中英双语话史记 第2期:旧石器时代

Paleolithic Age

旧石器时代

Paleolithic Age began around 3000000 BC.

旧石器时代大约从公元前3000000年开始。

During this period human beings underwent a long and slow course of physical evolution:

在这段时期，人类经历了一场漫长而缓慢的体格进化：

first, from ape-man to Homo erectus, than passing through earlier and later stages of Homo sapiens,

首先从猿人进化成为直立人，接着经过早期和晚期的智人，

to the emergence of modem humans having a similar bodi¬ly makeup as that of humans today.

最终成为拥有和今天的人类相似体型的现代人。

During the Paleolithic Age, people were primarily nomadic hunters and gatherers, collecting fruit and fishing.

在旧石器时代，人们主要是游牧猎人和群居者，收集果子还有捕鱼。

While living in groups and dwelling in caves, they knew about and used fire for heating and cooking.

当过着群居生活并居住在山洞里时，他们知道并学会了用火来去暖和做饭。

Their first introduction to fire was in the forest where lightning strikes had caused wild¬fires.

他们对火的最初印象来自于由雷击在森林里所引起的火灾。

At first the cave dwellers took coals from the forest home to make other fires.

一开始，生活在山洞里的人们从森林中将木炭带回家里来制造火。

Later they learned ways to start their own fire by developing methods to catch sparks from drilling wood or rubbing two pieces of flint stone together.

后来，他们学会了其他方法来制造他们自己的火，比如开发方法钻木取火或是将两块打火石放在一起摩擦。

Fire played a significant role in the evolvement of human civilization.

火在人类文明的进化中起到了重要的作用。

It not only provided lighting, heat and protection from wild beasts, but also enabled them to cook food to be better nourished.

它不仅提供了电、热和免于被野兽伤害的保护。

Fire dramatically changed the living habits of primitive people,

火彻底地改变了原始人类的生活习惯，

much like how the use of the Internet in today’s world has changed our methods of communication.

就像是互联网改变了如今人们的交流方式那样。

The early implements of the cave dwellers were thick and clumsy having been crudely made by hand-striking.

山洞居住者早期的工具非常笨重，是由他们手工敲打出的粗糙制品。

There were only a few kinds available having very basic purposes.

这其中只有很少一些具有基本的用途。

As man's knowledge and skills gradually increased,

当人类的知识和技能不断增加，

they had learned the art of polishing stones for better quality and had developed a variety of tools,

他们学会了通过打磨石头获取更优质量的技艺并并且开发了许多工具

making not only stone articles and animal bone needles, but also bows and arrows,

——不仅有石器和动物骨头做出的针，还有弓和箭，

a set of devices for spear hurling and an awl for punching holes.

一系列用于投掷的矛以及用于打洞的钻子。