世界小史 第20章:非洲气候

 　　In Africa it is hot, and for months on end it doesn't rain.

　　非洲气候炎热，接连好几个月不下雨。

　　In many regions very little grows.

　　许多地方只能生长少量作物。

　　These are deserts, as are the lands on either side of Egypt.

　　这片土地是一片沙漠，埃及的左边和右边也是这样的一片沙漠。

　　Egypt also gets very little rain.

　　在埃及本土也不常下雨。

　　But here they don't need it, because the Nile flows right through the middle of the country, from one end to the other.

　　但这儿的人不需要雨水，因为尼罗河的一边到另一边正好从埃及的中部流过。

　　Twice a year, when heavy rain filled its sources, the river would swell¹ and burst its banks, flooding the whole land.

　　一年两次，每逢尼罗河源头下大雨，河流就会涨满，然后漫过河岸，淹没整个埃及的土地。

　　Then people were forced to take to boats to move among the houses and the palm trees.

　　于是人们就得坐船在房屋和棕榈树间来回行驶。

　　And when the waters withdrew, the earth was wonderfully drenched² and rich with oozing³ mud.

　　大水退去，土地浸透了水，地面上净是肥沃的烂泥。

　　There, under the hot sun, the grain grew as it did nowhere else.

　　后来那里在炎热的阳光下长出了其他地方长不出来的丰美无比的粮食。

　　Which is why, from earliest times, the Egyptians worshipped the Nile as if it were God himself.

　　所以埃及人也就自远古以来一直崇拜他们的尼罗河，仿佛它自身就是神。

　　Would you like to hear a hymn⁴ they sang to their river, 4,000 years ago?

　　你想听一首他们在4000年前就为它而唱的歌吗？

1 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。

2 drenched   

adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体）

参考例句：

• We were caught in the storm and got drenched to the skin. 我们遇上了暴雨，淋得浑身透湿。
• The rain drenched us. 雨把我们淋得湿透。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 oozing   

v.（浓液等）慢慢地冒出，渗出( ooze的现在分词 )；使（液体）缓缓流出；（浓液）渗出，慢慢流出

参考例句：

• Blood was oozing out of the wound on his leg. 血正从他腿上的伤口渗出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The wound had not healed properly and was oozing pus. 伤口未真正痊瘉，还在流脓。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 hymn   

n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌

参考例句：

• They sang a hymn of praise to God.他们唱着圣歌，赞美上帝。
• The choir has sung only two verses of the last hymn.合唱团只唱了最后一首赞美诗的两个段落。