高三英语课文 > Unit 23 The find of the century

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The find of the century – Children aged 13 and 11 discover cave paintings.
“本世纪的重大发现--13岁和11岁的孩子发现了岩画”。
In front of me was a wall of animals.
在我的前面是一面刻满了动物的墙壁。
It was like stepping into a secret art museum, in which we were the only visitors.
就像是走进入了一个秘密的艺术博物馆，我们是馆内唯一的游客。
I went on walking, bending down because the roof of the cave was not very high.
因为洞顶不是很高，我继续弯着腰往前走。
This is wonderful, I said.
“这太奇妙了，”我说。
I turned the corner and looked in astonishment.
我转了个弯，十分惊奇地看着。
Here were not carvings in the rock but paintings.
这里岩石上不是石刻而是绘画。
The sides of the deer were coloured with a reddish-brown paint.
鹿的四周用一种淡棕带红的颜色勾勒。
There were birds too, with the eyes carved out of the rock and painted white.
还有一些鸟的眼睛是用石头刻的，并被涂上白色。
I could see a snake, a bear, a wolf, but no people.
我还看见一条蛇、一只熊、一只狼，但没有看见人。
I don’t think anyone knows about this. I said.
“我想没人知道这一情况，”我说。
I think we are the first people here for hundreds of years. Maybe thousands.
“我认为几百年，可能几千年以来，我们是第一次来这里的人。”
Outside the rain had turned into a storm and lightning flashed over the hills.
洞外，小雨已变成狂风暴雨，闪电划过山岗。
It was beginning to get dark. I think we’d best stay the night here, I said.
天开始变黑。“我看我们最好在这里过夜，”我说，
We’re warm, we’re dry and we’re safe.
“我们不感到冷，身上是干的，而且我们很安全。
We’ve still got a little food and water and maybe by tomorrow morning the weather will have cleared up.
我们还有一点食物和水，也许到明天早上，天就会晴了。”
I shall never forget that extraordinary evening.
我永远忘记不了那个不平凡的夜晚。
We collected more wood and laid it in a big pile inside the cave.
我们捡了更多的木柴，在山洞里把它堆成大大的一堆。
The smoke from the fire rose and found its way outside and the light danced over the roof of the cave.
缕缕青烟从火中升起，飘出洞外，火光在洞顶上闪耀。
On one hand, I was anxious to leave.
一方面，我急于离开山洞。
I was so excited that I wanted to tell the whole world what we had found.
我激动得想要告诉全世界我们发现了什么。
I was proud that we had come across something that was completely unknown and valuable and,
让我感到自豪的是，我们在无意中发现了不为世人所知的、有价值的东西，
I guessed, extremely old.
我猜测是极古老的东西。
On the other hand, I felt sad that I wasn’t able to tell my grandparents that we were safe.
另一方面，我为不能告诉我的祖父母我们十分安全而感到难过。
We were in a better position than they were.
我们的处境比他们要好。
I realized that they would be very worried, but that they would trust our good sense, wherever we were.
我想他们会很担心，但是无论我们在什么地方，他们都会相信我们的处事能力。
Another part of me wanted this moment to continue for ever.
我还有另一个想法，就是希望此时能永远持续下去。
This evening the cave was ours. It belonged to no one else.
今天晚上，山洞是我们的，它不属于别人。
I knew that experts from the local museum would soon visit the cave.
我知道本地博物馆的专家会很快到山洞来探访。
Professors from the university in Paris would be coming down by train.
巴黎那些大学的教授们将会坐火车来这里。
There would be pictures in magazines and newspapers, showing crowds of peope with their cameras and noisy, excited talk.
报纸和杂志将刊登出图片，报纸和杂志将刊登出图片，展示那些带着照相机熙熙攘攘蜂涌而至的人群。
We were so excited, my brother and I, that we did not get to sleep until very late.
我们太激动，以至于我和我弟到很晚才睡得着。
We talked and wondered about the people who had lived here before.
我们谈论并且很好奇以前住在这里的人们。
How many people lived here?
多少人住在这里？
When did they leave this area?