美国学生人类历史第18期:尼罗河河谷(1)

 　　Chapter 5

　　第五章

　　The Nile Valley

　　尼罗河河谷

　　The beginning of civilization in the valley of the Nile

　　人类文明发源于尼罗河河谷

　　The history of man is the record of a hungry creature in search of food.

　　人类的历史也是一部人们四处觅食、逃避饥饿的记录。

　　Wherever food was plentiful¹, thither² man has travelled to make his home.

　　哪里食物丰足，人们就迁徙到哪里去安家。

　　The fame of the Valley of the Nile must have spread at an early date.

　　尼罗河河谷肯定在很早的时期就已名声在外。

　　From the interior of Africa and from the desert of Arabia and from the western part of Asia people had flocked to Egypt to claim their share of the rich farms.

　　从非洲内陆、从阿拉伯沙漠、从亚洲西部，人们成群结队地涌入埃及，分享那里富饶的农田。

　　Together these invaders³ had formed a new race which called itself "Remi" or "the Men" just as we sometimes call America "God's own country."

　　这些外来者组成了一个新的种族，称自己为“雷米”或“人们”，正如我们有时称美洲为“上帝的国土一样”。

　　They had good reason to be grateful to a Fate which had carried them to this narrow strip of land.

　　他们有理由感激命运之神把他们带到了这块狭长的河谷地带。

　　In the summer of each year the Nile turned the valley into a shallow lake

　　每年夏季，泛滥的尼罗河将两岸变成浅湖；

　　and when the waters receded⁴ all the grainfields and the pastures were covered with several inches of the most fertile clay.

　　洪水退去，留下几英寸厚的肥沃黏土，覆盖着所有的农田和牧场。

　　In Egypt a kindly⁵ river did the work of a million men and made it possible to feed the teeming⁶ population of the first large cities of which we have any record.

　　在埃及，仁慈的尼罗河替代了大量的人力，使人类历史上第一批大城市的居民得以养活。

　　It is true that all the arable⁷ land was not in the valley.

　　当然，并不是所有的耕地都位于河谷地带。

　　But a complicated system of small canals and well-sweeps carried water from the river-level to the top of the highest banks

　　可通过一个由许多小运河及长等吊桶构成的复杂提水系统，河水从河面被引至堤岸的最高处，

　　and an even more intricate system of irrigation trenches⁸ spread it throughout the land.

　　再由一个更精密的灌溉沟渠网，将水分配到各处的农田。

1 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

2 thither   

adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的

参考例句：

• He wandered hither and thither looking for a playmate.他逛来逛去找玩伴。
• He tramped hither and thither.他到处流浪。

3 invaders   

入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They prepared to repel the invaders. 他们准备赶走侵略军。
• The family has traced its ancestry to the Norman invaders. 这个家族将自己的世系追溯到诺曼征服者。

4 receded   

v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• The floodwaters have now receded. 洪水现已消退。
• The sound of the truck receded into the distance. 卡车的声音渐渐在远处消失了。

5 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

6 teeming   

adj.丰富的v.充满( teem的现在分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注

参考例句：

• The rain was teeming down. 大雨倾盆而下。
• the teeming streets of the city 熙熙攘攘的城市街道

7 arable   

adj.可耕的，适合种植的

参考例句：

• The terrain changed quickly from arable land to desert.那个地带很快就从耕地变成了沙漠。
• Do you know how much arable land has been desolated?你知道什么每年有多少土地荒漠化吗？

8 trenches   

深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕

参考例句：

• life in the trenches 第一次世界大战期间的战壕生活
• The troops stormed the enemy's trenches and fanned out across the fields. 部队猛攻敌人的战壕，并在田野上呈扇形散开。