未解之謎 Unsolved Mysteries

Over the past several decades, the U.S., Canada, and Europe have received a great deal of media and even research attention over unusual phenomena and unsolved e include UFOs as well as sightings and encounters with “nonhuman creatures”such as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster.

過去幾十年裏，美國，加拿大和歐洲都對異常現象界未解之謎給予了大量來自媒體甚至研究機構的關注。這些現象包括不明飛行物，也有對像大腳怪，尼斯湖水怪這些非人類生物的發現和邂逅。

Only recently has Latin America begun to receive some attention as well. Although the mysteries of the Aztec, Mayan, and Inca civilizations have been known for centuries,now the public is also becoming aware of unusual, paranormal phenomena in countries such as Peru. The Nazca “lines” of Peru were discovered in the 1930s.

只是到了近期，拉丁美洲纔開始受到些許關注。雖然阿茲特克文明，瑪雅文明和印加文明之謎也開始逐漸知曉如祕魯這樣的國家中出現的超自然靈異現象。祕魯的納斯卡線條在20世紀30年代首都被發現。

These lines are deeply carved into a flat, stony plain,and form about 300 intricate pictures of animals such as birds, a monkey, and a lizard. Seen at ground level, the designs are a jumbled senseless mess. The images are so large that they can only be viewed at a height of 1,000 feet—meaning from an aircraft.

這些線條深深地刻在一個多石的大平原上，形成了約300幅包括鳥，猴子，蜥蜴等的複雜精細的動物畫。站在地面上看，這些圖案雜亂無章。這些圖像實在是太大了，只有從1000英尺高度，即從飛機上往下看才完整。

Yet there were no aircraft in 300 B.C.,when it is judged the designs were were there then, or are there now,any nearby mountain ranges from which to view them. So how and why did the native people of Nazca create these marvelous designs?

但根據判斷，這些圖案形成與公元前300年，那時候可沒有什麼飛機，而且無論當時還是現在在它們附近也沒有可以從高處觀看它們的山地。那麼納斯卡原住民當又是如何創作出如此令人歎爲觀止的圖案的？

One answer appeared in 1969,when the German researcher and writer Erich von Daniken proposed that the lines were drawn by extraterrestrials as runways for their scientific community did not take long to scoff at and abandon von Daniken’s theory. Over the years several other theories have been put forth,but none has been accepted by the scientific community.

1969年有了個答案。當時德國研究者，作家埃裏克?馮?鄧尼肯提出，這些線條是外星人所繪，用做他們飛行器的跑道。但沒過多久，科學界就嘲笑並棄用了馮的理論。這麼多年來又有些人提出過幾個理論，但沒有一個的大科學界的認可。

Today there is a new and heightened interest in the Nazca lines. It is a direct result of the creation of the ently there are over 60 sites dedicated to this mystery from Latin America’s past,and even respected scientists have joined the discussion through e-mail and chat rooms. Will the Internet help explain these unsolved mysteries? Perhaps it is a step in the right direction.

如今對納斯卡線條又有了新增長的興趣，這完全是由於互聯網的產生。現在有60多個網站致力於解開這一拉美的古老之謎，甚至有些德高望重的科學家也通過電郵和聊天室參與到這個討論中來。互聯網會幫助解開這些未解之謎嗎？也許它還真是朝着正確方向邁進的一步。