(A Little history of the World)，是英国艺术史家恩斯特·贡布里希（E. H. Gombrich）写给儿童的一本通俗历史读物。该书集知识性与趣味性于一体, 语言通俗易懂、生动有趣。全书总共不到20万字, 却为读者展示了5000年的世界风貌
世界小史 第1章:从前
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 we
世界小史 第2章:起源
Have you ever tried standing between two mirrors? You should. 你可曾试着站立在两面镜子之间？你不妨试一试。 You will see a great long line of shiny mirrors, each one smaller than the one before, 你会看见发亮的镜子的一条
世界小史 第3章:档案馆
It's like a bottomless well. Does all this looking down make you dizzy? 它就像一个无底的深井。从上往下看，你会头晕目眩吗？ It does me. So let's light a scrap of paper, and drop it down into that well. 我会的。那么让我们
世界小史 第4章:记忆之光
But we only catch glimpses, because our light is now falling faster and faster: 1,000 years， 5,000 years， 10,000 years. 但是我们只在一瞬间看见了这情景，因为我们的火光越坠越快，越坠越快，1千年，5千年，1万年。
世界小史 第5章:尾巴
And how do we know that? We sometimes find their bones, deep in the ground. 我们怎么知道的？我们有时在地下深处找到它们的骨骼。 When I was a schoolboy in Vienna I used to visit the Natural History Museum, 当我在维也纳上小
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 snails 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 t
世界小史 第7章:回到地球
And before that? Before that, not even the sun, our good old sun, was there. 那么在那以前呢？在那以前，甚至太阳，我们可爱又古老的太阳也不存在。 Only weird and amazing giant stars and smaller heavenly bodies, whirling
世界小史 第8章:伟大的发明家
Chapter 2 The Greatest Inventors of All Time 第二章 前所未有的最伟大的发明家 Near Heidelberg, in Germany, somebody was once digging a pit when they came across a bone, deep down under the ground. 有一次有人在德国海德堡附近挖
世界小史 第9章:头盖骨
On another occasion, but still in Germany in the Neander valley a human skull was found. 在另一个地方，但仍在德国，在尼安德尔山谷，人们发现了一块人的头盖骨。 And this was also immensely interesting because nobody ali
世界小史 第10章:下颌骨
But now you are going to say:Stop! That's not what we agreed. 但现在你一定会说，停！那不是我们当初同意的。 When did these people live, what were they like, and how did they live? 这些人生活在什么时候，他们长什么样
世界小史 第11章:祖先
These were our ancestors who may have already been using stones as tools more than 150,000 years ago. 这是我们的祖先，他们也许在15万年前就已经开始用石头当工具了。 They were very different from the Neanderthal people who a
世界小史 第12章:发明
Yet with all of these things there must have been a first time. 可是这一切必定有过第一次出现的时候。 Someone must have made the discovery. 这必定是某个人发明的。 Isn't it an amazing thought that, one day, a prehistoric ma
世界小史 第13章:建造房屋
But people didn't yet know how to build houses. 但是人们当时还不知道如何建造房屋。 Not a pleasant thought, since at that time it was often intensely cold at certain periods far colder than today. 一想到这点令人很不愉快，因
世界小史 第14章:疼痛
Of course animals also make noises they can cry out when they feel pain and make warning calls when danger threatens, 当然动物在感到疼痛时也会叫喊，在有危险时发出报警呼喊声， but they don't have names for things as human b
世界小史 第15章:猎获品
Rather like when we say 'Talk of the devil!' when someone we've been talking about turns up unexpectedly. 就像我们说：说曹操, 曹操到。的时候，当我们正在谈论的人意外出现。 After all, these animals were their prey, and wi
