英汉双语阅读90：城市是如何兴起的？

摘要：Archaeological evidence indicates that domestication of various plants and animals began around 12,000 years ago, starting the Hol

高效记单词：《新概念英语1词汇专练》

英汉双语阅读89：企业的保密文化是怎么来的？

一、生词准备

permanent /ˈpɜːmənənt/ adj. 永久的；永恒的

species /ˈspiːʃiːz/ n. 物种；种类

urbanize /ˈɜːbənaɪz/ v. 使都市化；使城市化

archaeological /ˌɑːkiəˈlɒdʒɪkl/ adj. 考古学的

domestication /dəˌmestɪˈkeɪʃn/ n. 驯化；驯养

Holocene /ˈhɒləsiːn/ n. 全新世

Neolithic /ˌniːəˈlɪθɪk/ adj. 新石器时代的

deforestation /ˌdiːˌfɒrɪˈsteɪʃn/ n. 采伐森林；毁林

irrigation /ˌɪrɪˈɡeɪʃn/ n. 灌溉；水利

deciduous /dɪˈsɪdjuəs/ adj. 落叶性的；非永久性的

二、短文内容

Nearly all humans in the modern world live in some kind of a permanent residence. But it hasn't always been like this. Our species started out as hunter gatherers and began to make permanent settlements mostly due to the rise of agriculture. Only 3% of the world's population lived in cities in 1800. Since then we have urbanized our existence more and more.

Archaeological evidence indicates that domestication of various plants and animals began around 12,000 years ago, starting the Holocene epoch. However the Neolithic Revolution involved societies radically altering their natural environment by means of deforestation and irrigation for the purpose of food crop cultivation. This required societies to spend nearly all of their time and resources in one location. The conventional view holds that cities first began to form after the Neolithic revolution, around 5,500 BC. The earliest known permanent human settlement is Sumer in present day Southern Iraq. It was settled between 5500 and 4000 BC.

Nailing down a date for the initial founding of a city can be somewhat tricky. As with the city of Munich, Germany, the first permanent settlement in its location was of Benedictine monks in the 8th century. By 1158, Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, had built a new bridge over the river Isar near the existing monastery. This was part of the Old Salt Route, and a toll bridge. Henry granted Munich the right to mint its own currency and to hold markets, thus driving more traffic across his new bridge, and more income into his coffers. And so the foundation date of the city of Munich is assumed to be 1158.

And so it is that the founding of a city does not imply the beginning of human civilization in a particular area. It only implies the start of substantial sustained habitation.

It is interesting to note that individuals in different civilizations organize themselves in unique ways. Historians generally note how Western Civilization is much more rural than most other civilizations. This is partly due to geography and partly due to culture. The deciduous forest environment of Western Europe provided a much more uniform distribution of necessary resources such as wood, potential farm land, and water supplies, thus allowing much less centralized societies to form. In the Middle East, however, available water supplies exist in more centralized locations, requiring a much more centralized society.

三、短文注释

1. Hunter gatherers: 狩猎采集者。早期人类依靠猎捕野生动物、采集野生植物、果实与坚果来维持生计。他们没有固定的居所，为寻找食物来源而四处迁徙。在农业发展起来之前，这种生活方式在人类漫长的历史中占据了主导地位。

2. Neolithic Revolution: 新石器时代革命。人类历史上一次意义重大的转变，大约发生在 1.2 万年前。其标志是从狩猎采集的生活方式过渡到以农业为基础的生活方式，其中包括动植物的驯化。这场革命彻底改变了人类社会的组织形式，人们开始在一个地方定居下来。

3. Deforestation and irrigation: 森林砍伐与灌溉。森林砍伐（Deforestation）指的是大规模砍伐树木，在新石器时代，人们砍伐森林来开辟农田。灌溉（Irrigation）则是人为地给土地供水，助力农作物生长。这两种做法对粮食作物的种植极为关键，也促使社会固定在一处。

4. Old Salt Route: 旧盐路。中世纪欧洲一条重要的贸易路线。盐是极为贵重的商品，常用于保存食物等。像慕尼黑这样位于这条路线上的城镇，因盐商往来运输、交易而繁荣起来，推动了当地的经济发展与城市扩张。

5. Benedictine monks: 本笃会修士。公元6世纪由圣本笃创立的一个宗教团体成员。他们遵循一套强调祈祷、劳作与社群生活的规则。在中世纪早期的欧洲，他们的聚居地常常是学术、农业活动的中心，也为当地带来了稳定，慕尼黑地区最早的永久定居点就来自本笃会修士。