（重大事件、重要人物）}

• The advent of the steam engine heralded the beginning of a new era.
• The advent of the internet has changed the way we communicate. ^{互联网的出现改变了我们的交流方式。}
• The advent of the new CEO brought significant changes to the company. ^{新任CEO的到来给公司带来了重大变化。}

with the evidence began to accumulate ... ^{With 是介词，后面需要跟名词，不能直接跟句子。}

Recent scientific evidence seems to indicate that this assumption is incorrect.

indicate ^{v. 表明，表示}

• I shook my head and held up five fingers indicating that I was willing to pay £ 5.
• A survey of retired people has indicated that most are independent and enjoying life. ^{一项对退休人员的调查表明，他们中的大部分人生活自立而愉快。}
• Our vote today indicates a change in United States policy.  ^{我们今天的投票表明了美国政策的变化。}

Historians have long been puzzled by dots, lines and symbols which have been engraved on walls, bones, and the ivory tusks of mammoths.

be puzzled by ... ^{对...感觉迷惑不解}

• She was puzzled by the strange message.^{她对那条奇怪的信息感到困惑。}

造句：Doctors have long been puzzled by the rare skin condition. ^{医生们长久以来对这种罕见的皮肤病感到困惑。}

ivory ^{n.象牙，（其他动物的）长牙；象牙制品(不可数名词)}

• three ivory tusks ^{三根象牙(转为可数)}
• ivory tower ^象牙塔

The nomads who made these markings lived by hunting and fishing during the last Ice Age which began about 35,000 B.C. and ended about 10,000 B.C.

live by doing sth. ^{做某事为生}

• It has been said that everyone lives by selling something.
• He makes a living by teaching music. ^{他以教音乐为生。}
• They live by fishing in the local rivers. ^{他们靠在当地河流捕鱼为生。}

age ^{An age is a period in history. 时代}

•  ...the age of steam and steel.  ^{…蒸汽与钢铁时代。}
• the Ice / Stone Age ^固定搭配
• the modern age
• the computer age

造句：Laozi, legendary founder of Daoism, lived by taking charge of the royal library during the late Spring and Autumn Period which began about 600 B.C. and ended about 500 B.C. ^{传说中道教的创始人老子，生活 在大约公元前6世纪至公元前5世纪春秋时代的晚期，靠掌管国家图书馆为生。}

By correlating markings made in various parts of the world, historians have been able to read this difficult code.

in various parts of the world ^世界各地

• Cooked in wine, snails are a great luxury in various parts of the world.
• At present, they are visiting all parts of the country.
• ... tourists have been coming from all parts of the country to see it.
• Haroun Tazieff, the Polish scientist, has spent his lifetime studying active volcanoes and deep caves in all parts of the world.
• He's only forty-one years old,and he has already been to nearly every country in the world.
• ...the famous clock which can be heard all over the world on the B.B.C.

They have found that it is connected with the passage of days and the phases of the moon.

the phases of the moon ^{月相（圆缺）}

• wax and wane ^{周期性变化}

With joy and woe people meet and part ^{人有悲欢离合}
With light and shade the moon waxes and wanes^{月有阴晴圆缺}
Since time immemorial it's been unchanged ^{此事古难全}
Would that we could live a long life ^{但愿人长久}
And together share the moonlight though thousands of miles apart ^{千里共婵娟}

It is, in fact, a primitive type of calendar.

It has long been known that the hunting scenes depicted on walls were not simply a form of artistic expression.

They had a definite meaning, for they were as near as early man could get to writing.

definite ^{adj.清晰的，明晰的；确定的，不会改变的；肯定的，一定的}

• a definite answer
• a definite meaning
• definite article ^{定冠词（The）}

get to doing sth. = start doing sth. ^{开始做某事}

• He got to thinking that it was all his fault.
• Once we got to cooking, we realized we were missing some ingredients.^{一旦我们开始做饭，就意识到缺少一些食材。}
• She started studying as soon as she got home.^{她一回家就开始学习(start doing sth.)。}

It is possible that there is a definite relation between these paintings and the markings that sometimes accompany them.

accompany ^{v.陪伴，陪同；伴随}

• Having left the bag in the hall, I accompanied Robert into the living room.
• The disease is accompanied by sneezing and fever.

It seems that man was making a real effort to understand the seasons 20,000 years earlier than has been supposed. ^主系表

make an effort to do sth. ^{努力做某事}

• He made an effort to finish the project on time. ^{他努力按时完成项目。}