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- 精华
- 0
- 积分
- 560
- 经验
- 560 点
- 威望
- 55 点
- 金钱
- 55 ￥
- 魅力
- 55
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OG12 cr 10
附上原文：
Archaeology as a profession faces two major
problems. First, it is the poorest of the poor.
Only paltry sums are available for excavating and
even less is available for publishing the results
and preserving the sites 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 would at one stroke provide
funds for archaeology and reduce the amount
of illegal digging. I would propose that scientific
archaeological expeditions and governmental
authorities sell excavated artifacts on the open
market. Such sales would provide substantial
funds for 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.
You might object that professionals excavate to
acquire knowledge, not money. Moreover, ancient
artifacts 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 artistic merit or scientific value. But,
you might reply, everything that comes out of the
ground has scientific value. Here we part company.
Theoretically, you may be correct in claiming
that every artifact has potential scientific value.
Practically, you are wrong.
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 known as
l’melekh handles have been found in abundance
—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 discovered in the future. There is not enough
money even to catalog 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 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 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?
10. 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) such artifacts frequently exceed in quality those
already cataloged in museum collections
就是这道题，推断题，我看到duplicate artifacts 感觉应该在文中找到相关位置，但是我找到这个词了，却没发现有什么用~
求NN 指点和敲打我一下哈O(∩_∩)O~ 小菜我先谢过啦~！ |
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