002 尼罗河的馈赠

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Laurie had just come home from school when she heard a light hammering sound coming from Grandpa's study

劳里刚从学校回到家，就听到爷爷的书房里传来轻轻的敲打声。

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Curious, she tapped on the door." Grandpa? Can I come in?"

出于好奇，她轻轻敲了敲门。"爷爷？我能进来吗？"

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" Just a second!" Grandpa answered. Laurie heard lots of shuffling." Enter!"

"等一下！"爷爷回答。劳里听到一阵窸窸窣窣的声音。"进来！"

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Grandpa was sitting empty-handed at his desk, but there were wood shavings everywhere

爷爷空着手坐在书桌前，但到处都是木屑。

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" Aren't you supposed to be at school?" he asked

"你不是应该在学校吗？"他问道。

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" It's over at three. What were you doing in here?" Laurie said suspiciously

"三点就放学了。您刚才在这儿做什么呢？"劳里疑惑地问。

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She saw something wooden poking out from underneath a book

她看到有本书下面露出了一个木制的东西。

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" Aha!" she cried, pulling the object out." What's this?"

"啊哈！"她喊道，把那样东西抽了出来。"这是什么？"

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" Well, Miss Nosy, that's your birthday present

"嗯，爱打听的小姐，那是你的生日礼物。

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But now it won't be a surprise," Grandpa said

不过现在惊喜可没了。"爷爷说。

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It was a wooden crocodile with a string attached to the top of its head so the mouth could be opened and shut

那是一只木制的鳄鱼，头顶系着一根绳子，这样它的嘴巴就能一张一合。

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Laurie pulled the string and snapped the crocodile's jaws

劳里拉动绳子，鳄鱼的嘴巴啪地合上了。

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" It's an ancient Egyptian toy," Grandpa said

“这是一种古埃及的玩具。”爷爷说。

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" I made this, but if you were a child in ancient Egypt, you might have something similar

“这是我做的，但如果你是个古埃及的孩子，你可能也会有类似的东西。

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Crocodiles were a significant part of Egyptian life because the civilization was built along the Nile River, and many crocodiles lived there

鳄鱼在埃及人的生活中很重要，因为这个文明发源于尼罗河沿岸，那里生活着许多鳄鱼。

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The Egyptian civilization has been called the gift of the Nile

埃及文明一直被称为尼罗河的礼物，

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because the Egyptians depended on the river for many things, including irrigation and fertilizer

因为埃及人在很多方面都依赖这条河，包括灌溉和肥料。

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It flooded every year, supplying much-needed water and nutrients to the surrounding land

它每年都会泛滥，为周围的土地提供急需的水分和养分。

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This made farming easy for the Egyptians

这让埃及人的农耕变得很容易。

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The soft, wet land also made good mud for building mud-brick houses

松软潮湿的土地也提供了很好的泥巴，用来建造泥砖房屋。

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And the river unified the people of the area by providing a convenient highway for transportation and communication

这条河提供了便捷的交通和通讯通道，使该地区的人民团结起来。

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Ancient Egypt was an agricultural society

古埃及是个农业社会。

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Do you know what that means? It means life depended heavily on farming

你知道这意味着什么吗？这意味着生活严重依赖农业。

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If you were a little Egyptian girl living about four thousand years ago, your father would probably be a grain farmer

如果你是一个生活在约四千年前的古埃及小女孩，你爸爸很可能是个种谷物的农民。

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Grains were the most common crop, especially wheat and barley, which were used to make bread and beer — the most typical food and drink

谷物是最常见的作物，尤其是小麦和大麦，用来做面包和啤酒——最典型的饮食。

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Unfortunately children didn't get to go to school like you do now

可惜那时候的孩子没法像你现在这样上学。

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You'd probably spend most days helping your parents

你很可能大多数日子都得帮父母干活。

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During harvest season maybe you would bundle wheat on the farm

收获季节，你也许会在农场捆小麦。

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Or perhaps you'd be at home, helping to cook or take care of the vegetable garden near your house

或者你可能在家帮忙做饭，或是照料家附近的菜园。

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But Egypt wasn't all farms. If you were a well-to-do Egyptian family, you might live near a city," Grandpa said, looking around his desk

但埃及不全是农场。如果你家境富裕，可能就住在城市附近，“爷爷边说边环顾书桌。

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He handed Laurie a drawing of an ancient Egyptian city

他递给劳里一幅古埃及城市的图画。

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" What's this big thing?" Laurie asked, pointing to a large structure rising above palm trees

劳里指着棕榈树上方耸立的一座巨大建筑，问道：“这个大家伙是什么？”

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" And what's that funny picture of a bird with a beach ball?"

“还有那张有趣的画，一只鸟顶着一个沙滩球，是什么？”

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" That's the temple to the sun god, Ra

“那是太阳神拉的神庙。

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He was the most important god, as the Egyptians thought he was responsible for the rising sun

他是最重要的神，因为埃及人认为他负责太阳的升起，

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which brought light and nourishment to their land

为他们的土地带来光明和滋养。

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Many temples were built in worship to him

人们建造了许多神庙来崇拜他。

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And that's not a bird with a beach ball!

而且，那可不是一只顶着沙滩球的鸟！

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That's ' Ra ' in hieroglyphics, an ancient form of writing

那是象形文字中的‘拉’，一种古老的书写形式。

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Just as the sun looks different throughout the day, Ra appeared in many different forms

就像太阳在一天中看起来不同一样，拉也以许多不同的形态出现。

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But most often he was shown as a falcon carrying the great, big sun over his head

但大多数时候，他被描绘成一只头顶巨大太阳的隼。

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Every morning he rose from underground and traveled across the sky in a boat

每天早晨，他从地下升起，乘船划过天空。

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And every evening he went back beneath the ground

每天晚上，他又回到地下。

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He had the most important job of all — creator of the universe

他担负着最重要的职责——宇宙的创造者。

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The next most important job was that of the pharaoh, the Egyptian king

第二重要的职责是法老，也就是埃及的国王。

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Pharaohs were considered part god. They were in charge of politics, the military, and the welfare of their citizens

法老被视为半神。他们掌管政治、军事和臣民的福祉。

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They were also the link between the gods and humans

他们也是神与人之间的纽带。

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Without the pharaoh, Egyptians thought, the world would end up in chaos!

埃及人认为，没有法老，世界就会陷入混乱！

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But the pharaohs lived a life of luxury compared to common farmers

但与普通农民相比，法老过着奢华的生活。

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They owned most of the land, lived in huge palaces with many servants, and could get whatever they wanted

他们拥有大部分土地，住在仆役成群的巨大宫殿里，想要什么就能得到什么。

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Both their responsibilities and wealth continued after death too

他们的职责和财富在死后也会延续。

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When a pharaoh died, Egyptians believed he became the king of the dead and buried him in an elaborate tomb

法老死后，古埃及人相信他会成为冥界之王，将他埋葬在精心建造的陵墓中。

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In order for him to be able to perform his duties properly, he had to be buried with everything he would need

为了让他能正常履行职责，必须将他所需的一切物品一同陪葬。

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This included his body, which was preserved, and his most valuable possessions

包括他经过防腐处理的身体，以及他最珍贵的财物。

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Inside the tomb the walls were also covered with paintings of slaves, food, and animals

陵墓墙壁上也绘满了奴隶、食物和动物的图画。

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You've seen pictures of the pyramids of Giza, right?

你见过吉萨金字塔的照片，对吧？

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Those magnificent structures were tombs for pharaohs!

那些宏伟的建筑就是法老的陵墓！

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The tomb paintings have taught us a lot about the Egyptians

这些墓室壁画让我们了解了很多关于古埃及人的信息。

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For example, one of their favorite sports was hunting

比如，他们最喜欢的运动之一是狩猎。

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Egyptians are thought to be the first people to hunt purely for pleasure

古埃及人被认为是第一批纯粹为了取乐而狩猎的人。

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The area around the Nile was full of wildlife; they hunted birds, gazelles, lions, and hippopotamuses!

尼罗河周边野生动物众多；他们猎捕鸟类、瞪羚、狮子，还有河马！

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Hippo hunts seem to have been particularly popular

猎河马似乎特别流行。

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Hippos, you know, live mostly in the water

你知道的，河马大部分时间生活在水里。

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Egyptians hunted them with long spears from boats

古埃及人乘船用长矛猎杀河马。

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Hippo ahead!" Grandpa cried, jumping up and pretending to spot something in the distance

“前面有河马！”爷爷大喊着跳起来，假装望向远处发现了什么。

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" Attack!" he yelled as he hurled an imaginary spear into the air

“攻击！”他一边高喊，一边朝着空中投掷想象中的长矛。

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" Grandpa, did they hunt crocodiles?" Laurie asked worriedly, holding the toy on her palm

“爷爷，他们猎杀鳄鱼吗？”劳里手托着玩具鳄鱼，担心地问。

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Grandpa returned from his fantasy hippo hunt and looked at Laurie

爷爷从想象中猎杀河马的场景回过神来，看向劳里。

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" Well, I haven't seen any pictures of it, but hunting dangerous animals was a way to earn respect

“嗯，我倒没见过相关图画，但猎杀危险动物是一种赢得尊重的方式。”

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And crocodiles are pretty dangerous. But crocodiles were associated with the water god, whom Egyptians both feared and honored

而鳄鱼相当危险。可鳄鱼与水神相关联，古埃及人对水神既畏惧又敬重。

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So perhaps your little crocodile would have been spared."

所以，也许你的小鳄鱼会幸免于难。”

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Grandpa smiled and tapped the crocodile on its head. Laurie smiled too

爷爷微笑着轻拍了拍木鳄鱼的脑袋。劳里也笑了。

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" Laurie! I'm home!" Mom called from downstairs

“劳里！我回来啦！”妈妈在楼下喊道。

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" Hi, Mom! I'll be right down!" Laurie hollered back

“嗨，妈妈！我马上下来！”劳里大声回应。

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" Thanks, Grandpa. I'll pretend I never saw this," she said, putting the crocodile back on the desk." Until next time!"

“谢谢爷爷。我就假装从没见过这个，”她说，把木鳄鱼放回桌上。“下回见！”

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" Until next time! Bye, Laurie!"

“下回见！再见，劳里！”