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自欧洲人首次探索澳大利亚以来，人们一直试图了解由Aboringines原住民创造的古代岩画和雕刻。

Ever since Europeans first explored Australia, people have been trying to understand the ancient rock drawings and carvings created by the Aborigines, the original inhabitants of the continent.

在19世纪初，土著岩石艺术的发现很少，并且人们倾向于进行推测性解释，但是自19世纪后期以来，人们对澳大利亚岩石艺术的范围和种类的认识不断提高。

Early in the nineteenth century, encounters with Aboriginal rock art tended to be infrequent and open to speculative interpretation, but since the late nineteenth century, awareness of the extent and variety of Australian rock art has been growing.

在二十世纪后半叶，人们为了解和记录澳大利亚岩石艺术丰富性付出了更多的努力。

In the latter decades of the twentieth century there were intensified efforts to understand and record the abundance of Australian rock art.

对这门艺术的系统研究是澳大利亚相对较新的学科。

The systematic study of this art is a relatively new discipline in Australia.

在过去的四十年中，新的发现不断添加到知识体系当中。

Over the past four decades new discoveries have steadily added to the body of knowledge.

最重要的数据来自于对三个主要问题的关注。

The most significant data have come from a concentration on three major questions.

首先，澳大利亚岩石艺术距今多久了？

First, what is the age of Australian rock art?

其次，它的风格组织是什么？有可能辨别样式之间的发展顺序或模式吗？

Second, what is its stylistic organization and is it possible to discern a sequence or a pattern of development between styles?

第三，是否可以应用所有可用的考古技术和现今的Aboriginal原住民的知识得以准确地解释古代岩石艺术的主题？

Third, is it possible to interpret accurately the subject matter of ancient rock art, bringing to bear all available archaeological techniques and the knowledge of present-day Aboriginal informants?

澳大利亚岩石艺术的年代正在不断地被修订，而且由于新的发现，人们提出了更早的年份测定结果。

The age of Australia’s rock art is constantly being revised, and earlier datings have been proposed as the result of new discoveries.

目前，可靠的科学证据可以证明，最早在澳大利亚的岩石表面上进行艺术创作的时间可追溯到30,000至50,000年前。

Currently, reliable scientific evidence dates the earliest creation of art on rock surfaces in Australia to somewhere between 30,000 and 50,000 years ago.

这本身几乎是无法理解的，并且使澳大利亚的岩石艺术成为世界上最古老的连续艺术传统。

This in itself is an almost incomprehensible span of generations, and one that makes Australia’s rock art the oldest continuous art tradition in the world.

尽管现在已经确定了澳大利亚岩石艺术是惊人地历史悠久，但其图像的序列和含义却一直被广泛地争论着。

Although the remarkable antiquity of Australia’s rock art is now established, the sequences and meanings of its images have been widely debated.

自1970年代中期以来，澳大利亚岩石艺术的组织已经形成了相当稳定的画面。

Since the mid-1970s a reasonably stable picture has formed of the organization of Australian rock art.

为了创造这种画面的结构感，研究人员靠的仍然是多数本地视觉文化形式基础的差别，这是一种在几何图形和形象元素之间的差别。

In order to create a sense of structure to this picture, researchers have relied on a distinction that still underlies the forms of much indigenous visual culture—a distinction between geometric and figurative elements.

简单的几何重复图案（圆形、同心圆和直线）构成了在澳大利亚发现的最早的岩石艺术遗址的肖像（典型图像）。

Simple geometric repeated patterns—circles, concentric circles, and lines—constitute the iconography (characteristic images) of the earliest rock-art sites found across Australia.

某些简单的图案出现在这些最古老的地点的频率，让岩石艺术研究人员采用了一个描述性术语-Panaramitee风格-该术语的名称来自南澳大利亚沙漠Panaramitee北部的宽阔岩石路面，这个路面表面覆盖了装饰性的图案。

The frequency with which certain simple motifs appear in these oldest sites has led rock-art researchers to adopt a descriptive term—the Panaramitee style—a label which takes its name from the extensive rock pavements at Panaramitee North in desert South Australia, which are covered with motifs pecked into the surface.

基于这些版画的某些特征得出的结论是它们的时代已久：设计完成后，地质变化显然发生了，而且当地的原住民当中的合作者在第一次被问到这些问题时似乎一无所知。

Certain features of these engravings lead to the conclusion that they are of great age—geological changes had clearly happened after the designs had been made and local Aboriginal informants, when first questioned about them, seemed to know nothing of their origins.

此外，设计上还覆盖了“沙漠清漆”，这种釉在岩石表面暴露了数千年之后逐渐形成。

Furthermore, the designs were covered with “desert varnish,” a glaze that develops on rock surfaces over thousands of years of exposure to the elements.

在Panaramitee上发现的简单图案在澳大利亚的许多岩石艺术遗址中很常见。

The simple motifs found at Panaramitee are common to many rock-art sites across Australia.

的确，在塔斯马尼亚岛上也发现了带有几何形状雕刻的遗址，塔斯马尼亚岛大概在一万年前从大陆当中分离出来。

Indeed, sites with engravings of geometric shapes are also to be found on the island of Tasmania, which was separated from the mainland of the continent some 10,000 years ago.

1970年代，当澳大利亚考古学的研究处于令人兴奋的发展阶段，随着古代岩石艺术的日渐清晰起来，提出“ Panaramitee风格”一词的考古学家莱斯利·梅纳德（Lesley Maynard）建议，在澳大利亚的岩石艺术中可以确定一个序列，这种序列中，几何风格逐渐转变为简单的图形风格（人物和动物的轮廓），然后是一系列复杂的图形风格，与泛澳大利亚的几何传统不同的是，这种复杂的图形风格倾向于更大的区域多样性。

In the 1970s, when the study of Australian archaeology was in an exciting phase of development, with the great antiquity of rock art becoming clear, Lesley Maynard, the archaeologist who coined the phrase “Panaramitee style,” suggested that a sequence could be determined for Australian rock art in which a geometric style gave way to a simple figurative style (outlines of figures and animals), followed by a range of complex figurative styles that, unlike the pan-Australian geometric tradition, tended to much greater regional diversity.

尽管接受这一序列的说法与那些后来被连续占领了数千年的遗址的形象相吻合，许多作者警告说，这种序列的基本假设（从简单和几何到复杂及自然主义）掩盖了澳大利亚原住民的文化连续性，在这些连续性中，几何象征主义仍然至关重要。

While accepting that this sequence fits the archaeological profile of those sites, which were occupied continuously over many thousands of years, a number of writers have warned that the underlying assumption of such a sequence—a development from the simple and the geometric to the complex and naturalistic—obscures the cultural continuities in Aboriginal Australia in which geometric symbolism remains fundamentally important.

在这种情况下，几何图案的简单性比真实性更加明显。

In this context the simplicity of a geometric motif may be more apparent than real.

看似简单的主题在澳大利亚原住民中可以代表复杂的含义。

Motifs of seeming simplicity can encode complex meanings in Aboriginal Australia.

难道二十世纪的艺术还没有显示出自然主义不一定按照某种预定的顺序出现在抽象之后吗？

And has not twentieth-century art shown that naturalism does not necessarily follow abstraction in some kind of predetermined sequence?

The word “infrequent” in the passage is closest in meaning to

According to paragraph 1, the twentieth-century approach to studying Australian rock art was different from earlier approaches because the twentieth-century approach

The word “relatively” in the passage is closest in meaning to

The word “discern” in the passage is closest in meaning to

The word “revised” in the passage is closest in meaning to

Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.

According to paragraph 4, researchers have organized and structured Australian rock art by distinguishing between which of the following?

According to paragraph 4, all of the following are signs of the great age of the Panaramitee engravings EXCEPT:

Why does the author include information about Tasmania in paragraph 4?

According to paragraph 5, the complex figurative style differs from the geometric style in that the complex figurative style

According to paragraph 5, Lesley Maynard made which of the following suggestions about Australian rock art?

In paragraph 5, the author indicates that twentieth century art has shown that “naturalism does not necessarily follow abstraction in some kind of predetermined sequence” in order to

Look at the four squares  that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. While a great deal of information exists, the answers to these questions are not yet definitive.  Where would the sentence best fit? Click on a square  to add the sentence to the passage.

Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

Rock Art of the Australian Aborigines Ever since Europeans first explored Australia, people have been trying to understand the ancient rock drawings and carvings created by the Aborigines, the original inhabitants of the continent. Early in the nineteenth century, encounters with Aboriginal rock art tended to be infrequent and open to speculative interpretation, but since the late nineteenth century, awareness of the extent and variety of Australian rock art has been growing. In the latter decades of the twentieth century there were intensified efforts to understand and record the abundance of Australian rock art. The systematic study of this art is a relatively new discipline in Australia. Over the past four decades new discoveries have steadily added to the body of knowledge. The most significant data have come from a concentration on three major questions. First, what is the age of Australian rock art? Second, what is its stylistic organization and is it possible to discern a sequence or a pattern of development between styles? Third, is it possible to interpret accurately the subject matter of ancient rock art, bringing to bear all available archaeological techniques and the knowledge of present-day Aboriginal informants?  The age of Australia’s rock art is constantly being revised, and earlier datings have been proposed as the result of new discoveries.  Currently, reliable scientific evidence dates the earliest creation of art on rock surfaces in Australia to somewhere between 30,000 and 50,000 years ago.  This in itself is an almost incomprehensible span of generations, and one that makes Australia’s rock art the oldest continuous art tradition in the world.  Although the remarkable antiquity of Australia’s rock art is now established, the sequences and meanings of its images have been widely debated. Since the mid-1970s a reasonably stable picture has formed of the organization of Australian rock art. In order to create a sense of structure to this picture, researchers have relied on a distinction that still underlies the forms of much indigenous visual culture—a distinction between geometric and figurative elements. Simple geometric repeated patterns—circles, concentric circles, and lines—constitute the iconography (characteristic images) of the earliest rock-art sites found across Australia. The frequency with which certain simple motifs appear in these oldest sites has led rock-art researchers to adopt a descriptive term—the Panaramitee style—a label which takes its name from the extensive rock pavements at Panaramitee North in desert South Australia, which are covered with motifs pecked into the surface. Certain features of these engravings lead to the conclusion that they are of great age—geological changes had clearly happened after the designs had been made and local Aboriginal informants, when first questioned about them, seemed to know nothing of their origins. Furthermore, the designs were covered with “desert varnish,” a glaze that develops on rock surfaces over thousands of years of exposure to the elements. The simple motifs found at Panaramitee are common to many rock-art sites across Australia. Indeed, sites with engravings of geometric shapes are also to be found on the island of Tasmania, which was separated from the mainland of the continent some 10,000 years ago. In the 1970s, when the study of Australian archaeology was in an exciting phase of development, with the great antiquity of rock art becoming clear, Lesley Maynard, the archaeologist who coined the phrase “Panaramitee style,” suggested that a sequence could be determined for Australian rock art in which a geometric style gave way to a simple figurative style (outlines of figures and animals), followed by a range of complex figurative styles that, unlike the pan-Australian geometric tradition, tended to much greater regional diversity. While accepting that this sequence fits the archaeological profile of those sites, which were occupied continuously over many thousands of years, a number of writers have warned that the underlying assumption of such a sequence—a development from the simple and the geometric to the complex and naturalistic—obscures the cultural continuities in Aboriginal Australia in which geometric symbolism remains fundamentally important. In this context the simplicity of a geometric motif may be more apparent than real. Motifs of seeming simplicity can encode complex meanings in Aboriginal Australia. And has not twentieth-century art shown that naturalism does not necessarily follow abstraction in some kind of predetermined sequence?