[ti:Jordanian Officials Face Decision on Saving Ancient Baths in Amman] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]A government committee in Jordan is facing a difficult question. [00:06.88]How can it save the country's ancient past while planning for its future? [00:13.72]The committee, set up two weeks ago, is considering the issue [00:20.04]after the discovery of ancient Roman baths. [00:24.28]The ruins were found during a dig for a building project, [00:29.44]an underground canal that will help control flood water [00:34.24]that comes into Amman, Jordan's capital. [00:37.96]The ruins have the remains of furnaces, [00:42.12]a sign of a complex heating system. [00:46.04]Experts believe that the discovery [00:49.04]is the first of its kind among the remains of the ancient city [00:52.80]of Philadelphia on which Amman now stands. [00:58.88]Yazid Elayan is head of Jordan's Department of Antiquities. [01:05.08]"We will balance the needs of the city - to protect it from flooding [01:10.56]- to preserving antiquities under the streets," he said. [01:15.08]"Amman was one of the biggest Roman cities [01:18.88]and it has one of the largest baths... [01:22.04]Wherever one excavates in Amman, [01:25.08]antiquities can be found," he told Reuters. [01:29.36]Excavate is a term that means to dig out and remove soil. [01:35.12]The work on the canal system has been suspended [01:39.84]while the government committee makes its decision. [01:44.00]Amman is an old city where ancient Roman structures can still be seen. [01:51.12]It has an Amphitheatre that seated around 6,000 people. [01:56.84]It has the Nymphaeum fountains and the Temple of Hercules, too. [02:02.92]Building problems and irregular urban design [02:07.24]have been important issues in the large city of four million people. [02:13.04]It is built on many levels of history, from the Ammonites, [02:18.84]Moabites, Romans and Greeks to the Islamic period. [02:24.40]City officials have already expressed concern [02:28.08]that delaying the canal project [02:30.88]could raise water levels in central Amman. [02:34.72]They say it could flood again during the winter. [02:38.56]The formerly quiet city [02:41.24]now has one of the Middle East's largest city centers. [02:46.72]I'm John Russell. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM