Archaeology as a profession faces two major prob-
lems. First, it is the poorest of the poor. Only paltry
sums are available for excavating and even less is avail-
able for publishing the results and preserving the sites
(5) once excavated. Yet archaeologists deal with priceless
objects every day. Second, there is the problem of illegal
excavation, resulting in museum-quality pieces being
sold to the highest bidder.
I would like to make an outrageous suggestion that
(10) would at one stroke provide funds for archaeology and
reduce the amount of illegal digging. I would propose
that scientific archeological expeditions and govern-
mental authorities sell excavated artifacts on the open
market. Such sales would provide substantial funds for
(15) the excavation and preservation of archaeological sites
and the publication of results. At the same time, they
would break the illegal excavator’s grip on the market,
thereby decreasing the inducement to engage in illegal
activities.
(20) You might object that professionals excavate to
acquire knowledge, not money. Moreover, ancient arti-
facts are part of our global cultural heritage, which
should be available for all to appreciate, not sold to the
highest bidder. I agree. Sell nothing that has unique
(25) artistic merit or scientific value. But, you might reply,
everything that comes our of the ground has scientific
value. Here we part company. Theoretically, you may be
correct in claiming that every artifact has potential scien-
tific value. Practically, you are wrong.
(30) I refer to the thousands of pottery vessels and ancient
lamps that are essentially duplicates of one another. In
one small excavation in Cyprus, archaeologists recently
uncovered 2,000 virtually indistinguishable small jugs in
a single courtyard, Even precious royal seal impressions
(35) known as/melekh handles have been found in abun-
dance---more than 4,000 examples so far.
The basements of museums are simply not large
enough to store the artifacts that are likely to be discov-
ered in the future. There is not enough money even to
(40) catalogue the finds; as a result, they cannot be found
again and become as inaccessible as if they had never
been discovered. Indeed, with the help of a computer,
sold artifacts could be more accessible than are the
pieces stored in bulging museum basements. Prior to
(45) sale, each could be photographed and the list of the
purchasers could be maintained on the computer A
purchaser could even be required to agree to return the
piece if it should become needed for scientific purposes.
It would be unrealistic to suggest that illegal digging
(50) would stop if artifacts were sold on the open market.
But the demand for the clandestine product would be
substantially reduced. Who would want an unmarked
pot when another was available whose provenance was
known, and that was dated stratigraphically by the
professional archaeologist who excavated it?
8. The author implies that all of the following statements about duplicate artifacts are true EXCEPT:
(A) A market for such artifacts already exists
(B) Such artifacts seldom have scientific value.
(C) There is likely to be a continuing supply of such artifacts.
(D) Museums are well supplied with examples of such artifacts.（E）
(E) Such artifacts frequently exceed in quality those already catalogued in museum collections.
虽然一看就能知道答案E没在文中提级过，但是对于 ACD等的解释还是很有疑惑的
问题1）首先先问下文中的duplicate artifacts是指的是的赝品,复制品还是指的是副本（真货）？然后再问下，作者提出的要公开ARTIFACTS的买卖是否只是针对duplicate artifacts的买卖从“I agree. Sell nothing that has unique artistic merit or scientific value”得出？？？
问题2）第八题A选项 .--这里的market指的是市场需求（demand）一般没有这意思呀，还是单指的是买卖的市场？按OG的解释的话：line 51-55 which suggest that purchasers would prefer legally acquired duplicate artifacts, thereby reducing demand of clandestine products.,我想应该是前者？正因为有对duplicate artifacts的需求，以至如果允许sell excavated artifacts on the open market，那么对clandestine products的需求就会减少（别人都去买DA了）。顺带问下clandestine products（神秘物品）指代的是那些独一无二有科学价值unique artistic merit or scientific value的东西吗？ 要是指的是市场意思的话，显然就不对了（ A market for such artifacts already exists），因为政府还没开放文物买卖，怎么会已经存在呢，难道是黑市。不知道这样理解对否？
另外对于OG对答案C， D解释有点不解：C中说还有很多artifacts以后能被发现，为什么就说明一定是很多duplicated artifacts要被发现？D中也一样pieces stored in bulging museum basements. 就说明是dupicated artifacts存在于museum了？（常识问题museum要藏那么多没有科学价值的赝品或副本干吗？）
问题3）文中兰色背景的那句话逻辑作用 意思不太理解
请高手指教，谢谢
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发表于 2005-3-30 13:08:00
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