纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 060基尔瓦陶器碎片（6）

 

The people of Kilwa clearly loved foreign pottery¹. They used it for dining and they also adorned² their houses and mosques³ with it, setting decorated bowls into walls and arches. Pottery, of course, was only one element in the thriving import-export trade that made Kilwa's fortune - but it happens to be the toughest and the most enduring. Also coming in, though, were cottons from India - a trade that continues to this day - Chinese silks, glass, jewellery and cosmetics⁴. In exchange, Kilwa was trading luxuries, commodities and slaves. A later Portuguese⁵ visitor conjured⁶ up the rich exchanges that took place at harbours like Kilwa:

"They are great traders in cloth, gold, ivory and diverse other wares⁷, with the Moors⁸ and other heathen of India. And to their haven⁹ come every year many ships with cargoes¹⁰ of merchandise, from which they get great store of gold, ivory and wax."

Other exports included iron ingots much in demand in India, timber used for building in the Gulf¹¹, rhino¹² horn, turtle shell and leopard¹³ skin. Many of these were brought over huge distances from inland Africa. Gold, for instance, came from Zimbabwe far to the south, and it's the trade from Kilwa that eight hundred years ago made Zimbabwe such a rich and powerful kingdom, that it could construct that supreme¹⁴, mysterious monument, Great Zimbabwe.

基尔瓦人显然热爱外国瓷器。他们不仅将瓷器用作餐具，还将碗直接镶嵌在家里或清真寺的墙壁和拱门上用作装饰。陶瓷只是当地人从中获利的进出口商品之一，但因其耐久性和牢固性幸存至今，成为当年贸易的明证。他们也进口印度的棉花——这项贸易持续至今—一以及中国的丝绸、玻璃、珠宝和化妆品。另一位葡萄牙访客描述了一处类似基尔瓦的热闹港口所进行的令人眼花缭乱的买卖：

他们与摩尔人、印度的异教徒交易布匹、黄金和象牙，林林总总。每年都有大量满载商品的船只来到他们的港口，以黄金、象牙与蜂蜡充实他们的仓库。

而从非洲输出的商品包括印度需要的铸铁块，波斯湾建筑所需的木材、犀牛角、龟壳、豹皮、黄金和奴隶。大量商品从非洲内陆，如津巴布韦，被千里迢迢地运至这个港口。八百年前，正是通过基尔瓦的进出口贸易，津巴布韦成为强盛的国家，有实力兴建繁华的首都，留下诸如大津巴布韦一类的著名遗址。

 

1 pottery   

n.陶器，陶器场

参考例句：

• My sister likes to learn art pottery in her spare time.我妹妹喜欢在空余时间学习陶艺。
• The pottery was left to bake in the hot sun.陶器放在外面让炎热的太阳烘晒焙干。

2 adorned   

[计]被修饰的

参考例句：

• The walls were adorned with paintings. 墙上装饰了绘画。
• And his coat was adorned with a flamboyant bunch of flowers. 他的外套上面装饰着一束艳丽刺目的鲜花。

3 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

4 cosmetics   

n.化妆品

参考例句：

• We sell a wide range of cosmetics at a very reasonable price. 我们以公道的价格出售各种化妆品。
• Cosmetics do not always cover up the deficiencies of nature. 化妆品未能掩饰天生的缺陷。

5 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

6 conjured   

用魔术变出( conjure的过去式和过去分词 )； 祈求，恳求； 变戏法； （变魔术般地） 使…出现

参考例句：

• He conjured them with his dying breath to look after his children. 他临终时恳求他们照顾他的孩子。
• His very funny joke soon conjured my anger away. 他讲了个十分有趣的笑话，使得我的怒气顿消。

7 wares   

n. 货物, 商品

参考例句：

• They sold their wares at half-price. 他们的货品是半价出售的。
• The peddler was crying up his wares. 小贩极力夸耀自己的货物。

8 moors   

v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• the North York moors 北约克郡的漠泽
• They're shooting grouse up on the moors. 他们在荒野射猎松鸡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

10 cargoes   

n.（船或飞机装载的）货物( cargo的名词复数 )；大量，重负

参考例句：

• This ship embarked cargoes. 这艘船装载货物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The crew lashed cargoes of timber down. 全体船员将木材绑牢。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

12 rhino   

n.犀牛，钱, 现金

参考例句：

• The rhino charged headlong towards us.犀牛急速地向我们冲来。
• They have driven the rhino to the edge of extinction.他们已经令犀牛濒临灭绝。

13 leopard   

n.豹

参考例句：

• I saw a man in a leopard skin yesterday.我昨天看见一个穿着豹皮的男人。
• The leopard's skin is marked with black spots.豹皮上有黑色斑点。

14 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。