The first calender

原文

Future historians will be in a unique position when they come to record the history of our own times. They will hardly know which facts to select from the great mass of evidence that steadily accumulates. What is more, they will not have to rely solely on the written word. Films, videos, CDs and CD-ROMS are just some of the bewildering amount of information they will have. They will be able, as it were, to see and hear us in action. But the historian attempting to reconstruct the distant past is always faced with a difficult task. He has to deduce what he can from the few scanty clues available. Even seemingly insignificant remains can shed interesting light on the history of early man.

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

Historians have long been puzzled by dots, lines and symbols which have been engraved on walls, bones, and the ivory tusks of mammoths. 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. By correlating markings made in various parts of the world, historians have been able to read this difficult code. They have found that it is connected with the passage of days and the phases of the moon. 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. It is possible that there is a definite relation between these paintings and the markings that sometimes accompany them. It seems that man was making a real effort to understand the seasons 20,000 years earlier than has been supposed.

译文

未来的历史学家在记录我们这个时代的历史时，将处于一个独特的地位。他们将很难从不断积累的大量证据中选择哪些事实。更重要的是，他们不必仅仅依赖于文字记录。电影、录像带、光盘和光盘-ROM只是他们将拥有的令人眼花缭乱的大量信息中的一部分。他们将能够，仿佛亲眼所见、亲耳所闻我们的行动。但是，试图重建遥远过去的史学家总是面临着艰巨的任务。他不得不从少数零星的线索中推断出他所能推断的一切。即使是表面上微不足道的遗迹，也能为早期人类的历史提供有趣的启示。

直到现在，历史学家们一直认为日历是随着农业的兴起而产生的，因为那时人类面临着真正需要了解季节的必要。最近的科学证据似乎表明这一假设是错误的。

历史学家们长期以来一直对刻在墙壁、骨头和猛犸象牙上的点、线和符号感到困惑。这些标记是由游牧民族制作的，他们在最后一次冰河时代（始于约35,000 B.C.，终于约10,000 B.C.）期间以狩猎和捕鱼为生。通过将世界各地制作的标记相互对照，历史学家们已经能够解读这个难解的密码。他们发现，它与日子的逝去和月亮的盈亏有关。事实上，它是一种原始的日历。众所周知，墙上的狩猎场景并非仅仅是艺术表现形式。它们有明确的意义，因为那是最早的人类接近写作的方式。有可能这些绘画与有时伴随它们的标记之间有确定的关系。似乎人类在比原先设想的早20,000年就做出了真正努力来理解季节。

词汇表

unique

形容词

英:/juːˈniːk/

美:/juːˈniːk/

定义

1. 独特的 - Being the only one of its kind; unlike anything else.

例子: This painting is unique because it was created by a famous artist.

例子: Her unique perspective on history makes her books fascinating.

2. 特别的 - Particularly remarkable or unusual.

例子: The scientist's unique method led to a breakthrough.

例子: This unique position allows historians to access rare materials.

近义词

distinctive: 强调独特的特征，常用于描述有显著差异的事物，而 'unique' 更强调独一无二。

singular: 更正式，暗示罕见或异常，而 'unique' 可能更中性。

rare: 侧重于稀有性，不一定独一无二，与 'unique' 不同在于 'rare' 可以有多个类似事物。

反义词:

common, ordinary, typical

用法

常用于描述事物或情况的独特性，常搭配在正式语境中，如历史或科学讨论中；文化背景中，强调个体差异。

形式:

副词: uniquely, 名词: uniqueness

深入解析：关键句型 "They will be able, as it were, to see and hear us in action."

定义

这个句型是一种复杂陈述句，用于表达能力或可能性，同时加入解释性插入语。结构为：主语 + will be able（将能够）+ 插入语 as it were（可以说）+ 不定式短语（to see and hear us in action）。在权威教材如《新概念英语》或《Cambridge Grammar in Use》中，这种句型被定义为包含助动词 be able 的未来时态句子，结合插入语来柔化或解释内容。核心含义是描述未来的能力，同时提供额外说明，使句子更生动和精确。

用法

此句型常用于正式或叙述性语境中，表达推测、能力或假设场景。例如，在历史或科学文章中，用于描述潜在的情况。规则包括：will be able 表示未来可能性的情态表达，后跟不定式；插入语 as it were 用于打比方或类比，必须用逗号隔开。在语法体系中，它链接到未来时态（will + 动词）和插入语的使用，帮助学生从简单句过渡到复杂句。跨语法点联系：它与不定式短语（如 to see and hear）相关，还可与条件句结合，例如 "If they have the tools, they will be able, as it were, to analyze more data." 这能帮助学生理解如何在描述假设时添加解释。

注意事项

学生易犯的错误包括：遗漏插入语 as it were，导致句子显得生硬或缺少解释；误用逗号位置，如直接连接而不隔开，造成阅读困难。另一个常见偏误是将 will be able 替换为更口语化的 can，但在正式文体中这不合适。纠正建议：练习在句子中正确放置逗号，并通过朗读确认插入语的自然流畅。同时，避免过度使用插入语，以免句子过于繁杂；在写作中，确保上下文需要这种解释性表达。

练习

一个额外的例子："Future scientists will be able, as it were, to explore new planets and discover unknown life forms." 通过这个例子，学生可以尝试替换主语和不定式短语，例如 "You will be able, as it were, to learn a new language quickly." 这有助于在日常对话或写作中应用句型，增强对未来时态和插入语的掌握。

额外内容

背景知识：插入语如 as it were 源于古英语的修辞手法，用于使语言更富有表现力。对比分析：与法语的类似表达（如 "en quelque sorte"）相比，英语版本更简洁，常用于学术英语中。补充信息：掌握此句型后，学生能更好地处理复杂叙述，提升阅读理解能力，尤其在历史或科学文本中。