美国学生人类历史第12期:史前人类(3)

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　　接下来是解决住房的问题。

　　This was simple. Many animals were in the habit of sleeping in dark caves.

　　这很简单。许多动物都有睡黑乎乎的山洞的习性。

　　Man now followed their example, drove the animals out of their warm homes and claimed them for his own.

　　现在，人类也学动物的样子。他们把动物们赶出这些温暖的巢穴，自己住了进去。

　　Even so, the climate was too severe for most people and the old and the young died at a terrible rate.

　　即便有毛皮大衣穿、有山洞住，天气对大部分人来说也是太寒冷了。老年人和小孩成批地死去。

　　Then a genius bethought himself of the use of fire.

　　这时，人类中的一个天才想出了用火御寒的主意，

　　Once, while out hunting, he had been caught in a forest-fire. He remembered that he had been almost roasted to death by the flames.

　　他记得有一次在森林里差点被火烤死。

　　Thus far fire had been an enemy. Now it became a friend.

　　那时，火是一个凶险的敌人。可在眼下的冰天雪地里，火很有希望变成一个助人为乐的朋友。

　　A dead tree was dragged into the cave and lighted by means of smouldering branches from a burning wood.

　　这位天才把枯树干拖进山洞，从一棵着火的树上取下一根燃烧的枝条，点着了洞里的枯树干。

　　This turned the cave into a cozy² little room.

　　熊熊的火光一下子使得黑暗寒冷的洞穴变成了一个温暖宜人的小房间。

　　And then one evening a dead chicken fell into the fire.

　　一天傍晚，一只死鸡不小心掉进了火堆。

　　It was not rescued until it had been well roasted.

　　一开始，没人在意这事儿，直到烤熟的阵阵香味飘进人们的鼻孔。

　　Man discovered that meat tasted better when cooked

　　啃一口尝尝，人们发现，烤熟的肉食味道比生吃好上许多。

　　and he then and there discarded³ one of the old habits which he had shared with the other animals and began to prepare his food.

　　于是，人类终于抛弃了长期以来与动物一样生吃食物的习惯，开始做起熟食来了。

　　In this way thousands of years passed.

　　慢慢地，几千年的冰川纪过去了。

　　Only the people with the cleverest brains survived.

　　只有那些脑子最聪明、最肯动手的家伙们幸存了下来。

　　They had to struggle day and night against cold and hunger.

　　他们必须日夜不停地与寒冷、饥饿搏斗，

　　They were forced to invent tools.

　　他们被迫发明出种种工具。

　　They learned⁴ how to sharpen⁵ stones into axes⁶ and how to make hammers.

　　他们学会了怎样磨制锋利的石斧，制造石锤；

　　They were obliged⁷ to put up large stores of food for the endless days of the winter and they found that clay could be made into bowls and jars and hardened⁸ in the rays of the sun.

　　为度过漫长的寒冬，他们必须储存大量的食物；他们发现能用黏土制成碗和罐子，放在阳光下晒硬后使用。

　　And so the glacial period, which had threatened to destroy the human race, became its greatest teacher because it forced man to use his brain.

　　就这样，时时威胁着要毁灭整个人类的冰川纪，到头来却变成了人类最伟大的导师。因为它迫使人类运用自己的脑子去思考。

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