胡敏读故事记单词托福词汇140

（单词翻译）

Liberated¹ from ages of darkness

What do we really know about our ancestors who lived in limestone² caves at Zhoukoudian? Not a great deal, really, except that the modern day inhabitants of northern China would probably be able to trace their lineage right back to those cave dwellers³. Their life span was short, compared to ours, and theirs were by no means lives of liberty, in any sense of the word.

Not yet literate⁴, they were unable to read or write, though some of the drawings they left behind on their cave walls were quite magnificent. Their lives were harsh, sleeping on beds made from leaves, not linen⁵, risking life and limb even when simply foraging⁶ for food. They were able to draw their liquid refreshment⁷ from streams that were still limpid⁸, taking care, though, not to linger, lest they were mauled by a dreadfull saber tooth tiger or some other ferocious⁹ beast.

Humankind has long since been liberated and, quite literally¹⁰, lifted from our ancestors’ day of darkness. One of the most important inventions in the whole of history must be the light bulb.

With people being able to sit up at night in splendid brightness, average levels of literacy have increased by leaps and bounds, while literary endeavour has flourished.

Likewise, modern men’s linguistic¹¹ prowess has improved no end, not least through being able to sit up at all hours of the day and night, having liberal discussions on subjects ranging from linguistics¹² to animal liberation.