(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31章:书卷
They wrote on long strips of this papyrus, which were then rolled up into scrolls. 他们写在这种莎草纸的长条片上，然后卷成书卷。 A whole heap of these scrolls has survived. 一大堆这样的书卷被保存下来了。 And when w
世界小史 第32章:齐阿普斯
Only rarely in the course of all that time did people turn against this strict conformity. 在这整个漫长的时期中人们只对这种严格的老一套反对过两次。 Once was shortly after the reign of King Cheops, about 2,100 BC, when the
世界小史 第33章:阿肯纳顿
The ancient temples were shut down, and King Akhenaton and his wife moved into a new palace. 古老的庙宇被关闭，阿肯纳顿和他的妻子一道迁进一座新宫殿。 Since he was utterly opposed to tradition, and in favor of fine new idea
世界小史 第34期:星期
There are seven days in a week. 一星期有七天。 I don't need to tell you their names because you know them already. 我不必告诉你他们的名字因为你已经知道了。 But have you any idea where and when it was that the days were each
世界小史 第35期:辽阔的平原
Picture a vast plain, crossed by these two rivers. 你想象一个极其辽阔的平原，这两条河流经这个平原。 A land of heat and swamp and sudden floods. 这个平原上的土地又热又湿，有时洪水突如其来。 Here and there
世界小史 第36期:美索不达米亚
Unlike Egypt, Mesopotamia was rarely ruled by just one king. 美索不达米亚（两河流域）不像埃及，它很少由一位国王统治，Nor did any single empire survive long within firm frontiers. 也没有一个王朝的统治延续长久、
世界小史 第37期:齐阿普斯金字塔
A great number of tombs were also found that appeared to date from the same time as Cheops's Great Pyramid in Egypt. 人们在这里找到了一大批墓穴，它们大约跟埃及的齐阿普斯金字塔建造的时期相同。 But while the pyramid
世界小史 第38期:楔形文字
The script is called cuneiform, meaning wedge-shaped. 人们称它为cuneiform，意思是楔形文字。 Books made of papyrus were unknown to the Mesopotamians. 人们在美索不达米亚不曾发现过莎草纸书。 They inscribed these signs in
世界小史 第39期:巴比伦国王
One of the first Babylonian kings to rule over the whole region left a long and important inscription, engraved in stone. 统治全国的头一批巴比伦国王中有一个国王留下了一段这样的重要铭文，它被凿在一块石头上。 I
世界小史 第40期:亚述人
For both the Babylonians and the Assyrians worshipped the sun and the moon, and also the stars. 因为巴比伦尼亚人和亚述人都把太阳、月亮和星星当作他们的神祈祷， On clear, warm nights, throughout the year and over centurie
世界小史 第41期:行星
Today we know that these are the stars that are close to us, and that they turn with the earth around the sun. 今天我们知道，那是和地球一道绕着太阳转动的星星。 They are called planets. 人们称它们为行星。 But the ancie
世界小史 第42期:星星
To be nearer to their stars, and also to see them better in a misty land, 为了离他们的星星近一点，也为了在这个多雾的地方看星星看得更清楚些， the Babylonians, and the Sumerians before them, erected strange buildings wi
世界小史 第43期:尼布甲尼撒
The last great Babylonian king was Nebuchadnezzar. 最后一个伟大的巴比伦国王是尼布甲尼撒。 He lived around 600 BC and is remembered for his feats of war. 他生活在公元前600年左右，他的几次战绩使他出了名。 He fo
世界小史 第44期:肥沃的牧场
Between Egypt and Mesopotamia there is a land of deep valleys and rich pastures. 在埃及和美索不达米亚之间有一片土地，那里有深谷和肥沃的牧场。 There, for thousands of years, herdsmen tended their flocks. 好几千年之久，
世界小史 第45期:引导者
All other peoples prayed to many godsyou remember Isis and Osiris, Baal and Astarte. 所有其他的民族全都向许多的神祈祷你还记得伊西斯和俄西里斯，巴尔和阿斯塔耳忒吧。 But these herdsmen only prayed to one god, thei
