# 第四册 Lesson 1 Finding fossil man 发现化石人

## 一、课文原文

We can read of things that happened 5,000 years ago in the Near East, where people first learned to write. But there are some parts of the world where even now people cannot write. The only way that they can preserve their history is to recount it as sagas -- legends handed down from one generation of story tellers to another. These legends are useful because they can tell us something about migrations of people who lived long ago, but none could write down what they did. Anthropologists wondered where the remote ancestors of the Polynesian peoples now living in the Pacific Islands came from. The sagas of these people explain that some of them came from Indonesia about 2,000 years ago.

But the first people who were like ourselves lived so long ago that even their sagas, if they had any, are forgotten. So archaeologists have neither history nor legends to help them to find out where the first 'modern men' came from.

Fortunately, however, ancient men made tools of stone, especially flint, because this is easier to shape than other kinds. They may also have used wood and skins, but these have rotted away. Stone does not decay, and so the tools of long ago have remained when even the bones of the men who made them have disappeared without trace.

—ROBIN PLACE, *Finding fossil man*

## 二、重点词汇详解

| 单词 | 音标 | 词性 | 释义 | 用法说明 |
|------|------|------|------|----------|
| fossil | /ˈfɒsl/ | n./adj. | 化石；陈旧的 | fossil man 化石人；fossil fuel 化石燃料 |
| recount | /rɪˈkaʊnt/ | v. | 叙述，描述 | recount sth. as... 把某事当作...来叙述 |
| saga | /ˈsɑːɡə/ | n. | 英雄故事，传说 | 源自北欧语，指长篇英雄传说 |
| legend | /ˈledʒənd/ | n. | 传说，传奇 | legend handed down 代代相传的传说 |
| migration | /maɪˈɡreɪʃn/ | n. | 迁移，移居 | 动词 migrate；指人群或动物的迁徙 |
| anthropologist | /ˌænθrəˈpɒlədʒɪst/ | n. | 人类学家 | anthropology 人类学 |
| ancestor | /ˈænsestə/ | n. | 祖先 | 反义词 descendant 后裔 |
| Polynesian | /ˌpɒlɪˈniːziən/ | adj./n. | 波利尼西亚的（人） | 太平洋群岛的波利尼西亚人 |
| archaeologist | /ˌɑːkiˈɒlədʒɪst/ | n. | 考古学家 | archaeology 考古学 |
| flint | /flɪnt/ | n. | 燧石，火石 | 古人用来制作工具的硬石 |
| rot | /rɒt/ | v. | 腐烂，腐朽 | rot away 腐烂殆尽 |
| decay | /dɪˈkeɪ/ | v./n. | 腐烂，衰退 | 指缓慢的分解过程；此处指石头的"不朽" |
| trace | /treɪs/ | n. | 痕迹，踪迹 | disappear without trace 消失得无影无踪 |
| preserve | /prɪˈzɜːv/ | v. | 保存，保留 | preserve history 保存历史 |

## 三、语法知识点

### 1. 定语从句的综合运用

本文大量使用定语从句，是第四册的重要语法特征：

| 类型 | 例句 | 说明 |
|------|------|------|
| where引导 | ...parts of the world **where** even now people cannot write | where = in which，修饰地点名词 |
| who引导 | ...migrations of people **who** lived long ago | who修饰人，在从句中作主语 |
| that引导 | The only way **that** they can preserve their history | that在way后引导定语从句 |
| 省略情况 | ...the first 'modern men' came from（省略which/that） | 口语和非限制性语境中可省略 |

### 2. so...that... 结果状语从句

> ...lived **so** long ago **that** even their sagas... are forgotten.

so + 副词/形容词 + that + 结果从句，表示"如此...以至于..."。

### 3. 虚拟语气的隐含用法

> ...even their sagas, **if they had any**, are forgotten.

插入的虚拟条件句，表示假设——他们可能根本没有sagas。

### 4. neither...nor... 并列否定

> archaeologists have **neither** history **nor** legends...

双重否定，强调考古学家缺乏两种帮助来源。

## 四、重点句型分析

### 1. The only way that... is to...

> The only way that they can preserve their history is to recount it as sagas.

- **结构**：The only way + 定语从句 + is to + 不定式
- **转换**：They can preserve their history only by recounting it as sagas.
- **仿写**：The only way that we can solve this problem is to cooperate.

### 2. read of 读到，获悉

> We can read of things that happened 5,000 years ago...

- read of = read about，比read about更正式
- 类似表达：hear of, learn of, know of

### 3. handed down 过去分词作后置定语

> ...legends handed down from one generation of story tellers to another

- hand down = 传下来，世代相传
- 也可用 pass down

### 4. disappear without trace 无影无踪地消失

> ...the bones of the men who made them have disappeared without trace

- without trace = without leaving any trace
- 类似表达：vanish into thin air

## 五、课文翻译

我们从书籍中可读到5,000年前近东发生的事情，那里的人最早学会了写字。但直到现在，世界上有些地方的人们还不会书写。他们保存历史的唯一办法是将历史当作传说讲述——由讲述人一代接一代地将史实描述为传奇故事口传下来。这些传说是有用的，因为它们可以告诉我们一些很久以前居住在那里的人们的迁移情况，尽管没有人能把他们做的事写下来。人类学家过去不清楚如今生活在太平洋诸岛上的波利尼西亚人的祖先来自何方，当地人的传说却告诉人们：其中一部分是约在2,000年前从印度尼西亚迁来的。

但是，和我们相似的原始人生活的年代太久远了，因此，有关他们的传说即使有如今也失传了。于是，考古学家们既缺乏历史记载，又无口头传说来帮助他们弄清最早的"现代人"来自何方。

然而幸运的是，远古人类用石头制作了工具，特别是燧石，因为燧石较之其他石头更容易成形。他们也可能用过木头和兽皮，但这类东西早已腐烂殆尽。石头是不会腐烂的。因此，尽管制造这些工具的人的骨头早已荡然无存，但远古时代的石头工具却保存了下来。

## 六、语言点精讲

### 1. 写作手法：对比论证

本文通过**文字记录**与**口头传说**、**有机物腐烂**与**石头保存**两组对比，论证考古学发现化石人的逻辑，层次清晰。

### 2. 文化背景

- **近东（Near East）**：指地中海东部地区，包括美索不达米亚文明，是人类最早发明文字的地区
- **波利尼西亚人**：太平洋岛民，其迁徙路线是人类学经典课题
- **燧石工具**：石器时代的标志，因燧石硬度高、断裂面锋利而被广泛使用

### 3. 修辞分析

- **破折号解释**：sagas -- legends handed down... 用破折号对生僻词saga进行同位解释
- **让步递进**：But... even their sagas, if they had any, are forgotten. 通过虚拟让步加强语气
- **对比呼应**：首段"文字记录"vs"口头传说"，末段"有机物腐烂"vs"石头不朽"，形成完整的论证链

## 七、课后练习要点

1. **理解题**：Why are legends useful?（传说为何有用？）——因为它们能告诉我们远古人类的迁徙信息
2. **词汇题**：区分 archaeologist / anthropologist 的概念差异
3. **句型转换**：将 so...that... 句型转换为 too...to... 或 not enough to... 结构
4. **翻译练习**：注意"disappear without trace"这类无冠词固定搭配的翻译

## 八、本课小结

本课主题为**考古学与人类学的互补关系**。核心论点：在没有文字记录的情况下，口头传说和石器遗物是了解远古人类的两个重要途径。语法重点包括定语从句的综合运用、so...that结果状语从句、neither...nor并列否定等。词汇方面需掌握考古学与人类学相关术语（saga, flint, migration, anthropologist等）。写作手法上注意对比论证和破折号解释的运用。