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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  26
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 mentions the excavation in Cyprus(lines 43 - 50)to emphasize which of the following points?
选项 A、Ancient lamps and pottery vessels are less valuable, although more rare, than royal seal impressions.
B、Artifacts that are very similar to each other present cataloguing difficulties to archaeologists.
C、Artifacts that are not uniquely valuable, and therefore could be sold, are available in large quantities.
D、Cyprus is the most important location for unearthing large quantities of salable artifacts.
E、Illegal sales of duplicate artifacts are widespread, particularly on the island of Cyprus.
答案 C
解析 作者在L43—50提到塞浦路斯的一次发掘是为了：A．lamps，vessels和seal在原文都是同一性质的例证。B．cataloguing difficulties在这一段没有提到。C．正确。没有独特价值可被出售的文物，数量很多。作者举这个发掘的例子就是为了说明成千上万个复制出的文物，艺术和科学价值不是很丰富。D．most important location在原文没有。E．非法出售文物复制品的行为很猖獗，尤其是在塞浦路斯。无。
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