『新东方在线托福听力』为托福考生准备了ETS托福TPO/Official 29 Lec 3听力练习：According to the alternative hypothesis the professor mentions, why might the Clovis people have buried caches?原文题目答案解析，TPO/Official 29 Lec 3听力原文范文音频翻译。

托福TPO/Official 29 Lec 3听力原文According to the alternative hypothesis the professor mentions, why might the Clovis people have buried caches?-新东方托福官方网校手机版

Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture in an archaeology class.

教授：我们接下来要着眼于美洲原始地定居。接下来几节课我会讲一下克罗维斯民族以及考古学家对他们的2个最大的疑问。

Professor: We will be looking at the original settlement of the Americas next, and I’ll spend the next few classes talking about the Clovis people and the two big questions archaeologists have about them.

这两个问题是：克罗维斯人时什么时候到达美洲的？

The two big questions are, when did the Clovis people arrive in the Americas?

当然（也包括），他们是否是第一个到达西半球的名族（这个问题）？

And of course, were they the first people in the Western hemisphere?

但是今天，我们要了解一下的问题可能并不像其他那些常被提及，那就是——他们的文化是怎样的？

But for today, let’s try to get an idea about, well, a question that’s not addressed as much as the others and that’s--what was their culture like?

我们又如何去理解那些文化呢？

此外，对于克罗维斯人是什么时候到达美洲是有很大争议的。

Now, again, there’s a great debate about when the Clovis people first arrived in the Americas.

我并不像其他考古学家那样，试图将时间往前推，所以就让我用一个四舍五入的数字，可能是一个安全的数字，11,000年以前。

And I am not like a lot of archaeologists who want to push the number way back, so let’s use a round number and probably a safe number and say 11,000 years ago.

克罗维斯人可能在11,000年以前在北美洲定居。

The Clovis people were likely settling North America 11,000 years ago.

现在，我们对于克罗维斯人的认知大多来源于他们的工具——克罗维斯尖。

Now, most of what we know about the Clovis people comes from one of their tool--the Clovis point.

当我们讨论一个尖头的时候，我们指的是一个被削尖的石头，在这种情况下可能是装到矛上的。

When we talk about a point we are referring to a piece of stone that’s worked to a sharp point, in this case probably to be attached to a spear.

克罗维斯尖可能是考古学上被分析最多的石器。

The Clovis point may be the most analyzed artifact in archaeology.

并且克罗维斯人使用的尖和后来的尖有些许的不同，不同的地方是它的底比较薄，越往连接矛的底部就越薄。

And the point used by Clovis people differs slightly from later points, in the way that the base of the stone is thinned, uh, it’s thinner toward the base, the part that’s attached to the spear.

所以，当一个尖被发现时，通常都不会和后期的尖混淆。

So when one is found, it’s usually not confused with points made by later groups.

正如你们可能会预测的，在猎场和露营区都有发现克罗维斯尖。

Clovis points have been discovered at both hunting grounds and camp sites, which you might expect.

但是，另一个可以发现他们的奇妙的地方就是在克罗维斯的储藏物。

But another fascinating place we find them is in Clovis caches.

一个储藏物就是你储存的或者藏起来的东西。

A cache is just something stored or hidden away.

这个也指储藏这些东西的地方。

It’s also the term for the place where it’s hidden.

克罗维斯的储藏物集合了工具、石尖以及其他用势头或者骨头制成的工具，通常都处于不同的制造阶段，有些还没完成。

The Clovis caches are collections of tools, stone points and other tools made of stone or bone, often at various stages of manufacturing, some were left unfinished.

有一些传统的说法是，这些东西都是急用物资，打算在以后使用的。

The traditional explanation is that these were emergency supplies, uh, meant to be used at a later time.

由于克罗维斯人是非常流动的，他们非常有可能在既定的旅行路线上建立储存各种物资的场所。

Since the Clovis people were highly mobile, it’s plausible that they would set up spots along established travel routes where they keep a variety of items.

这样他们既不用在身上带着所有的东西，当他们到达一个地点时也可以节约时间，不用从头开始。

Either so that they wouldn’t have to carry everything with them or so they could save time once they arrived at a site by not having to make stuff from scratch.

但是根据我们所发现的一些尖的质量，还有另一个理论。

But there’s another theory about the caches based on the quality of some of the points we’ve found.

你知道的，在储藏物当中发现的尖和其他的尖是不一样的，比如在克罗维斯露营地方的尖。

You see, the points in some caches differ from other points, from points at Clovis camp sites for example.

首先，这些储藏物的尖是非常大的，相当于常规尖的两倍，太大了以至于不能装到矛上面，也不能在任何距离中做出精准地投掷。

For one thing, these cache points are quite large, up to twice as large as regular points, so big that you couldn’t attach one to a spear say, and expect to throw the spear accurately over any distance.

好的，一开始它们被认为是未完成的，有些人在不停地制作尖，然后必须停下，把这个放在储藏物中以后再做。

Well, it was originally thought that they were unfinished, that someone was working away a point, then had to stop and put it aside in one of these caches to work on later.

问题是：在这些储藏物种，尖应该不可能需要从这么大块开始制作。

The problem is: it’s unlikely that a point would have started out as large as the points in these caches.

那样就有太多需要被凿下的了。

That would be a lot of stone to chip away.

工具匠通常从更小块的开始制作。

而事实上，完全不是未完成品，有许多尖展现除了精良的工艺和高度细节。

And actually, far from being unfinished, a lot of these points really show excellent craftsmanship and attention to detail.

并且，不单单是技艺，从原材料来看，这些储藏尖也是用最好的石料做的。

And not just with respect to the skill, but also with respect to the raw material, it seems that cached points are made from the very best pieces of stone.

所以，我们必须要问——这些尖会不会有其他用途呢？

So we have to as--could these points have served another purpose?

当克罗维斯人刚到达美洲时，对于他们的新环境，他们需要了解很多。

When the Clovis people first arrived in the Americas, they had a lot to learn about their new environment.

随着时间的过去，他们可能开始意识到有些地方是特别的，由于某些原因而显得很重要。

Over time, they would have begun to recognize some places as special, important for some reason.

Maybe there was always water available there.

所以，储藏物可能只是用来标记值得注意的地点。

So maybe the cache was a way to mark the place as significant.

What does the professor imply when she mentions a debate about when the Clovis people arrived in America?

According to the lecture, what is the traditional explanation for Clovis caches?

According to the lecture, what is indicated by the size of the points found in some Clovis caches?

What were two characteristics of tools found in Clovis caches?

According to the alternative hypothesis the professor mentions, why might the Clovis people have buried caches?

Narrator Listen to part of a lecture in an archaeology class. Professor We will be looking at the original settlement of the Americas next, and I’ll spend the next few classes talking about the Clovis people and the two big questions archaeologists have about them. The two big questions are, when did the Clovis people arrive in the Americas? And of course, were they the first people in the Western hemisphere. And we’ll get to that. But for today, let’s try to get an idea about, well, a question that’s not addressed as much as the others and that’s – what was their culture like? And how do we figure that out? Now, again, there’s a great debate about when the Clovis people first arrived in the Americas. And I am not like a lot of archaeologists who want to push the number way back, so let’s use a round number and probably a safe number and say 11,000 years ago. The Clovis people were likely settling North America 11,000 years ago. And leave it at that for now. Now, most of what we know about the Clovis people comes from one of their tools—the Clovis point. When we talk about a point we are referring to a piece of stone that’s worked to a sharp point, in this case probably to be attached to a spear. The Clovis point may be the most analyzed artifact in archaeology. And the point used by Clovis people differs slightly from later points, in the way that the base of the stone is thinned, uh, it’s thinner toward the base, the part that’s attached to the spear. So when one is found, it’s usually not confused with points made by later groups. Clovis points have been discovered at both hunting grounds and camp sites, which you might expect. But another fascinating place we find them is in Clovis caches. A cache is just something stored or hidden away. It’s also the term for the place where it’s hidden. Now, again, there’s a great debate about when the Clovis people first arrived in the Americas. And I am not like a lot of archaeologists who want to push the number way back, so let’s use a round number and probably a safe number and say 11,000 years ago. The Clovis people were likely settling North America 11,000 years ago. And leave it at that for now. The Clovis caches are collections of tools, stone points and other tools made of stone or bone, often at various stages of manufacturing, some were left unfinished. The traditional explanation is that these were emergency supplies, uh, meant to be used at a later time. Since the Clovis people were highly mobile, it’s plausible that they would set up spots along established travel routes where they keep a variety of items. Either so that they wouldn’t have to carry everything with them or so they could save time once they arrived at a site by not having to make stuff from scratch. But there’s another theory about the caches based on the quality of some of the points we’ve found. You see, the points in some caches differ from other points, from points at Clovis camp sites for example. For one thing, these cache points are quite large, up to twice as large as regular points, so big that you couldn’t attach one to a spear say, and expect to throw the spear accurately over any distance. So what were they for? Well, it was originally thought that they were unfinished, that someone was working away a point, then had to stop and put it aside in one of these caches to work on later. The problem is: it’s unlikely that a point would have started out as large as the points in these caches, that would be a lot of stone to chip away. A toolmaker starts with a smaller piece. And actually, far from being unfinished, a lot of these points really show excellent craftsmanship and attention to detail. And not just with respect to the skill, but also with respect to the raw material, it seems that cached points are made from the very best pieces of stone. So we have to ask—could these points have served another purpose? Maybe be they weren’t just tools. Look at it this way. When the Clovis people first arrived in the Americas, they had a lot to learn about their new environment. Over time, they would have begun to recognize some places as special, important for some reason. Maybe there was always water available there. Or the hunting was especially good. So maybe the cache was a way to mark the place as significant.