世界小史 第6章:巨型动物

 　　Now, try to imagine 1,000 million years!

　　现在试着想象10亿年（有多长）！

　　At that time there were no large animals, just creatures like snails¹ and worms.

　　当时还没有巨型动物，只有蜗牛和虫这样的生物。

　　And before then there weren't even any plants.

　　再往前，那时连植物也没有。

　　The whole earth was a "formless void". There was nothing.

　　整个地球一片"荒凉和空漠"。地球上什么也没有。

　　Not a tree, not a bush, not a blade of grass, not a flower, nothing green.

　　没有树，没有灌木，没有一片草地，没有花，没有绿色。

　　Just barren desert rocks and the sea. An empty sea: no fish, no seashells, not even any seaweed.

　　只有荒凉的石头和大海。大海空空的：没有鱼儿，没有贝类，甚至没有海草。

　　But if you listen to the waves, what do they say?

　　但如果你倾听波浪声，它们在说什么？

　　"Once upon a time " Once the earth was perhaps no more than a swirling² cloud of gas and dust,

　　“从前”从前地球也许只是一团聚集起来的气云和灰尘，

　　like those other, far bigger ones we can see today through our telescopes.

　　跟我们用望远镜能够看到的别的大得多的气云和灰尘一样。

　　For billions and trillions of years, without rocks, without water and without life,

　　千百万亿年里没有岩石，没有水，没有生命，

　　that swirling cloud of gas and dust made rings around the sun.

　　那团聚集起来的气云和灰尘绕太阳旋转着。

1 snails   

n.蜗牛；迟钝的人；蜗牛( snail的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I think I'll try the snails for lunch—I'm feeling adventurous today. 我想我午餐要尝一下蜗牛——我今天很想冒险。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most snails have shells on their backs. 大多数蜗牛背上有壳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 swirling   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着，旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句