美索不達米亞：文明的搖籃

聽力小提示：本文發音清晰，語速適中，但由于文中涉及的詞語對中學生而言比較生疏，而且復合句型較多，因此對同學們的聽力可是一大挑戰哦。建議先通讀全文，對文章內容先作大致了解，再聽聲音，以便加深記憶。

還記得周杰倫的《愛在西元前》嗎？每次聽到這首歌，感覺時間好像一下子跨越了幾千年，把人帶到一片遙遠而神秘的地方——美索不達米亞。這片深埋在時間流沙的地方曾經孕育出人類最早的文明之一。那么美索不達米亞在哪里？其文明又給世人留下了什么？片言只語當然無法說清幾千年的歷史，但本文從宏觀角度為我們描繪了美索不達米亞文明的概況，對古文明感興趣的同學不妨多聽幾遍。

It is known as the “cradle of civilization.” Beneath the desert of modern Iraq， in the greatest depths of history， the civilizations of Mesopotamia developed

between the Tigris and Euphrates

Rivers. Much of what we know has come from the painstaking[艱苦的] excavations of ruined cities and intensive translations of clay tablets[碑，匾]. Archaeologists have found traces of early agriculture in the north that date back 9，000 years.

But recorded history begins further

south with a group known as the

Sumerians注1. Around 5，000 BC， people settled into an agricultural lifestyle in the fertile alluvial[沖積的] plain fed by the Tigris and Euphrates. In a land of little rainfall， Mesopotamians built dikes[堤防]， created canals and channels to capture the life-giving floodwaters. These irrigation[灌溉]

systems ensured bountiful[豐富的] harvests every year. What

developed were the world’s first string of cities with names like Ur and Eridu. Crop surpluses[剩余] allowed the population to

expand and its society to flourish[繁榮]. Towns of brick were built with the temple at their centre. The temple grounds housed many functions of daily life. There， one could find grain stores， a treasury[金庫，國庫] and quarters[聚居地] for priests， officials，

entertainers and craftsmen. Above it all rose the Ziggurat注2， a holy tower with a spiraling[螺旋形的] ramp[斜坡].

Kings were revered[尊敬] as representatives[代表] of the Gods on Earth. From this model， towns evolved into city-states and even empires. As society became more complex， people needed tools for recording the trade of animals and food.

Using tablets made of raw clay， early Mesopotamians

developed Cuneiform[楔形文字]， the first written language. By pressing wedge[楔]-shaped forms into the soft wet material， they kept transaction records of commodities[商品] like sheep and grain. It spread to other uses and scribes[抄寫員] recorded the first major literary work known to western civilization， The Epic of Gilgamesh注3， following the story of King Gilgamesh， who embarks on[從事] a quest for immortality[永生] but ultimately fails.

Perhaps the best known of Mesopotamia’s civilizations was Babylon. During the second millennia注4 BC， it rose from a provincial capital to become the centre of a kingdom that encompassed[包圍] southern Iraq and beyond. Its hanging gardens注5 were famous throughout the western world as an ancient wonder and its King， Hammurabi注6， left his mark with a collection of laws. Hammurabi’s Code， as it’s known today， defined private property as well as legal decisions for crimes， family disputes and commerce.

Although it was eventually lost to the sands of time，

Mesopotamia left a legacy of law， literature and engineering for modern civilizations to build on.

這里被稱為“文明的搖籃”。在現今伊拉克的沙漠之下，在歷史最深遠的地方，美索不達米亞文明在底格里斯河與幼發拉底河之間孕育。關于這個文明，我們的大多數知識都來自對荒城的艱苦挖掘和黏土碑文的深入翻譯?？脊艑W家已在北部發現早期農業的痕跡，其歷史可追溯到九千年前。

而有記載的歷史則始于更南方的一族——蘇美爾人。公元前5000年左右，在底格里斯河與幼發拉底河孕育的這片肥沃的沖積平原上，人們以農耕的生活方式安家落戶。這片土地常年少雨，美索不達米亞人筑堤修渠以貯存猶如生命之源的洪水。……