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In due time he learned that he could use this guttural noise to warn his fellow beings whenever danger threatened and he gave certain little shrieks which came to mean "there is a tiger!" or "here come five elephants."
日子長了，他突然意識到，可以用這種喉部發出的聲音去提醒同伴。當某種危險悄然接近的時候，他便發出具有特定含義的尖叫，比如“那兒有一只老虎”或者“這邊來了5頭大象”。
Then the others grunted something back at him and their growl meant, "I see them," or "let us run away and hide."
同伴聽見他的警告，也向他回吼幾聲，表示“我看見它們了”或者“我們快跑開藏起來吧”。
And this was probably the origin of all language.
這大概就是所有語言的起源。
But, as I have said before, of these beginnings we know so very little.
可正如我前面講過的，我們對這些起源知道的非常之少。
Early man had no tools and he built himself no houses.
早期的人類不會制造工具，不會修建房屋。
He lived and died and left no trace of his existence except a few collar-bones and a few pieces of his skull.
他活著，死去，除了留下幾根鎖骨與頭骨的碎片，再沒有其它線索可以追尋他們生存的蹤跡。
These tell us that many thousands of years ago the world was inhabited by certain mammals who were quite different from all the other animals
我們只知道在幾百萬年前，地球上曾生活著某種哺乳動物，他們與其它所有的動物都截然不同。
who had probably developed from another unknown ape-like animal which had learned to walk on its hind-legs and use its fore-paws as hands
他們可能是由一種像豬的動物進化而來的。他們學會了用下肢直立行走，把前爪當手來使用。
and who were most probably connected with the creatures who happen to be our own immediate ancestors.
他們與恰巧是我們直接的祖先的動物可能具有某種聯系。
It is little enough we know and the rest is darkness.
總之，我們對人類祖先知道的就這些，其它的秘密仍然匿于沉沉黑暗之中。
