2. 外语
  3. Archaeology as a profession faces two major problems. First.it is the poorest of the poor. Only paltry sums are available for ex

Archaeology as a profession faces two major problems. First.it is the poorest of the poor. Only paltry sums are available for ex

admin2011-03-14  53
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 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 claming that every artifact has potential scientific value. Practically, you are wrong.
    I refer to the thousand pottery vessels and ancient lamps that are essentially duplicates of one another. In one small excavation in Cyprus, archaeologists recently uncovered 2000 virtually indistinguishable small jugs in a single courtyard. Even precious royal seal impressions known as 1’ melekh handles have been found in a-bundance------more than 4000 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, hey cannot be found a-gain 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.
The author implies that all 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、museums are well supplied with examples of such artifacts
D、such artifacts frequently exceed in quality those already catalogued in museum collections
答案D
解析 文章内容表明，非法挖掘文物活动，促使复制史前文物市场的存在。然而，这些复制品并没有科学价值。
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