外研版选修七第六模块课文及翻译MicrosoftWord文档.docx

PAGE PAGE # Module 6 The World s Cultural Heritage Part 1 The Amazing Caves of Zhoukoudian Zhoukoudian is a small village about 50 kilometres south-west of Beijing. In the 1920s, archaeologists discovered some prehistoric human bones there which changed China kns owledge of its history. They came from an unknown species of man and were the first evidence of primitive human life in China thousands of years ago. The remains were …three teeth! In 1929, a complete skull was also discovered. Eventually, archaeologists found almost 200 items, including six skulls and more than 150 teeth. These discoveries proved the existence of a human species who lived in the area between 700,000 and 200,000 years ago. Four sites where Beijing Man and his relations lived were discovered on the northern face of Dragon Bone Hill (Longgushan). They lived in the limestone caves in the area. However, the life span of Beijing Man was short. About 70% of the people probably died before the age of 14. fewer than 5% lived to the age of 50. Even so, they were quite sophisticated. Ashes were found alongside the fossils which showed they used fire for cooling food and also for light, warmth and protection from wild beasts. This is the earliest evidence of the use fire anywhere in the world. They also made tools of bones and sharpened stones. Unfortunately, when Japan invaded China in 1937, excavations at the Beijing Man Site stopped and most of the fossils disappeared, including a Beijing Man skull. They have never been found. After the people Rsepublic of China was established in 1949, the work started again and Zhoukoudian became an important tourist attraction. Zhoukoudian was listed as a world heritage site in December 1987. It has not only given us important information about prehistoric Asian societies, but also has provided amazing evidence about the process of evolution. 惊人的周口店山顶洞 周口店是位于北京西南约 50 公里的一个小村庄。 20 世纪 20 年代考古学家在那里发现 了史前人类的遗骨，这一发现改变了中国人对自身历史的认识。那是一种未知人种的的遗 骨，是许多年前原始人生活在中国的第一证