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Chapter 1
第一章
The Setting of the Stage
人類歷史舞臺的形成
We live under the shadow of a gigantic question mark.
人類一直以來都生活在一個巨大問號的陰影下面
Who are we?
我們是誰？
Where do we come from?
我們從哪兒來？
Whither are we bound?
我們要去向哪里？
Slowly, but with persistent courage, we have been pushing this question mark further and further towards that distant line, beyond the horizon,
憑著堅持不懈的勇氣與毅力，人類慢慢將這個 問題推向越來越遠的邊界，
where we hope to find our answer.
朝著我們希望找到答案的天際步步逼近。
We have not gone very far.
可迄今為止，我們還沒能走出多遠。
We still know very little
我們知道的依然少得可憐。
but we have reached the point where (with a fair degree of accuracy) we can guess at many things.
但我們至少能以相當精確的程度，推測出許多事情來。
In this chapter I shall tell you how (according to our best belief) the stage was set for the first appearance of man.
在這一章，我要告訴你們，人類歷史的舞臺是如何被搭建起來的。
If we represent the time during which it has been possible for animal life to exist upon our planet by a line of this length,
如果我們以一定長度的直線來代表動物生命可能存在于地球上的時間，
then the tiny line just below indicates the age during which man (or a creature more or less resembling man) has lived upon this earth.
那么在它下面那條最短的線則表示人類（或多少類似人的生命）生活在這塊土地上的時間。
Man was the last to come but the first to use his brain for the purpose of conquering the forces of nature. That is the reason why we are going to study him,
人類是最后出現在地球上，卻最先學會用腦力征服大自然的。這就是我們打算研究人，
rather than cats or dogs or horses or any of the other animals, who, all in their own way, have a very interesting historical development behind them.
而非研究貓、狗、馬或其它動物的原因。要知道，在這些動物身后，同樣也留下了許多就其自身來說非常有趣的歷史。
In the beginning, the planet upon which we live was (as far as we now know) a large ball of flaming matter, a tiny cloud of smoke in the endless ocean of space.
最初，我們居住的這顆行星（就目前所知），是燃燒著的一個巨大球體?？上鄬τ诤棋珶o邊的宇宙，它只不過是一 塊微小的煙云。
Gradually, in the course of millions of years, the surface burned itself out, and was covered with a thin layer of rocks.
幾百萬年過去了，它的表面漸漸地燃燒殆盡，并覆上了一層薄薄的巖石。
Upon these lifeless rocks the rain descended in endless torrents,
在這片生機全無的巖石之上，暴雨無休無止地下著，
wearing out the hard granite and carrying the dust to the valleys that lay hidden between the high cliffs of the steaming earth.
雨水將堅硬的花崗巖慢 慢地侵蝕掉，并把沖刷下來的泥土帶到了霧氣籠罩的高峰之間的峽谷。
Finally the hour came when the sun broke through the clouds and saw how this little planet was covered with a few small puddles which were to develop into the mighty oceans of the eastern and western hemispheres.
最后雨過天霽，太陽破云而出。遍布這顆星球上的眾多小水洼逐漸擴展成了東西半球的巨大海洋。
Then one day the great wonder happened.
隨后的某一天，最美妙的奇跡發生了：
What had been dead, gave birth to life.
這個死氣沉沉的世界終于出現了生命。
The first living cell floated upon the waters of the sea.
第一個活著的細胞漂流在大海之上。
For millions of years it drifted aimlessly with the currents.
它毫無目標地隨波飄蕩了幾百萬年。
But during all that time it was developing certain habits that it might survive more easily upon the inhospitable earth.
在此過程中，它慢慢發展著自己的某些習性。這些習性使它在環境惡劣的地球上能更容易地生存下去。
Some of these cells were happiest in the dark depths of the lakes and the pools.
這些細胞中的部分成員覺得呆在黑沉沉的湖泊和池塘的底部最舒適不過，
They took root in the slimy sediments which had been carried down from the tops of the hills and they became plants.
于是它們在從山頂沖刷到水底的淤泥間扎下根來，變成了植物。
Others preferred to move about and they grew strange jointed legs, like scorpions and began to crawl along the bottom of the sea amidst the plants and the pale green things that looked like jelly-fishes.
另一些細胞則情愿四處游蕩，它們長出了奇形怪狀的有節的腿，像蝎子一樣，在海底植物和狀似水母的淡綠色物體間爬行。
Still others(covered with scales) depended upon a swimming motion to go from place to place in their search for food,
還有一些身上覆著鱗片的細胞，它們憑借游泳似的動作四處來去，尋找食物。
and gradually they populated the ocean with myriads of fishes.
慢慢地，它們變成了海洋里繁若晨星的魚類。
