山東新泰新汶一中 孫啟祿

Jntroduction

它屹立在英格蘭索爾茲伯里平原上，數(shù)世紀(jì)以來(lái)，它的豐姿賦予了人們豐富的想象力。有關(guān)它的作用的推測(cè)也是眾說(shuō)紛紜，上至天文學(xué)意義，下至不明飛行體的降落點(diǎn)，尚無(wú)定論。現(xiàn)在，盡管很多巨石已經(jīng)倒塌，但是它仍然每天吸引著近五千名觀光游客。它就是最神秘的史前遺跡——巨石陣。

文章詞數(shù) 4 4 6 建議用時(shí) 8′ 難度指數(shù) ★★

During my trip to Europe,I had the opportunity to visit Stonehenge,which is considered one of the most famous prehistoric sites in the world.As Iapproachedthe area,it became clear to me that it was a circle of huge stones.

The stones were huge.Our tour guide said that the square stones weigh nearly five tons each,stand eighteen feet high,and are three feet thick.It was amazing to see them up close.Something that I really asked myself was how the ancient people could have been wise enough to arrange the stones as upright pillars（柱子）,then connect the stones overhead,and place them altogether to form a circle.It was a great feeling to admire themagnificentstones up close.

I tried to imagine the figures of the ancient people moving the heavy stones,but it was hard to imagine how they could achieve suchincrediblework.As I admired the stones up close,I almost imagined myself back in time,standing there,watching the people move the stones.

It was really strange.As I walked around the stones,I noticed howisolatedthey were;there was nothing else standing around them,no community or anything.Were they also isolated in ancient times?If so,why had the ancient people constructed them that way?And why did they place them far away from any community?If only I could really travel back in time and find out!

My thoughts wereinterruptedby our tour guide's voice.He was explaining that nobody knew about the exact origin of the stones,but most scientists agreed that it dates from the time of the Druids,the first people in England.He said that there were many different theories about why Stonehenge was created.Some people believe that Stonehenge was an astronomical calendar because it was built in a circular design;they think it mightrepresentthe passing of time.

Our tour guide told us that before scientists developed their theories,many people thought aliens might have created the place.Because it is so big and the stones are so heavy,they didn't think it was possible for humans to have cut and arranged the stones.

After my tour around thismysteriousplace,I was full of questions without answers,but taking a trip back in time and imagining beings from another planet building Stonehenge was fun.I left that awesome place with the feeling that many people had been here before me,each with a different understanding of the place,each wondering about something great and unknown that took place there a long time ago in the past.It was an unforgettable experience.

Reading Check

What did the author want to know when he looked at the stone?

A.How the ancient people lifted the stones.

B.How much each stone weighed.

C.Why the stones were arranged in that way.

D.Why the ancient people used such huge stones.

Language Study

Vocabulary

1.approachv.走近

2.magnificentadj.壯麗的

3.incredibleadj.不可思議的

4.isolatedadj.孤立的

5.interruptv.打斷

6.representv.代表

7.mysteriousadj.神秘的

Difficult sentences

1.我真正問(wèn)自己的是，古人怎么會(huì)聰明到把石頭排列成豎直的柱子，然后把上面的石頭連接起來(lái)，把它們放在一起形成一個(gè)圓圈。

Something _______I really asked myself was _______the ancient people could have been wise enough to arrange the stones as upright pillars,then connect the stones overhead,and place them altogether to form a circle.

【點(diǎn)石成金】本句的結(jié)構(gòu)比較復(fù)雜，句子的主語(yǔ)是Something，第一個(gè)空所填的詞是關(guān)系代詞，引導(dǎo)一個(gè)限制性定語(yǔ)從句，第二個(gè)空所填的詞引導(dǎo)一個(gè)表語(yǔ)從句，to arrange、connect和place是動(dòng)詞不定式作狀語(yǔ)。

2.我?guī)е秃芏嘣谖抑皝?lái)過(guò)這里的人一樣的感覺(jué)離開(kāi)那個(gè)令人敬畏的地方。每個(gè)人對(duì)這個(gè)地方都有不同的理解，每個(gè)人都想知道很久以前在那里發(fā)生的一些偉大和未知的事情。

I left that awesome place with the feeling that many people had been here before me,each with a different understanding of the place,each ________（wonder） about something great and unknown that took place there a long time ago in the past.

【點(diǎn)石成金】I left that awesome place是句子的主語(yǔ)、謂語(yǔ)和賓語(yǔ)，with the feeling是介詞短語(yǔ)作狀語(yǔ)，that引導(dǎo)的是定語(yǔ)從句，each后面的部分是獨(dú)立主格結(jié)構(gòu)。