世界小史 第4章:記憶之光

But we only catch glimpses, because our light is now falling faster and faster: 1,000 years， 5,000 years， 10,000 years.

但是我們只在一瞬間看見了這情景，因為我們的火光越墜越快，越墜越快，1千年，5千年，1萬年。

Even in those days there were children who liked good things to eat.

當時也曾有過喜歡吃好吃的東西的孩子。

But they couldn't yet write letters. 20,000 ... 50,000 ... and even then people said, as we do, "Once upon a time".

但是他們還不會寫信。2萬年，5萬年...... 這些人當時也已經(jīng)說過"從前"。

Now our memory-light is getting very small ... and now it's gone.

我們的記憶之光現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)很微弱，然后我們就看不見它了。

And yet we know that it goes on much further, to a time long, long ago,

但是我們知道，它還在繼續(xù)閃亮，照進一個極古老的史前時代,

before there were any people and when our mountains didn't look as they do today.

那時還沒有人類，那時的山看上去還不像今天這個樣子。

Some of them were bigger, but as the rain poured down it slowly turned them into hills.

有些山更高，雨水長期沖刷它們，把它們沖刷成小山。

Others weren't there at all.

有些山本來還根本不存在，

They grew up gradually, out of the sea, over millions and millions of years.

它們是在好幾百萬年間，漸漸從大海里長出來的。

But even before the mountains there were animals, quite different from those of today.

但是還在這些山脈存在之前，這里就已經(jīng)有過動物，跟今天完全不一樣的動物。

They were huge and looked rather like dragons.

他們巨大無比，看上去非常像龍。