世界小史 第13章:建造房屋

But people didn't yet know how to build houses.

但是人們當(dāng)時(shí)還不知道如何建造房屋。

Not a pleasant thought, since at that time it was often intensely cold – at certain periods far colder than today.

一想到這點(diǎn)令人很不愉快，因?yàn)樵谶@個(gè)時(shí)期天氣常常很冷——有時(shí)候甚至比現(xiàn)在冷得多。

Winters were longer and summers shorter.

當(dāng)時(shí)冬季更長，夏季更短。

Snow lay deep throughout the year, not only on mountain tops, but down in the valleys as well,

從山頂?shù)缴钌畹墓鹊?，終年覆蓋著積雪，

and glaciers, which were immense in those days, spread far out into the plains.

還有像今天一樣巨大的冰川遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)向前推進(jìn)至平原。

This is why we say that the Stone Age began before the last Ice Age had ended.

所以我們說石器時(shí)代開始早于最后一個(gè)冰河時(shí)代。

Prehistoric people must have suffered dreadfully from the cold,

史前時(shí)期的人類一定受了嚴(yán)寒之苦，

and if they came across a cave where they could shelter from the freezing winds, how happy they must have been!

如果他們偶然發(fā)現(xiàn)一個(gè)能給他們擋風(fēng)御寒的山洞，他們一定會(huì)高興!

For this reason they are also known as 'cavemen', although they may not have actually lived in caves.

因?yàn)檫@個(gè)原因，他們也被稱為為“穴居人”，雖然他們可能實(shí)際上沒有住在洞穴里。

Do you know what else these cavemen invented?

你知道這些穴居人還發(fā)明了什么嗎?

Can't you guess? They invented talking.

你會(huì)想得到嗎?他們發(fā)明了說話。

I mean having real conversations with each other, using words.

我指的是互相用詞語進(jìn)行真真正正的交流。