世界小史 第12章:發(fā)明

Yet with all of these things there must have been a first time.

可是這一切必定有過(guò)第一次出現(xiàn)的時(shí)候。

Someone must have made the discovery.

這必定是某個(gè)人發(fā)明的。

Isn't it an amazing thought that, one day, a prehistoric man – or a woman

有一天一名史前時(shí)期的男人或女人

– must have realized that meat from wild animals was easier to chew if it was first held over a fire and roasted?

一定意識(shí)到野獸的肉放在火上烤一烤，那么這肉也許就會(huì)好咬一些。

And that one day someone discovered how to make fire?

這是不是一個(gè)神奇的想法呢? 有一天一個(gè)人發(fā)現(xiàn)如何生火?

Do you realize what that actually means? Can you do it?

你知道這意味著什么嗎?你會(huì)做嗎?

Not with matches, because they didn't exist.

沒(méi)有火柴，因?yàn)樗麄儾淮嬖凇?/p>

But by rubbing two sticks together until they become so hot that in the end they catch fire.

但你不斷摩擦兩根棍棒，使它們變得越來(lái)越熱并最終燃燒起來(lái)。

Have a go and then you'll see how hard it is!

你來(lái)試一試就明白這有多難了!

Tools must have been invented by someone too.

工具也是有人發(fā)明的。

The earliest ones were probably just sticks and stones.

最早的工具大概就是樹(shù)枝和石頭。

But soon stones were being shaped and sharpened.

但不久人們就把這石頭打造成尖錘。

We have found lots of these shaped stones in the ground.

我們?cè)诘叵乱呀?jīng)找到了許多這樣打造的石頭。

And because of these stone tools we call this time the Stone Age.

因?yàn)檫@些工具都是用石頭做的，所以我們稱這個(gè)時(shí)期為石器時(shí)期。