盘点已经拥有2000年历史的十大职业(下)

　　3.士兵

　　Presumably, the first tussles¹ between humans were mostly unorganized, spontaneous skirmishes.

　　据推测，人类之间最初的争斗主要是无组织的、自发的小规模战争。

　　But at some point, people thought to organize a group of talented fighters from their midst in order to protect themselves and/or for aggression².

　　但就在某个时间节点，人们认为应该组织一群善于作战的战士来保护他们自己或者侵略其他群体。

　　These were the first armies, filled with the world's first soldiers.

　　这就是最初军队的雏形，也是世界上的第一批士兵。

　　Military historians trace these early fighters to Sumer, which first existed around 4000 B.C.E.

　　军事历史学家认为最早的士兵可以追溯到公元前4000年的苏美尔人。

　　One of the oldest urban civilizations on Earth, the city-state was located in what is today Iraq.

　　苏美尔位于今天的伊拉克，是地球上最古老的现代文明之一。

　　士兵

　　The first recorded war was from 2525 B.C.E. and was about two cities in Sumer fighting over possession of the region of Guendena. The Sumerians, who fought constantly over 2,000 years, also invented the helmet, the chariot and the sickle³ sword (a sword with a crescent-shaped blade) among other military gear.

　　最早有记载的战争发生在公元前2525年，苏美尔的两座城邦为了圭地那地区的所属权而大打出手，这场战争持续了超过2000年，在战争期间，头盔、战车和镰刀剑（一种剑刃是弯月状的剑）等军事装备相继被发明出来。

　　From there, soldiers spread to every corner of the world.

　　从那开始，士兵这项职业开始在全世界落地生根。

　　Some of the more notable forces over time were the Mongol Army, 1 million strong, which conquered most of Eurasia starting in 1206; the Roman Army, which similarly corralled the Western world; and the Ottoman Army, which subjugated⁴ people in the Middle East, Balkans and North Africa for 500 years, until the 19th century.

　　迄今为止，有很多“名留青史”的军队：比如说，蒙古军队，自1206年起就凭借着百万雄师在欧亚大陆上所向披靡；同样，罗马军队在西方世界也难遇敌手；奥斯曼军队则占领了中东、巴尔干半岛和北非近500年，直到19世纪。

　　With nearly every nation on Earth in possession of an army, "soldier" is almost assuredly a profession that is here to stay.

　　正因为地球上的每个国家几乎都拥有一支军队，所以士兵成了一种不可或缺的职业。

　　2.Stonemason

　　2.石匠

　　The Great Pyramid of Giza, built 4,500 years ago, is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

　　建造于4500年前的吉萨金字塔是世界古代七大奇迹之一。

　　Comprising some 2 million blocks of limestone⁵, it's the largest and most accurately⁶ built stone monument in the world.

　　它由超过200万块石灰岩石组成，是世界上最大的具有历史意义的建筑。

　　Around the same time, over in England, talented people constructed Stonehenge. Both of these are the work of ancient, skilled stonemasons.

　　大约在同一时期的英国，充满智慧的劳动人民建造出了史前巨石柱。这两处建筑都是古代技艺精湛的石匠们的作品。

　　石匠

　　Stonemasons transform hunks of stone or rock into geometric shapes that can be used to create structures or art — everything from buildings and statues to temples and fountains. For centuries the craft remained largely the same.

　　石匠们将巨大的岩石塑造出具有几何美感的形状后，应用于建筑物或艺术品的建造，我们可以在建筑物、雕塑、塔或喷泉中看到这些具有艺术气息的岩石。千百年来，手工艺人与石匠几乎做着类型相似的工作。

　　Practitioners⁷ would use a mallet⁸, chisel⁹ and metal straight edge to create a flat surface in the stone or rock. It wasn't until the 20th century that things changed a bit.

　　习艺人会用木槌、凿子和金属直边工具在石块或岩石上塑造平面，手艺代代相传，直到20世纪机器的出现。

　　Engines enabled enormous stones to be moved and placed with ease, while power saws helped stonemasons cut the rocks more rapidly and precisely¹⁰.

　　引擎动力使得巨大的岩石可以随人意愿任意移动放置，电锯也帮助石匠们可以更加迅速与精确地切割岩石。

　　Today, there are several types of stonemasons. Some may split sheet rock in quarries¹¹, while others carve designs in gravestones or build houses and walls.

　　如今，石匠存在到今天已经演变出了多种类型，一些石匠专门从采石场分离石膏板，也有一些人专门从事墓碑设计雕刻，另外一些人则专门建造房屋墙壁建筑。

　　1.Tailor

　　1.裁缝

　　Many of us living today have no experience with a professional tailor, as we purchase mass-produced clothing or, possibly, sew our own.

　　如今我们习惯于在连锁专卖店里购买服装，或者少部分人自己缝制服装，以至于我们在生活中不曾和专业的裁缝打过交道。

　　Yet tailors are everywhere, as they have been for ages. Tailors design, cut, fit and sew clothing.

　　但是裁缝们却无处不在，事实上他们已经存在了很久的时间。裁缝专门为客户设计、剪裁并缝制服装。

　　Tailors can be found in the earliest societies. In ancient Rome, for example, tailors belonged to trade guilds¹², which means tailoring must have been a substantial industry. Slaves were also trained as tailors.

　　我们甚至可以在最早的社会群体中找到裁缝的身影。在古罗马时代，裁缝隶属于当时的贸易公会，说明在当时裁缝业是一个规模庞大的行业。人们甚至训练奴隶们量体裁衣的技巧。

　　裁缝

　　While the garments worn back then were rather simple — think togas and tunics¹³ — the way you dressed indicated your status, thus skilled tailors were valuable.

　　然而当时的服饰毕竟是较为简单的，主要是托加袍和短袍，因为人们的穿着代表着人们的社会地位，所以专业裁缝便十分抢手了。

　　One ancient drawing showed a tailor selling goods from sample cards. Tailors also cleaned and pressed togas for customers — a common task in a dirty city where people wore white flowing robes.

　　一幅古代的画作上就画着一位裁缝售卖衣服样品卡的情景。他们也替客户们清洗熨烫他们的托加袍，这在当时是一个常见的业务，因为城市卫生状况不好时，市民们的白色长袍很容易弄脏。

　　Today, tailors (also called dressmakers, custom sewers¹⁴ and seamstresses) might have their own business, or work in a retail¹⁵ shop or boutique, for a clothing manufacturer or for fashion designers and patternmakers.

　　如今，裁缝们（裁缝tailors也被称为dressmakers, custom sewers, seamstresses）基本上都在服装零售店和高级时装店里从业，也有些人从事服装业，做时尚设计师或图案制作师。

　　Although no specific degree is required, professional tailors must be skilled in sewing, patternmaking and fashion design.

　　虽然没有一个严格的从业标准，但是专业的裁缝必须精通缝纫、版图制作和时尚设计。

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