历史之前发生了什么？人类的起源：英语精读讲义

The world we live in feels normal,

我们生活的世界感觉很正常，

ordinary.

很普通。

It feels like this is just how humans exist

感觉好像人类就是这样存在的，

and always existed.

并且一直都是这样。

But it's not.

但并非如此。

Never before have we humans lived in a world 語法

我们人类以前从未生活在一个

as sophisticated

如此复杂

and engineered to our needs as today,

且如此贴合我们需求的现代世界中，

giving us the luxury to forget about ourselves 短語搭配

这让我们有了忘记自我

and not worry about survival.

且无需担心生存的奢侈条件。

Food,

食物，

shelter,

住所，

security,

安全，

all of this is more or less taken for granted. 習語

所有这些或多或少都被认为是理所当然的。

But we're a special few.

但我们是特殊的少数。

For more than 99.99% of human history,

在人类超过99.99%的历史中，

life was completely different.

生活完全是另一番景象。

And there's no such thing as just one human history. 短語搭配

而且从来都不只有一部人类史。

Our story begins 6 million years ago,

我们的故事始于600万年前，

when the tribe of hominini split

当时人族部落发生分裂，

and our relationship with the apes ended.

我们与猿类的关系就此结束。

2.8 million years ago,

280万年前，

the genus of Homo,

人属，

the first humans emerged.

即最早的人类出现了。

We like to think of ourselves as the only humans,

我们喜欢认为自己是唯一的人类，

but this is far from the truth. 習語

但这远非事实。

When we,

当我们在

Homo sapiens sapiens,

20万年前作为智人

came into existence 200,000 years ago, 短語搭配

出现时，

there were at least six other human species around.

周围至少还有其他六种人类物种。

Cousins of comparable intelligence and ability,

那是些智力和能力相当的表亲，

which must have been incredibly scary,

这一定非常可怕，

kind of like living with aliens. 表達脈絡

有点像和外星人住在一起。

Some of them were very successful.

他们中的一些非常成功。

Homo erectus,

例如，

for example,

直立人，

survived for 2 million years,

存活了200万年，

10 times longer than modern humans have existed.

比现代人类存在的历史长10倍。

The last of the other humans disappeared around 10,000 years ago.

最后的一些其他人类大约在1万年前消失了。

We don't know what caused them to die out. 短語動詞

我们不知道是什么导致了他们灭绝。

Modern humans have at least a few percent of Neanderthal and other human DNA,

现代人类拥有至少百分之几的尼安德特人和其他人类DNA，

so there was some mixing,

所以存在一些混血，

but certainly not enough to be a merger between species.

但肯定不足以成为物种之间的融合。

So we don't know if our cousins went away because they lost the battle over resources

所以我们不知道我们的表亲消失是因为在资源争夺中败北，

or because of a series of minor genocides.

还是因为一系列小规模的种族灭绝。

Either way, 表達脈絡

无论哪种方式，

only we remain.

只有我们存活了下来。

Back to the beginnings of humanity.

回到人类的开端。

2.8 million years ago,

280万年前，

early humans used tools,

早期人类使用工具，

but did not make a lot of progress for nearly 2 million years

但在近200万年的时间里没有取得太大进展，

until they learned to control fire.

直到他们学会了控制火。

Fire meant cooking,

火意味着烹饪，

which made food more nutritious, 表達脈絡

这使食物更有营养，

which contributed to the development of our brain.

从而促进了我们大脑的发育。

It also produced light and warmth,

它还产生光和热，

which made days longer and winters less gruesome.

使白天变长，冬天不那么可怕。

On top of that, 表達脈絡

最重要的是，

it not only scared predators away, 語法

它不仅能吓跑掠食者，

it could also be used for hunting.

还可以用于狩猎。

A torched wood or grassland provided small animals,

被点燃的树林或草地提供了小动物、

nuts and tubers

坚果和块茎，

that were pre-roasted.

它们都被预先烤熟了。

From 300,000 years ago,

从30万年前开始，

most of the different human species lived in small hunter-gatherer societies.

大多数不同的人类物种生活在小型的狩猎采集社会中。

They had fire,

他们拥有火、

wood and stone tools,

木制和石制工具，

planned for the future,

会为未来做计划，

buried their dead,

埋葬死者，

and had cultures of their own. 語法

并拥有自己的文化。

But most importantly,

但最重要的是，

they spoke to each other,

他们互相对话，

probably in a kind of proto-language less complex than ours.

可能使用的是一种不如我们复杂的原始语言。

If we had a time machine, 語法

如果我们有一台时间机器，

how far would we be able to go back,

我们能倒退到多远，

steal a few babies,

偷走几个婴儿，

and raise them today without anyone noticing that they're a bit different? 語法

并在今天抚养他们而不被任何人发现他们有点不同？

There is much debate.

这存在很多争议。

Anatomically modern humans emerged 200,000 years ago,

解剖学上的现代人类在20万年前出现，

but probably 70,000 years is as far as we could travel back and still snatch a behaviorally modern human. 語法

但大约7万年可能是我们能回到过去并仍然能带回一个行为上现代的人类的极限。

Before that,

在此之前，

the babies would probably lack a few crucial gene mutations

婴儿可能缺乏一些关键的基因突变，

necessary to build a brain with modern language and abstract thinking abilities.

这些突变对于建立一个具有现代语言和抽象思维能力的大脑是必不可少的。

At some point around 50,000 years ago,

在大约5万年前的某个时候，

there was an explosion in innovation. 習語

出现了创新的爆发。

Tools and weapons became more sophisticated and culture became more complex,

工具和武器变得更加复杂，文化也变得更加复杂，

because at this point humans had a multi-purpose brain

因为此时人类拥有了一个多功能的大脑，

and a more advanced language to communicate information with each other effectively

以及一种更高级的语言，能够彼此有效地交流信息，

and down to the last detail. 習語

甚至细致到每一个细节。

This allowed much closer cooperation

这使得更紧密的合作成为可能，

and is what really makes us different from any other creature on Earth. 語法

也是真正使我们与地球上任何其他生物不同的原因。

Not our comparatively weak bodies and inferior senses, 表達脈絡

不是我们相对虚弱的身体和较差的感官，

but the ability to cooperate flexibly in large groups,

而是能够在大型群体中灵活合作的能力，

unlike, for example,

不像例如

rigid beehives or intimate but tiny wolf packs.

僵化的蜂巢或亲密但微小的狼群。

As our brain evolved,

随着我们大脑的进化，

we became able to do something life had been unable to do up to this point.

我们变得能够做一些生命在这一刻之前未能做到的事情。

One,

一，

expand knowledge quickly.

快速扩展知识。

Two,

二，

preserve the knowledge gained over generations.

保存几代人积累的知识。

Three,

三，

build on past knowledge to gain even deeper insights. 短語動詞

在过去知识的基础上获得更深刻的见解。

This seems daft,

这看起来很傻，

but until then,

但在那之前，

information had to be passed on from generation to generation, 短語動詞

信息必须代代相传，

mostly through genetics,

主要是通过基因，

which is not efficient.

这效率不高。

Still,

尽管如此，

for the next 40,000 years,

在接下来的4万年里，

human life remained more or less the same.

人类的生活基本上没有什么改变。

There was little to build upon.

几乎没有可以依靠的基础。

Our ancestors were only one animal among many.

我们的祖先只是众多动物中的一种。

Building a skyscraper without knowing what a house is is hard. 表達脈絡

在不知道什么是房子的情况下建造摩天大楼是很困难的。

But while it's easy to be arrogant in our attitude to our ancestors, 語法

但是，虽然我们很容易对祖先持傲慢的态度，

this would be ignorant.

但这将是无知的表现。

Humans 50,000 years ago were survival specialists.

5万年前的人类是生存专家。

They had a detailed mental map of their territory,

他们对自己的领地有一张详细的心智地图，

their senses were fine-tuned to the environment, 短語搭配

他们的感官对环境高度敏感，

they knew and memorized a great amount of information about plants and animals.

他们了解并记住了大量关于动植物的信息。

They could make complicated tools that required years of careful training and very fine motor skills.

他们能制作复杂的工具，这需要数年的仔细训练和非常精细的运动技能。

Their bodies,

他们的身体，

compared to our athletes today,

相比于我们今天的运动员，

just because of their daily routines.

仅仅是因为他们的日常作息就如此强健。

And they lived a rich social life within their tribe.

他们在部落内过着丰富的社会生活。

Survival required so many skills that the average brain volume of early modern humans 語法

生存需要如此多的技能，以至于早期现代人类的平均脑容量

might even have been bigger than it is today. 語法

甚至可能比今天还要大。

As a group, 表達脈絡

作为一个群体，

we know more today,

我们今天知道的更多，

but as individuals,

但作为个体，

our ancestors were superior to us.

我们的祖先远胜于我们。

But then,

但后来，

around 12,000 years ago in multiple locations,

大约在1.2万年前的多个地方，

humans developed agriculture.

人类发展了农业。

Everything changed very quickly.

一切都很快改变了。

Before,

以前，

survival as a hunter and forager required superb physical and mental abilities in all fields from everybody.

作为猎人和采集者生存需要每个人在各个领域都具备卓越的身心能力。

With the rise of the agricultural age, 短語搭配

随着农业时代的兴起，

individuals could increasingly rely on the skills of others for survival. 短語搭配

个体可以越来越依赖他人的技能来生存。

This meant that some of them could specialize.

这意味着他们中的一些人可以专业化。

Maybe they worked on better tools. 表達脈絡

也许他们致力于制造更好的工具。

Maybe they took time to breed more resistant crops or better livestock.

也许他们花时间培育更有抵抗力的作物或更好的牲畜。

Maybe they started inventing things.

也许他们开始发明东西。

As farming got more and more efficient, 語法

随着农业变得越来越高效，

what we call civilization began. 語法

我们所称的文明开始了。

Agriculture gave us a reliable and predictable food source,

农业为我们提供了可靠和可预测的食物来源，

which allowed humans to hoard food on a large scale for the first time, 短語搭配

这让人类首次能够大规模地储存食物，

which is much easier to do with grains than meat.

用谷物做到这一点比用肉类要容易得多。

A food stock required protection,

食物储备需要保护，

which led to communities living together in tighter spaces.

这导致社区生活在更紧凑的空间里。

First,

首先，

early defense structures were built.

建立了早期的防御结构。

The need for organization grew.

对组织的需求增加了。

The more organized we got, 語法

我们越有组织，

the faster things became efficient.

事物变得高效的速度就越快。

Villages became cities, 表達脈絡

村庄变成了城市，

cities became kingdoms,

城市变成了王国，

kingdoms became empires.

王国变成了帝国。

Connections between humans exploded,

人与人之间的联系呈爆炸式增长，

which led to opportunities to exchange knowledge.

这带来了交流知识的机会。

Progress became exponential.

进步呈指数级增长。

About 500 years ago,

大约500年前，

the scientific revolution began.

科学革命开始了。

Mathematics,

数学、

physics,

物理学、

astronomy,

天文学、

biology,

生物学，

and chemistry transformed everything we thought we knew.

和化学改变了我们以为知道的一切。

The Industrial Revolution followed soon after,

工业革命紧随其后，

laying the foundation for the modern world. 習語

为现代世界奠定了基础。

As our overall efficiency grew exponentially,

随着我们整体效率呈指数级增长，

more people could spend their lifetime contributing to the progress of humanity.

越来越多的人可以将一生奉献给人类的进步。

Revolutions kept happening.

革命不断发生。

The invention of the computer,

计算机的发明，

its evolution into a medium we all use on a daily basis,

它演变成我们日常都在使用的媒介，

and the rise of the internet shaped our world.

以及互联网的崛起塑造了我们的世界。

It's hard to grasp how fast all of that happened.

很难理解这一切发生得有多快。

It's been about 125,000 generations since the emergence of the first human species.

自从第一个人类物种出现以来大约有12.5万代。

About 7,500 generations since the physiologically modern humans saw the light of day. 習語

自从生理上的现代人类诞生以来大约有7500代。

500 generations ago,

500代之前，

what we call civilization began.

我们所称的文明开始了。

20 generations ago,

20代之前，

we learned how to do science.

我们学会了如何做科学。

And the internet became available to most people only one generation ago.

而互联网普及到大多数人，只是在一代人之前。

Today,

今天，

we live in the most prosperous age humanity has ever experienced. 語法

我们生活在人类经历过的最繁荣的时代。

We have transformed this planet,

我们改变了这颗星球，

from the composition of its atmosphere, 表達脈絡

从大气层的成分，

to large-scale changes in its landscape,

到其地貌的大规模改变，

and also in terms of the other animals in existence.

以及存在的其他动物方面。

We light up the night with artificial stars

我们用人造星星照亮了夜晚，

and put people in a metal box in the sky.

并把人装进了天空中的金属盒子里。

Some have even walked on our moon.

有些人甚至在我们的月球上行走过。

We put robots on other planets.

我们把机器人放到其他星球上。

We've looked deep into the past of the universe with mechanical eyes.

我们用机械的眼睛深情地注视宇宙的过去。

Our knowledge and our way of acquiring and storing more of it has exploded.

我们的知识以及我们获取和存储更多知识的方式爆炸式增长。

The average high school student today knows more about the universe than a scholar a few centuries ago. 語法

今天普通的高中生比几个世纪前的学者更了解宇宙。

Humans dominate this planet,

人类主宰着这颗星球，

even if our rule is very fragile. 語法

即使我们的统治非常脆弱。

We are still not that different from our ancestors 70,000 years ago,

我们与7万年前的祖先仍然没有太大区别，

but your lifestyle has existed for less than 0.001% of human history.

但你的生活方式存在的时间还不到人类历史的0.001%。

From here on,

从这里开始，

there's no saying what the future holds for us. 習語

无法预料未来会为我们带来什么。

We're building a skyscraper, 習語

我们正在建造一座摩天大楼，

but we're not sure if it's standing on a solid foundation

但我们不确定它是否建立在坚实的基础上，

or if we're building it on quicksand.

或者我们是否把它建在流沙上。

Let's leave it with that for now. 語氣意圖

今天就先说到这儿吧。

The next time you miss your train, 語法

下次你错过火车、

your burger is not hot enough,

你的汉堡不够热，

or someone cuts in line, 短語搭配

或者有人插队时，

remember how special this made-up human world is.

记住这个由人类创造的世界是多么特别。

Maybe it's not worth being upset about all those little things. 語法

也许为那些小事生气并不值得。

Okay,

好了，

this was our first take on making a history-related video. 用詞

这是我们首次尝试制作历史相关的视频。

We'd love to make much more of them,

我们很想制作更多此类视频，

but they take even more time than our average video.

但它们比我们普通的视频需要更多的时间。

So we might do three or four a year.

所以我们可能一年只做三四个。

Your feedback's very welcome here.

非常欢迎你在这里提出反馈。

Thank you so much for watching.

非常感谢你的观看。

And if you want to support us directly,

如果你想直接支持我们，

you can do so on Patreon.

你可以在Patreon上支持。

It really helps us out. 短語動詞

这真的帮了我们大忙。

While you think about it,

在你考虑的时候，

here are more videos if you need more distraction.

如果你需要分心，这里有更多视频。