世界小史 第18章:原始人

 　　Now let's take a last look at these people dressed in skins,

　　现在让我们一起最后再看一看这些身上穿着动物毛皮的原始人，

　　as they paddle their boats made of hollowed-out tree trunks towards their villages of huts on stilts¹, bringing grain, or perhaps salt from mines in the mountains.

　　当他们乘着挖空的树干制成的小船向他们木桩上的棚屋村落划去，他们运来粮食或者大概是从矿山上运来的盐。

　　They drink from splendid pottery² vessels³, and their wives and daughters wear jewelry⁴ made of colored stones, and even gold.

　　他们用漂亮的陶罐饮水，他们的妻子和女儿戴着用彩色石块，甚至金子做成的首饰。

　　Do you think much has changed since then?

　　你以为此后发生了许多变化了吗？

　　They were people just like us. Often unkind to one another.

　　这已经是和我们一样的人类了。

　　Often cruel and deceitful. Sadly, so are we.

　　他们很残忍，常常尔虞我诈。可惜我们也是这样的人。

　　But even then a mother might sacrifice her life for her child and friends might die for each other.

　　但当时大概也出现过母亲为其孩子牺牲自己这样的事情，当时也一定有恋人互相徇情而死的事情。

　　No more but also no less often than people do today. And how could it be otherwise?

　　这些不经常有，但也不比今天少。为什么也会有呢？

　　After all, we're only talking about things that happened between three and ten thousand years ago.

　　毕竟我们正在谈论的事情只是发生在3000年至1万年之间嘛。

　　There hasn't been enough time for us to change!

　　从那以后我们还没有时间去彻底改变我们自己！

　　So, just once in a while, when we are talking, or eating some bread, using tools or warming ourselves by the fire,

　　但是有时候，当我们讲话或吃面包或使用一件工具或烤火取暖的时候，

　　we should remember those early people with gratitude⁵, for they were the greatest inventors of all time.

　　我们就会感恩地回忆起这些原始人，这些前所未有的最伟大的发明家。

1 stilts   

n.（支撑建筑物高出地面或水面的）桩子，支柱( stilt的名词复数 )；高跷

参考例句：

• a circus performer on stilts 马戏团里踩高跷的演员
• The bamboo huts here are all built on stilts. 这里的竹楼都是架空的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 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。

3 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

5 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。