Mystery Hill 神秘山

托福 TPO 074 考題符合托福 iBT 整合寫作的標準格式：在閱讀內容部分，作者提出三點理由主張名為神秘山的石造結構是由古代歐洲人製造出來的。而在講課內容部分，則對此三項原因一一提出反駁。

在閱讀內容方面出現一些專業術語，但是都不難理解，因為文章都有附上補充說明。而在講課內容中，均沿用閱讀段落的術語，並沒有出現新的專業詞彙，所以不會有聽力部分遭到突襲的憂慮。

整篇難度屬於中等程度。只要能夠掌握整合寫作的聽力技巧、寫作格式、並通曉評分原則，應該能夠拿到至少 25 分。

本份考題英文原文與對應之中文翻譯整理如下。練習作答解題時若有對語意不清楚之處，請仔細查閱對照，以提升閱讀與聽力的理解能力。

Reading 閱讀內容

1.  

   Once known as the roadside attraction Mystery Hill, America’s Stonehenge in Salem, New Hampshire, includes mysterious rock formations, a warren of man-made caves and chambers, and stone walls that stretch across the hilltop. The origin and purpose of the structures have been hotly debated among scholars and amateur sleuths for years, raising far more questions than answers. Although there’s no doubt that a native civilization made use of this area, it must be some pre-Columbian, migratory Europeans who constructed this place for religious rituals and ceremonies.

   點此看中文翻譯

   位於新罕布什爾州塞勒姆的美國巨石陣曾被稱為路邊的景點「神秘山」，它包括神秘的岩石構造、人造洞穴和密室，以及延伸至山頂的石牆。多年來，這些建築的起源和目的一直在學者和業餘偵探之間引起激烈的爭論，引起的問題遠遠多於答案。儘管毫無疑問，一個本土文明使用過此一地區，但應該是一些哥倫布時代之前的、遷徙的歐洲人建造了這個地方，以用於宗教儀式和典禮。
   [註：目前網路上所有的 TPO 074 整合寫作的閱讀部分都欠缺第一段內容。上述文字乃擷取 此處 文章混合而成。特此說明。]

2.  

   First, the arrangement of stones at Mystery Hill is similar to that of some stone structures that are well known in Europe. For example, Stonehenge, an ancient monument in England, includes large stones that align with astronomical events, such as the position of the Sun at sunrise on the longest day of the year. Certain stones at Mystery Hill align with the same events in precisely the same way. This same arrangement at both locations suggests that the builders of Mystery Hill were inspired by European monuments.

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   首先，神秘山的石頭排列方式與歐洲一些著名的石頭建築相似。例如，英格蘭的古代巨石陣，就包含一些與天文事件相一致的大石頭，例如太陽在一年中最長的一天中的日出位置。神秘山的某些石頭以完全相同的方式與相同的事件排列。這兩處的相同排列方式顯示，神秘山的建造者受到了歐洲古蹟巨石陣的啟發。

3.  

   Second, researchers discovered a large flat stone at Mystery Hill that appears to have an early type of European writing carved into it. The particular writing system, consisting of straight lines, was used by Irish people in Europe, starting about 1,500 years ago. The presence of a stone containing very old European writing at Mystery Hill suggests that Europeans were present at the site long ago.

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   第二，研究人員在神秘山發現了一塊大型的平坦石頭，上面似乎刻有一種早期的歐洲文字。這種特殊的文字系統由直線組成，由歐洲的愛爾蘭人使用，大約在 1,500 年前開始。在神秘山出現了一塊含有非常古老的歐洲文字的石頭，表示歐洲人很久以前就在這個地方。

4.  

   Finally, archaeologists determined that the large stones at Mystery Hill were quarried, or cut from the ground, and then significantly altered by hammering and burning well over 1,000 years ago. The way in which stones at Mystery Hill were quarried and the methods used to reshape them are similar to quarrying activities and stoneworking methods that were widely practiced in Europe in the distant past. Such methods are not generally associated with ancient Native Americans.

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   最後，考古學家判定，神秘山的大石頭是在 1,000 多年前被開採出來的，或者說是從地面上切割下來的，然後通過錘擊和焚燒進行了重大改造。神秘山的石頭被開採的方式和用來重塑它們的方法類似於遠古時期歐洲廣泛採用的採石活動和石器加工方法。這些方法通常不會跟古代美洲原住民有任何相關性。

Lecture 講課內容

提供講課內容的中文翻譯有兩個目的。首先是幫助聽力有困難的同學能夠快速且精確地了解原文的意思。而更重要的原因是，提供給練習英語口語表達的讀者訓練的素材。

由於每個人的知識範疇各不相同，因此碰到超出自己專長的領域，常常會啞口無言，無話可說。這對練習英語表達是一項非常難以克服的障礙。所以參考托福整合寫作英語原稿，既可以讓自我練習英語聽力或會話時有貼切適當的素材，同時也能學些道地的表達方式，實是一舉數得。

使用上，可以在聽完一、兩次原始音檔之後，試著一邊看中文譯稿，一邊流利、正確地用英語說出文中的內容。多次練習之後，未來自然能夠在碰到同樣主題時與人侃侃而談。

1.  

   Now listen to part of a lecture on the topic you just read about.

   Most archeologists don't think the structures at Mystery Hill were built by ancient Europeans. Here's why they aren't convinced.

   點此看中文翻譯

   現在請聆聽關於你剛剛讀到的主題的部分講座。

   大多數考古學家不認為神秘山的建築是由古代歐洲人建造的。以下是他們不認為如此的原因。

2.  

   First, it's true that the stones at Mystery Hill are arranged in the same way as stones at European sites. But here's the problem. The upright standing stones we see at Mystery Hill today are probably no longer in their original positions. You see, the Mystery Hillside belonged to a private owner in the 1930s, and historians suspect that the owner moved many of the stones around. In fact, the owner may have been trying to make the site look more like England's famous Stonehenge. By doing that, the owner probably hoped to attract more tourists to the site and make a financial profit.

   點此看中文翻譯

   首先，神秘山的石頭確實與歐洲遺址的石頭排列方式相同。但這裡有個問題。我們今天在神秘山看到的直立的石頭可能已經不在原來的位置了。你看，神秘山在 20 世紀 30 年代屬於一個私人業主，歷史學家懷疑該業主將許多石頭搬來搬去。事實上，該業主可能是想讓這個地方看起來更像英國著名的巨石陣。通過這樣做，業主可能希望吸引更多的遊客來到這裡，並賺取經濟利潤。

3.  

   Second, what about those lines carved into the flat stone? Well, if you're not an expert, a few straight lines might look like a simple writing system, but that's not conclusive evidence. Most archaeologists don't believe that those marks are actually ancient European writing. Those marks are probably just some accidental scratches made by farming equipment, since the area was used for farming for a long time. You know, a metal plow rolled over the stone several times and left some scratches behind.

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   第二，那些刻在平坦石頭上的線條是怎麼回事？嗯，如果你不是專家，幾條直線可能看起來像一個簡單的書寫系統，但這並不是決定性的證據。大多數考古學家不相信那些痕跡實際上是古代歐洲的文字。那些痕跡可能只是一些農用設備意外劃出的痕跡，因為該地區長期以來一直被用於耕種。你曉得的，就是一個金屬犁在石頭上滾過幾次，因而留下了一些刮痕。

4.  

   Finally, even though the type of quarrying done at Mystery Hill suggests European work to some people, archaeologists have found other ancient objects at Mystery Hill that were clearly made by Native Americans. Specifically, they found smaller stone objects such as jewelry that Native Americans wore as decoration. When archaeologists took a closer look, the jewelry had the same type of tool marks as the large stones. This suggests that the same kind of hammering tool was used to work both the large stone structures and the jewelry. This is strong evidence that Native Americans created the smaller objects as well as the large stones.

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   最後，儘管在神秘山所做的採石類型在一些人看來是歐洲人留下的成果，但考古學家在神秘山發現了其他古代物品，這些物品顯然是由美國原住民製作的。具體來說，他們發現了一些較小的石質物品，如美國原住民用作為裝飾所佩戴的珠寶。當考古學家仔細觀察時，這些珠寶上有與大石頭相同類型的工具痕跡。這表明，大型石頭結構和珠寶都是用同一種錘擊工具來加工的。這些有力的證據證明了美洲原住民在製造大石頭的同時也創造了小物件。