『新东方在线托福听力』为托福考生准备了ETS托福TPO/Official 63 Lec2听力练习：Why does the professor read an excerpt from the epic of Gilgamesh to the class?原文题目答案解析，TPO/Official 63 Lec2听力原文范文音频翻译。

托福TPO/Official 63 Lec2听力原文Why does the professor read an excerpt from the epic of Gilgamesh to the class?【新东方在线】

旁白：请听一段古代历史课堂上的讲座部分内容。教授一直在讨论苏美尔人和阿卡德人，这两个古代民族所在的地区位于今天的伊拉克境内。

Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture in an ancient history class. The professor has been discussing the Sumerians and the Akkadians,two ancient peoples from an area that is in modern day Iraq.

教授：目前为止，我们集中讨论了苏美尔人和阿卡德人的书面记录，如上周幻灯片中看到的楔形文字铭文，来看看历史学家如何与考古学家和语言学家合作拼凑这些线索。

Professor: So far, we've been focusing on the written record of the Sumerians and the Akkadians, like the cuneiform inscriptions we saw in those slides last week, to see how historians work with archaeologists and linguists to put together the pieces of the puzzle.

这些古老符号意味着什么？它们告诉了我们关于古代人民的哪些信息？

What do these ancient symbols mean? What do they tell us about ancient peoples?

我们已经看到了这些古老文本如何揭示社会制度的信息，比如法律体系，如汉谟拉比法典，或是日常生活中的实用方面，例如农业和灌溉方法，以及宗教和艺术文本。

We've seen how these ancient texts shed light on social institutions, such as legal systems, like the Hammurabi code, or practical aspects of everyday life, such as farming and irrigation methods, as well as religious and artistic texts.

现在我们将讨论古埃及的古代文本，看看埃及的第一套书写系统——象形文字如何揭示其文明的基础。

Now we'll be discussing ancient texts when we move to Egypt to see how the hieroglyphics, the Egyptians first writing system revealed to us the foundations of their civilization.

但在离开阿卡德人之前，我想花一分钟时间让大家听听他们的一些文本听起来是什么样的，当然这种语言已经没有人使用，至少这是语言学家认为它听起来是什么样的。

But before we leave the Akkadians, I want to take a minute to let you hear what some of their texts sounded like in the original language, which obviously is no longer spoken, or at least what linguists think it sounded like.

这是基于一些推测性的且相对较新的研究，但它应该能让大家对这种古老的语言有一个概念。

Now, this is based on somewhat speculative and fairly recent research, but it should give you some idea of what the ancient language sounded like.

好的。我带来了一段非常有趣的录音。

Okay. So, I brought this really interesting tape.

它是一段阿卡德文本的录音，主要是神话和诗歌的片段，但也有一些实用主题的内容，让我们看看，第一个读的关于农业的内容。

It's a recording of Akkadian texts, mostly fragments of myths and poetry, but also practical topics like… let's see, the first reading is, okay, this one is about agriculture.

这是一本四千年前农民手册的部分内容，包含种植大麦的建议。乔治，你有问题吗？

It's actually from a 4000-year-old farmer’s manual with advice on growing barley. And then, yes, George. Did you have a question?

学生：我只是想知道，我觉得你们能弄清楚它的发音真的很酷，但我没明白为什么我们要这么关心一种没人再使用的语言？

STUDENT: I was just wondering, I mean, it's really cool that you guys have figured out what it sounds like and all, but I don't get why would you all care so much about a language nobody speaks anymore?

又不是说你需要学习如何问路去机场。

It's not like you have to learn, how to say, I don't know, which way to the airport.

教授：好的，乔治，我知道你的意思。这是一个非常好的问题，特别是因为我们选的那个关于农业的手册片段可能并不是最好的例子来说明为什么我们应该感兴趣。

Professor: Okay, George, I see where you're going with that. And that's a really good question, especially since that selection from the farmer’s manual is probably not the best example of why all this should interest you.

当然，我个人对此很着迷，但那也是我的职业。更重要的是，这关系到我们对古代文学，尤其是神话和诗歌的欣赏。

Of course, I'm fascinated, but then that's my profession. I guess the more important reason has to do with our appreciation of ancient literature, the myths and poetry.

这对于阿卡德人，以及大多数早期文明来说，文学主要是口头传统，因此这一点既需要聆听也需要阅读，真的非常重要。

Now that's something that really is important to hear as well as read, since for the Akkadians, as for most early civilizations, the literature was mainly an oral tradition.

需要理解的是，在那个时代，写作像雕刻石头一样昂贵且费力。

You have to understand that, back then, writing like engraving into stone was an expensive and laborious process.

没有正式的教育体系，大多数人是文盲。实际上，那些能够阅读和写作的人——专业的书记员形成了一个独立的阶层。

With no formal system of education, most people were illiterate. In fact, the few people who could read and write, the professional scribes, formed a separate class.

然而，古代人民确实拥有文学，但这是一种口头传统，流传下来的传说、神话、诗篇，偶尔会被写下，但大多数情况下是通过记忆代代相传。

Well, Ancient peoples, nevertheless, had literature, but it was an oral literature, a spoken body of legends, myths, poems, which were occasionally written down, but mostly memorized and passed down from generation to generation.

所以，好吧。接下来，我们将播放吉尔伽美什史诗的一部分录音。这是最古老的神话之一。

So,ok. Let's go to the recording of part of the story of Gilgamesh. Now, this is one of the oldest myths ever told.

这个故事原本是用来大声朗诵，甚至吟唱的。

Well, this story was meant to be recited aloud, even chanted or sung.

因此，为了真正体验阿卡德人是如何体验这个传奇的，我们应该听到它，而不仅仅是看翻译。紧接着还有几首诗。

So to appreciate how Akkadians experienced the Legend, we should really hear it not just look at the translation. And then right after that, there are some poems.

即使在今天，大多数诗人创作诗歌时也会考虑到它的声音效果，如韵律、节奏等，所以即使你只是在阅读，也在脑海中“听到”它。

Now, most poets even today craft their poetry, thinking about how it sounds to their readers, the rhymes, the rhythms of the language, that kind of thing, so that even if you're just reading it on the page, you're still hearing it in your head.Right?

所以乔治，你是对的，那段关于法律和实用事物的录音可能除了专家外对其他人没有多大吸引力。

So George, you're right, the part of the tape about laws and practical stuff, that probably wouldn't be of much interest to anyone but a specialist.

但我希望我已经说服了你，为了真正欣赏古代文学，我们需要知道它是怎么“听起来”的。

But I hope I’ve convinced you that to appreciate ancient literature, you really need to know what it sounded like.

虽然这稍微超出了本课程的范围，但我知道你们中有几个人正在学习古代语言和文学。

Now, this is somewhat outside the scope of this class, but I know several of you are studying ancient languages and literature.

所以这可能会成为一篇研究论文的主题。

So this could even be a topic for a research paper. Okay? Hear.

首先，我会用英语读给你们听。你们即将听到的部分来自故事的结尾，讲的是英雄吉尔伽美什有机会获得永生，但最终却失去了这个机会

Let me first read to you in English, of course. The part you're gonna hear, this is from the end of the story where Gilgamesh, the hero, is offered the chance to become immortal, but then loses that opportunity.

于是他哭泣着说道：我为谁辛苦劳作？为谁跋涉远行？为谁忍受苦难？我为自己竟一无所获。

So he weeps and says, for whom have I labored? for whom have I journeyed? for whom have I suffered? I have gained absolutely nothing for myself.

你听到了那句“为谁？”的重复吗？这种重复真切地突出了人物内心的悲伤，也通过对比，强调了下一句中那种“一无所得”的感受。

You hear that repetition of for whom? This really brings home the character’s sadness, and by contrast emphasizes that nothing in the next line.

现在的英文翻译确实保留了原始阿卡德语中词语的重复效果。

Now the English translation does preserve the repetition of the original Akkadian words.

但其他类型的听觉效果又该如何呢？比如音节或词内声音的重复，这类语言特征在翻译成现代语言时往往就会丢失了

But what about other types of aural effects? Like repetition of a syllable or other sounds within a word, that kind of thing gets lost when you translate it into a modern language.

According to the professor, what have previous classes concentrated on？

Why does the professor say that the recording of the farming advice was NOT a good example?

Why does the professor mention the fact that few Akkadians knew how to read or write?

Why does the professor read an excerpt from the epic of Gilgamesh to the class?

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