世界小史 第14章:疼痛

Of course animals also make noises – they can cry out when they feel pain and make warning calls when danger threatens,

當然動物在感到疼痛時也會叫喊，在有危險時發(fā)出報警呼喊聲，

but they don't have names for things as human beings do.

但是它們不能像人類，它們不能用言語來稱呼任何東西。

And prehistoric people were the first creatures to do so.

史前時期的人類是能夠這樣做的最早的生物。

They invented something else that was wonderful too: pictures.

他們還發(fā)明了其他一些美好的東西，如畫畫。

Many of these can still be seen today, scratched and painted on the walls of caves.

在洞穴的墻壁上我們今天還看到許多他們刻鑿和繪畫的圖畫。

No painter alive now could do better.

即使今天也沒有哪個畫家會畫得更好。

The animals they depict don't exist any more, they were painted so long ago.

他們畫的動物今天早已不存在，(史前人類)是很久很久以前畫下它們的。

Elephants with long, thick coats of hair and great, curving tusks – woolly mammoths – and other Ice Age animals.

譬如長著長毛和彎獠牙的猛犸象，還有別的冰河期動物。

Why do you think these prehistoric people painted animals on the walls of caves?

你認為史前人類為什么把動物畫在他們的洞穴的墻壁上?

Just for decoration? That doesn't seem likely, because the caves were so dark.

只是為了裝飾嗎?但顯然不可能，因為洞里很暗呀!

Of course we can't be sure, but we think they may have been trying to make magic,

當然我們不能確定是什么原因，但是我們認為他們是在試圖施魔法，

that they believed that painting pictures of animals on the walls would make those animals appear.

他們相信把動物的畫像畫在墻上會讓這些動物出現。