美国学生人类历史第10期:史前人类(1)

 　　Chapter 3

　　第三章

　　Prehistoric¹ man

　　史前人类

　　Prehistoric man begins to make things for himself.

　　史前人类开始为自己制造工具

　　Early man did not know what time meant.

　　早期的人类不懂得时间的含义，

　　He kept no records of birthdays or wedding anniversaries or the hour of death.

　　他们从不记录生日、结婚纪念日或者悼亡日，

　　He had no idea of days or weeks or even years.

　　也不理解什么叫日、月、年。

　　But in a general way he kept track of the seasons for he had noticed that the cold winter was invariably² followed by the mild spring

　　可通过一种普遍的方法，他们跟上了季节变迁的轨迹。他们发现，寒冷的冬天过后，温暖惬意的春天总是翩然而至；

　　that spring grew into the hot summer when fruits ripened³ and the wild ears of corn were ready to be eaten

　　随着春天慢慢地变成炎夏，树上的果实饱含浆汁，野麦穗迎风招展，等待收割；

　　and that summer ended when sudden gusts⁴ of wind swept the leaves from the trees and a number of animals were getting ready for the long hibernal sleep.

　　然后夏天结束，阵阵狂风卷光树上的叶子，一些动物已准备好漫长的冬眠了。

　　But now, something unusual and rather frightening had happened.

　　这时，一件不同寻常的恐怖事情发生了，

　　Something was the matter with the weather. The warm days of summer had come very late.

　　它与气候有关。暖和的夏日姗姗来迟，

　　The fruits had not ripened.

　　果实无法长熟。

　　The tops of the mountains which used to be covered with grass now lay deeply hidden underneath⁵ a heavy burden of snow.

　　那些本来覆盖着绿草如茵的群山之顶，现在却为一层厚厚的积雪所笼罩。

　　Then, one morning, a number of wild people, different from the other creatures who lived in that neighbourhood, came wandering down from the region of the high peaks.

　　随后的一天早上，一群野人突然从山上摇摇晃晃地冲下来。他们与住在山脚下的居民很不相同。

　　They looked lean and appeared to be starving.

　　他们瘦弱干枯，看起来已经挨饿好久。

　　They uttered sounds which no one could understand.

　　本地的居民听不懂他们卿卿咕咕的语言，

　　They seemed to say that they were hungry.

　　可看样子；他们好像在说自己想吃东西。

　　There was not food enough for both the old inhabitants and the newcomers.

　　本地的食物不足以同时养活老居民和新来者，

1 prehistoric   

adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的

参考例句：

• They have found prehistoric remains.他们发现了史前遗迹。
• It was rather like an exhibition of prehistoric electronic equipment.这儿倒像是在展览古老的电子设备。

2 invariably   

adv.不变地，始终如一地，总是

参考例句：

• A unity invariably tends to break up into different parts.统一体总要分解为不同部分的。
• We always invariably support him.我们一直始终不变地支持他。

3 ripened   

v.成熟，使熟( ripen的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They're collecting the ripened reddish berries. 他们正采集熟了的淡红草莓。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The branches bent low with ripened fruits. 成熟的果实压弯了树枝。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 gusts   

一阵强风( gust的名词复数 )； （怒、笑等的）爆发； （感情的）迸发； 发作

参考例句：

• Her profuse skirt bosomed out with the gusts. 她的宽大的裙子被风吹得鼓鼓的。
• Turbulence is defined as a series of irregular gusts. 紊流定义为一组无规则的突风。

5 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。