据报道,意大利男子卢西亚诺·法贾诺(Luciano Faggiano)原本想要在莱切(Lecce)市Via Ascanio Grandi大街56号开一家餐馆,但在挖洞维修厕所时却意外挖出一座距今2500年的古墓,现在这里已经变成博物馆。
Centuries of Italian History Are Unearthed in Quest to Fix Toilet
The New York Times
April 15, 2015
(2017年5月CATTI三级笔译英译汉真题来源)
LECCE, ITALY: AllLuciano Faggiano wanted when he purchased the seemingly unremarkable building at 56 Via Ascanio Grandi was to open a restaurant.The only problem was the toilet.Sewage[1]kept backing up. So Faggiano enlisted his two older sons to help him dig a trench[2]and investigate. He predicted the job would take about a week."We found underground corridors and other rooms, so we kept digging," said Faggiano, 60. Faggiano's search for a sewage pipe, which began in 2000, became one family's tale of discovery.
法贾诺于2001年买下这栋建筑,准备在那里开餐馆,但是首先需要妥当处理已经损坏的厕所。这意味着,他必须与儿子们挖通地下,寻找出现问题的管道。这项工作预计可能需要1周时间才能完成。
[1]sewage['suːɪdʒ]
waste matter such as water or human urine or solid waste 污水;污物
Some cities in the world do not have proper facilities for the disposal of sewage.
世界上的某些城市没有合理的污水处理设施。
[2]trench:a narrow hole that is dug into the ground 壕沟;沟渠
A workman was killed when the sides of the trench he was working in collapsed.
一名工人在挖壕沟时由于两侧坍塌而丧生。
Located in the heel of the Italian boot, Lecce was once a critical crossroads in the Mediterranean[3].Severo Martini, a member of the City Council, said archaeological[4] relics turn up on a regular basis - and can present a headache for urban planning. An ongoing project to build a shopping mall had to be redesigned after the discovery of an ancient Roman temple beneath the site of a planned parking lot.
莱切市(Lecce)是位于意大利南部普利亚大区的一座古城,它是意大利半岛东南端撒伦丁半岛的主要城市,已经有2000多年的历史,这里有许多巴洛克时期的建筑,因此也被称为是“南方佛罗伦萨”,而路西亚诺所挖出的古墓由梅萨比人所建,梅萨比人属于印欧人,可以说是最早建立莱切地区的族群。
[3]Mediterranean[.medɪtə'reɪniən]
connected with the Mediterranean Sea or the countries and regions that surround it; typical of this area地中海的
[4]archaeological[.ɑː(r)kiə'lɒdʒɪk(ə)l]
involving or relating to archaeology 考古学的;和考古有关的
an archaeological dig/excavation
考古发掘
One week quickly passed, as father and sons discovered a false floor that led down to another floor ofmedieval[5]stone, which led to a tomb of theMessapians[6], who lived in the region centuries before the birth of Christ. Soon, the family discovered achamber[7]used tostore grainby the ancient Romans, as well as the basement of aFranciscan[8]convent[9]wherenuns[10]had once prepared the bodies of the dead.
然而刚刚挖通地面,法贾诺等人就发现了一个假的地层。通过进一步挖掘,他们发现了中世纪石头建造的地面,最后发现一座梅萨比人(Messapian)的古墓。梅萨比人属于印欧人,在罗马人统治意大利数百年前就生活在当地,距今约2500年。法贾诺等人继续挖掘后,发现了一个古罗马人用以储存谷物的石室以及方济各会修道院的修女们用于安放等待下葬遗体的地下室。
[5]medieval[.medi'iːv(ə)l]
related to the Middle Ages (= the period in European history from about AD 600 to AD 1500) 中世纪(约公元600年至1500年间)的,中古时代的
amedievalbuilding/painting/town
中世纪建筑/画作/城镇
[6]Messapian:梅萨比人(拉丁语:Messapii,英语:Messapians)是历史上印欧人的一个族群,生活在亚平宁半岛的东南部(今天的普利亚),使用梅萨比语。
[7]chamber['tʃeɪmbə(r)]
a room used for a special or official purpose, or a group of people who form (part of) a parliament (用于特定用途或官方用途的)房间,室,厅;议院
Meetings of the council are held in the council chamber.
委员会的会议在会议厅举行。
[8]Franciscan[fræn'sɪskən]
a member of a religious organization started in 1209 by St Francis of Assisi in Italy方济各会修士(方济各会于 1209 年由圣方济各创办)
[9]convent:a building in which nuns (= members of a female religious order) live 女修道院
[10]nun:a member of a female religious group that lives in a convent 修女
a conventschool run by Catholic nuns
天主教修女开办的女修道院学校
If this history only later became clear, what was immediately obvious was that locating the pipe would be a much bigger project than Faggiano had anticipated. He did not initially tell his wife about the extent of the work, possibly because he was tying a rope around the chest of his youngest son, Davide , then 12, and lowering him to dig in small, darkened openings."I made sure to tell him not to tell his mama," he said.
His wife,Anna Maria Sano, soon became suspicious. "We had all these dirty clothes, every day," she said. "I didn't understand what was going on."
After watching the Faggiano men haul away[11]debris in the back seat of the family car, neighbors also became suspicious and notified the authorities. Investigators arrived and shut down the excavations[12], warning Faggiano against operating an unapproved archaeological work site. Faggiano responded that he was just looking for a sewage pipe.
邻居发现这些“业余挖掘工”用自驾汽车运送各种碎料后,就向当地政府报案。法贾诺家族未经授权的考古挖掘工作被叫停。
[11]haul someone/something away: to take someone or something somewhere 搬运开;曳开;驶开;拖走
[12]excavation[.ekskə'veɪʃ(ə)n]
the activity of digging in the ground to look for old buildings or objects that have been buried for a long time(对古建筑或古物的)发掘,挖掘
A year passed. Finally, Faggiano was allowed to resume his pursuit of the sewage pipe on condition that cultural heritage officials observed the work. Soon, an underground treasure house emerged, as the family uncovered ancient vases[13], Roman devotional[14] bottles, an ancient ring with Christian symbols,medieval artifacts, hidden frescoes[15] and more.
一年后,法贾诺被允许重新寻找出问题的下水管道,并继续在上面开餐馆,但他对下面的挖掘工作似乎更感兴趣。法贾诺等人的挖掘活动将会继续,但有考古专家坐镇监督。
[13]vase[vɑːz]:a container for holding flowers or for decoration 花瓶
avaseof flowers
一瓶花
[14]devotional[dɪ'vəʊʃ(ə)n(ə)l]
connected with the act of religious worship 宗教礼拜的,祈祷的
devotionalmusic/poems/practices
礼拜音乐/诗歌/仪式
[15]fresco['freskəʊ]
(a picture made by) painting on wet plaster on a wall or ceiling 湿壁画(技法)
Michelangelo's famousfrescoesare in the Sistine Chapel.
米开朗琪罗创作的著名湿壁画在罗马的西斯廷教堂。
Today, the building is Museum Faggiano, an independent archaeological museum authorized by the Lecce government. Faggiano is now satisfied with his museum, but he has not forgotten about the restaurant. A few years into his excavation, he finally found his sewage pipe. It was, indeed, broken. He has since bought another building and is again planning for a restaurant, assuming it does not need any renovations. "I still want it," he said of the trattoria. "I'm very stubborn."
注:中文内容引自相关新闻,非对应文本翻译
英文原文与三笔真题内容略有出入,仅供参考
原文:位大哥修厕所,挖出了古墓,挖成了三笔真题