Narrator: Listen to a conversation between a student and an anthropology professor.

旁白：听一段学生和一位人类学教授之间的对话。

Professor: So how was the field trip to the Nature Center yesterday?

教授：昨天到自然中心的实地考察怎么样啊？

You are in that biology class, aren’t you?

你是在那个生物课上的吧？

Student: Yeah. I am. The trip was amazing.

学生：是的。这次旅行令人惊讶。

We took a hike through the woods and our guide pointed out all kinds of animal and plant species.

我们走路穿过了森林，并且我们的导游指出了所有的动植物的物种。

She could identify every bird, every tree…I have to tell you.

她可以识别每一种鸟、树……我必须告诉你，

I was very impressed with her knowledge.

我被她的知识所折服。

Professor: I am glad to hear you enjoyed the trip.

教授：我很高兴你很喜欢这次旅行。

Student: Well, I am interested in getting an advanced degree in forestry after I graduate from here.

学生：在我从这里毕业之后，我很想在林学上拿一个更高的学位。

So I love all this stuff.

因此，我喜欢所有的这类的东西。

And actually, yesterday’s trip got me thinking about my research paper for your class.

事实上，昨天的旅行让我思考要为您的课写的论文了。

Professor: Wonderful! Tell me more.

教授：太棒了！告诉我。

Student: So our guide was talking about how the human need for resources had shaped the environment.

学生：导游说了人来对于资源的需求是怎么塑造环境的。

And I just assumed that the human impact on the environment was always destructive.

我只假定人类对于环境的影响总是破坏性的。

Professor: Ah…but that’s not necessarily true.

教授：那不一定是正确的。

Student: Yeah. That’s what she was telling us.

学生：是的。那就是她告诉我们的。

She said there’s archaeological evidence that some prehistoric cultures relied heavily on dead wood for fuel, or…um…just cut off some of the branches of trees instead of killing the whole tree.

她说有考古证据证明一些史前文明很大程度上依赖于死木头作燃料，或者从树上砍一些树枝下来，而不是将整棵树砍死。

Professor: It is so funny you mentioned that.

教授：你提到的这个很有意思。

I was just reading an article about an archaeological site in Turkey where scientists found evidence that ancient people had been harvesting the branches from pistachio and almond trees.

我正在读一篇关于土耳其一处考古遗址的文章，在那里科学家们发现证据证明古人已经从阿月浑子树和杏树上进行收割。

Of course, when you prune these trees, cutting off just the branches like that, you are actually encouraging more growth!

当然，当你修剪这些树，仅仅将分支砍下来，事实上你可以促进更好地生长。

And you end up with a bigger crop of nuts.

你最终获得更大的坚果产量。

So this was a pretty smart strategy for collecting wood.

所以这是收集木头的聪明的策略。

Student: See, that’s what I’d like to write about.

学生：这就是我想要写的。

I want to look at ancient methods of wood harvesting that didn’t result in the destruction of the whole forest.

我想研究一下古时候树木收割的方法，而这些方法并不会导致整个森林的破坏。

Professor: Hmm…so you want to write your entire paper on wood harvesting?

教授：所以你想用你整个报告来写树木收割？

Student: Is…is that a problem?

学生：这有问题吗？

Professor: Well, it’s certainly a timely topic.

教授：这当然是一个适时的主题。

Researchers are investigating this now.

当前，研究员们这在研究这个。

Uh…it’s just that…well…I am not sure how it fits with the assignment.

只是我不是很肯定这个符合我们这次作业的要求。

Remember you are supposed to be focusing on a particular culture or region.

记得你必须着眼于一个特定的文明或者地区。

Student: Yeah. Um…actually I was planning on writing about the wood harvesting practices of the people who lived here.

学生：是的。事实上我打算写在这里居住的人们的树木收割的方法。

You know, the Native Americans who were living in this area and what that might tell us about how they lived.

就是在这个地方居住的美国土著以及那些可以告诉我们他们是怎么生活的。

Professor: OK. Well, that’s a possibility.

教授：好的，那是一种可能。

I just want to make sure you can find enough information on that topic to write a well-developed paper.

我只是想确保你可以找到足够的信息去写一篇好的论文。

I’d like you to get started on your research right away.

我希望你现在马上就开始你的研究。

Maybe even talk to that nature guide and show me what information you can find.

也许和那个自然导游聊聊，然后给我看看你能找到些什么资料。

Then we can talk about whether or not your topic will work.

然后我们就可以看看你的话题是否行的通。