世界小史 第1章:从前
英语课
第一章 从前
All stories begin with "Once upon a time".
所有的故事都以"从前 "开头。
And that's just what this story is all about: what happened, once upon a time.
那恰好是这个故事所要讲的：从前发生了什么？
Once you were so small that, even standing 1 on tiptoes, you could barely 2 reach your mother's hand.
从前你非常小，站着都几乎够不着你母亲的手。
Do you remember?
你记得吗？
世界小史1.jpg
Your own history might begin like this:
你自己的故事可能这样开头：
"Once upon a time there was a small boy" – or a small girl – "and that small boy was me".
“从前有一个小男孩”--或者一个小女孩--“那个小男孩就是我”。
But before that you were a baby in a cradle 3.
在那以前你是一个襁褓中的婴孩。
You won't remember that, but you know it's true.
这一点你回忆不起来了，但是你知道。
Your father and mother were also small once, and so was your grandfather, and your grandmother.
你的父亲和母亲从前也是小孩，你的祖父和祖母也一样。
a much longer time ago, but you know that too.
这已经是很久以前的事，但你仍然知道这件事。
After all, we say: "They are old".
我们说：“他们是老人”。
But they too had grandfathers and grandmothers, and they, too, could say:"Once upon a time".
他们也曾经有过祖父和祖母，所以他们也曾经可以说："从前"。
And so it goes on, further and further back.
所以就这样永远上溯，再上溯。
Behind every "Once upon a time" there is always another.
在每一个"从前"之后总是还有另一个。
n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的
- After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
- They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
adv.仅仅，几乎没有，几乎不
- The male bird is barely distinguishable from the female.雄鸟和雌鸟几乎无法辨别。
- He took barely enough money to keep the children in bread.他赚很少的钱仅够孩子们勉强糊口。