P3: The age of Australia’s rock art is constantly being revised, and earlier datings have been proposed as the result of new discoveries. Currently, reliable scientific evidence dates the earliest creation of art on rock surfaces in Australia to somewhere between 30,000 and 50,000 years ago. This in itself is an almost incomprehensible span of generations, and one that makes Australia’s rock art the oldest continuous art tradition in the world.

　　难词解析：

　　revise v. 修改、修正

　　propose v. 提出

　　as the result of 做为……的结果

　　reliable adj. 可靠的

　　Incomprehensive adj. 无法理解的

　　P4: Although the remarkable antiquity of Australia’s rock art is now established, the sequences and meanings of its images have been widely debated. Since the mid-1970s, a reasonably stable picture has formed of the organization of Australian rock art. In order to create a sense of structure to this picture, researchers have relied on a distinction that still underlies the forms of much indigenous visual culture-- a distinction between geometric and figurative elements. Simple geometric repeated patterns-circles, concentric circles, and lines-constitute the iconography (characteristic images) of the earliest rock-art sites found across Australia. The frequency with which certain simple motifs appear in these oldest sites has led rock-art researchers to adopt a descriptive term-the Panaramitee style-a label which takes its name from the extensive rock pavements at Panaramitee North in desert South Australia, which are covered with motifs pecked into the surface. Certain features of these engravings lead to the conclusion that they are of great age. Geological changes had clearly happened after the designs had been made and local Aboriginal informants, when first questioned about them, seemed to know nothing of their origins. Furthermore, the designs were covered with "desert varnish", a glaze that develops on rock surfaces over thousands of years of exposure to the elements. The simple motifs found at Panaramitee are common to many rock-art sites across Australia. Indeed, sites with engravings of geometric shapes are also to be found on the island of Tasmania, which was separated from the mainland of the continent some 10,000 years ago.

　　难词解析：

　　remarkable adj. 引人注目的

　　antiquity n. 古老、古物

　　sequence n. 顺序

　　debate: v. 辩论

　　stable adj. 稳定的

　　in order to 为了……

　　rely on: 依赖于……

　　distinction n. 区分

　　underlie v. 是……的原因;是……的基础

　　indigenous adj. 本土的、当地的

　　visual adj. 视觉的

　　geometric adj. 几何的

　　feature n. 特征

　　engraving n. 雕刻

　　难句解析：

　　The frequency (with which certain simple motifs appear in these oldest sites) has led rock-art researchers to adopt a descriptive term - the Panaramitee style - a label (which takes its name from the extensive rock pavements at Panaramitee North in desert South Australia), (which are covered with motifs pecked into the surface).

　　(某些简单主题在这些最老地方的出现的)频率导致岩石艺术研究者采用了一个描述性术语 - P style – (取名于澳大利亚南部沙漠的PN地区的广泛的(表面满覆盖着这些主题)岩石道路)的一个标签。

　　文章读完了，我们一起来检验下你有没有读懂吧~

　　P1 土著岩石艺术的研究情况：

　　19th早期研究的特征: _____________而且_____________

　　20th研究的特征: ___________________________

　　P2 对岩石艺术的研究聚焦于三个主要问题：

　　Q1: _________________________________________

　　Q2: _________________________________________

　　Q3: _________________________________________

　　P3 回答P2的第几个Question?_____________目前最早的日期是_____________

　　P4 回答P2的第几个Question?_____________

　　现状：岩石艺术的_____________已经确定，但_____________争议很大。

　　Answers：

　　P1：infrequent, open to speculative interpretation; understand and record the abundance of Australian rock art

　　P2: What is the age of Australian rock art? What is its stylistic organization and is it possible to discern a sequence or a pattern of development between styles? Is it possible to interpret accurately the subject matter of ancient rock art?

　　P3: Q1; 30,000 and 50,000 years ago

　　P4: Q2; antiquity of Australia’s rock art; sequences and meanings of its images

　　以上就是新东方在线托福网为你带来的托福阅读：澳大利亚土著岩石艺术，更多精彩敬请关注新东方在线托福网。