MESOPOTAMIA

美索不達(dá)米亞

The flat Mesopotamian plain is very fertile. The land was built up of mud and clay deposited by two great rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates.

美索不達(dá)米亞平原非常肥沃。這片土地由底格里斯和幼發(fā)拉底兩條大河沉積的泥土構(gòu)成。

In ancient times the two rivers had separate mouths. The Tigris, 1,180 miles (1,900 kilometers) long, is shorter than the Euphrates, but it is more important commercially because its channel is deeper.

在古代，兩條河有不同的河口。底格里斯河長約1180英里（1900千米），比幼發(fā)拉底河短，但在商業(yè)上更重要，因?yàn)樗暮拥栏睢?/p>

The longest river of western Asia is the 1,700-mile (2,700-kilometer) Euphrates. Because of Iraq’s hot, dry climate much of the river’s water is lost through evaporation and use for irrigation. It is navigable only by flat-bottomed riverboats.

西亞最長的河流是1700英里（2700千米）的幼發(fā)拉底河。由于伊拉克炎熱、干燥的氣候，這條河的大部分水通過蒸發(fā)和灌溉而流失。只有平底船才能航行。

In ancient Mesopotamia, a land of blazing sun and very little rainfall, irrigation was vital for farming. The rich soil produced abundant crops of barley, emmer (a kind of wheat), beans, olives, grapes, and flax.

在古代美索不達(dá)米亞，一片陽光燦爛、降雨量稀少的土地上，灌溉對農(nóng)業(yè)至關(guān)重要。肥沃的土壤盛產(chǎn)大麥、二粒小麥（一種小麥）、豆類、橄欖、葡萄和亞麻。

There were no nations then, only small city-states. City-states were ruled by leaders, called ensis, who were probably authorized to control the local irrigation systems.

當(dāng)時(shí)沒有國家，只有小城邦。城邦由稱為恩斯的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人統(tǒng)治，他們可能被授權(quán)控制當(dāng)?shù)氐墓喔认到y(tǒng)。

The Sumerians built their villages on artificial mounds to protect them from floods. Very early they learned to make bricks in molds and dry them in the sun or bake them in kilns.

蘇美爾人把他們在村莊建在人造土丘上，以保護(hù)他們免受洪水的侵襲。他們很早就學(xué)會了在模具中制作磚塊，然后在陽光下烘干或窯里烘烤。

Their sturdy houses were small and crowded close together on narrow lanes. The whole city was surrounded by a wall for protection. Outside the wall were the poor people’s huts, built of reeds that were plastered with clay.

他們結(jié)實(shí)的房子很小，在狹窄的巷子里緊緊地?cái)D在一起。有些有兩層或更高。為了保護(hù)整個城市都被一堵墻圍住。墻外是窮人的小屋，用涂滿泥土的蘆葦搭成。

Each Sumerian city rose up around the shrine of a local god. The temple buildings stood on a spacious raised platform reached by staircases and ramps.

每座蘇美爾城市都在當(dāng)?shù)厣竦纳竦钪車绕?。寺廟建筑直立在一個由樓梯和坡道通往寬敞的高臺上。

There were also pens for keeping the sheep and goats that were destined for sacrifice to the temple god. Horses and camels were still unknown, but sheep, goats, oxen, donkeys, and dogs had been domesticated.

還有一些圍欄，用來飼養(yǎng)要獻(xiàn)祭給寺廟神的綿羊和山羊。馬和駱駝還不為人知，到綿羊、山羊、牛、驢和狗已經(jīng)被馴化了。

The plow had been invented, and the wheel, made from a solid piece of wood, was used for carts and for shaping pottery. Oxen pulled the carts and plows; donkeys served as pack animals.

犁已經(jīng)被發(fā)明出來了，輪子是用一塊實(shí)木做成的，用來推的手推車，也用來塑造陶器。牛拉著手推車和犁；驢子充當(dāng)馱畜。

Bulky goods were moved by boat on the rivers and canals. The boats were usually hauled from the banks, but sails also were in use.

大件貨物在河流和運(yùn)河上用船運(yùn)輸。這些船通常是從岸上拖出來，但也使用風(fēng)帆。

Before 3000 BC the Sumerians had learned to make tools and weapons by smelting copper with tin to make bronze, a much harder metal than copper alone.

在公元前3000年，蘇美爾人已經(jīng)學(xué)會了制造工具和武器。方法是用錫熔煉銅來制造青銅，這是一種比單獨(dú)用銅硬得多的金屬。

Akkad was the northern (or northwestern) division of ancient Babylonian civilization. To the south of the region of Akkad lay Sumer.

阿卡德是古巴比倫文明的北部（或西北部）地區(qū)。在阿卡德地區(qū)的南面是蘇美爾。

The name of Akkad was taken from the city of Agade, which was founded by the Semitic conqueror Sargon in about 2300 BC. Sargon united the various city-states in the region and extended his rule to encompass much of Mesopotamia.

阿卡德的名字取自阿加德市，該市由閃族征服者薩爾貢在公元前2300年左右建立。薩爾貢統(tǒng)一了該地區(qū)的各個城邦，并將他的統(tǒng)治范圍擴(kuò)大到美索不達(dá)米亞的大部分地區(qū)。

Under the kings of Akkad, Akkadian became a literary language that was written with the cuneiform system of writing. Akkadian is the oldest Semitic dialect still preserved.

在阿卡德國王統(tǒng)治下，阿卡迪亞語成為一種用楔形文字書寫的文學(xué)語言。阿卡迪亞語是現(xiàn)存最古老的閃族方言。

詞匯短語：

fertile 肥沃

deposited 沉淀

separate 各自的

more important 更為重要的

commercially 商業(yè)

channel 河道

evaporation 蒸發(fā)量

irrigation 灌溉

blazing 燦爛的

vital 重要的

abundant 大量的

barley 大麥

emmer 二粒小麥

olive 橄欖

authorized 校準(zhǔn)的

artificial 人造的

mound 土丘

brick 磚

kiln 窯

sturdy 結(jié)實(shí)

crowded 擁擠的

narrow 狹窄

lane 巷

surrounded 被…圍繞著的

protection 防衛(wèi)

hut 小屋

clay 黏土

shrine 神廟

stand on 站立在…上

platform 平臺

staircase 樓梯

ramp 斜坡

destined 用于…目的

sacrifice 獻(xiàn)祭

camel 駱駝

domesticate 馴化

plow 犁

cart 手推車

pottery 陶器

bulky 龐大的

haul 拖/拉

sail 帆

smelting 熔煉

tin 錫

bronze 青銅

division 部分

Semitic 閃族的

city-state 城邦

region 區(qū)域

extend 擴(kuò)展

encompass 包含

dynasty 朝代

jointly 連帶地

literary 文學(xué)的

cuneiform 楔形文字

dialect 方言