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  3. Archaeology as a profession faces two major problems. First, it is the poore

Archaeology as a profession faces two major problems. First, it is the poore

游客2024-01-13  28
问题     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 muse- um-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 archeological expeditions and governmental authorities sell excavated artifacts on the open market. Such sales would provide substan- tial 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 de- creasing 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 val- ue. 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, archaeolo- gists 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 catalogue 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 arti- facts 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 strati-graphically by the professional archaeologist who excavated it? [br] The author implies that all of the following statements about duplicate artifacts are true EXCEPT:
选项 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 catalogued in museum collections.
答案 E
解析 以下关于文物复制品的观点，作者哪个不会同意?A．这些艺术品的市场已经存在了。第一段就指出，非法开掘者出售它们。B．这些文物很少有科学价值。L33—36作者给出的解决办法就是出售无科学价值的文物，而文物复制品是他所给的具体方案。C．会有继续发现的可能。L5l一54，博物馆将来可能会装不下那么多属于此类的继续发现的文物。D．博物馆已有大量的此种文物。从第五段的情况可以推出。E．正确。这些文物的质量常能超出博物馆所藏的已分门别类的文物。作者之所以同意出售它们，就是因为其质量不高，不值得件件保存。
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