人类与马的结盟改变了历史

你可以说，通过停止捕猎、开始驯化和驾驭马，人类拯救了它们。人类因与马结盟而永远改变了。

双语精读

An equine alliance

人类与马的结盟

How the horse has moulded empires, wars and human affairs.

马如何塑造了帝国、战争和人类事务。

There was nearly a world without horses. At the end of the last ice age warming temperatures turned the grasslands where horses roamed into swamps and forests. Humans hunted them heavily for meat.

曾经世界上差一点没有马。在最后一个冰河时代末期，气温升高，将马漫步的草原变成了沼泽和森林。人类曾为了获得肉而大量猎杀马。

You could say that by stopping hunting and starting to domesticate and harness them, humans saved horses. Humans were forever changed by their equine alliance.

你可以说，通过停止捕猎、开始驯化和驾驭马，人类拯救了它们。人类因与马结盟而永远改变了。

A herd of new books has come out looking at the horse's impact on human history, though their approaches are very different. All three books consider how mastery of the horse empowered the people who first achieved it in the third millennium BC.

最近出版了几本新书，阐述了马对人类历史的影响，尽管这几本书的论述方法大不相同。这三本书都探讨了在公元前3000年，驭马技术如何让首次掌握这一技术的人获得权力。

Using horses for food, transport and warfare provided mobility and an edge over others. Mastery of mounts brought the Huns into Europe, the Arabs into Spain and the Turks into India and Anatolia.

将马用于食用、运输和战争让这些人有了机动性和比其他人更大的优势。对骑马术的掌握使匈奴人进入欧洲，使阿拉伯人进入西班牙，使土耳其人进入印度和安纳托利亚高原。

Horses also spread the vast Mongol armies under Genghis Khan across nearly the whole of the Eurasian land mass, including China. In Europe feudalism and chivalry arrived on horseback, as did Napoleon's troops.

马还让成吉思汗率领的庞大蒙古军队遍布几乎整个欧亚大陆，其中包括中国。在欧洲，封建主义和骑士精神是骑马而来的，拿破仑的军队也是如此。

A look at the "biotechnology" of the horse explains its usefulness. In terms of power a horse packs more than ten times that of a human. (People still use "horsepower" as a way to quantify might.)

看一看马的"生物技术"就能解释马的用处。就力量而言，一匹马含有的力量是人类的十倍以上。（人们仍然用"马力"作为力的一种量化方式。）

Horses hardly need sleep, run fast for long stretches and have temperaments that make them easy to herd and train. Handy "hardware" like stirrups and saddles, as well as the innovation of hitching horses to wheeled vehicles, have given people more control.

马几乎不需要睡眠，能长时间快速奔跑，而且性情温顺，易于放牧和训练。方便的"硬件"（如马镫和马鞍）以及将马套在轮式车辆上的创新，让人们对马有了更多的控制。

It is only in the past 100 years, since the invention and spread of automobiles, that horses became less integral to human civilisation and people's daily lives.

直到过去100年里，自从汽车发明和普及以来，马才变得对人类文明和人们的日常生活不那么不可或缺。

However, as these books make clear, it would be unwise to put horses out to pasture in people's memories. They deserve enduring respect, for their hoof beats changed the world.

然而，正如这些书所表明的那样，将马从人们的记忆中遗忘是不明智的。马值得永远的尊敬，因为它们的蹄声曾改变了世界。

词汇预习

• unwise [高考]

  美[ʌnˈwaɪz] | 英[ˌʌnˈwaɪz]

  adj. 不明智的；愚笨的

• impact [高考]

  美[ˈɪmpækt , ɪmˈpækt] | 英[ˈɪmpækt , ɪmˈpækt]

  n. 影响；冲击力；撞击 vt. 挤入；压紧；撞击；对 ... 发生影响 vi. 冲击；撞击；产生影响

• innovation [高考]

  美[ˌɪnəˈveɪʃn] | 英[ˌɪnəˈveɪʃn]

  n. 创新；革新

• herd [高考]

  美[hɜːrd] | 英[hɜːd]

  n. 兽群；牧人；群 vt. 放牧；群集；使 ... 成群，把…赶到一起 vi. 聚在一起

• mobility [高考]

  美[moʊˈbɪləti] | 英[məʊˈbɪləti]

  n. 流动性；机动性；情感不定

• mastery [高考]

  美[ˈmæstəri] | 英[ˈmɑːstəri]

  n. 精通；掌握；熟练；控制

• mass [高考]

  美[ mæs] | 英[mæs]

  n. 大量；块；众多 adj. 大规模的；群众的 v. 集中 n. 弥撒曲；弥撒

• deserve [高考]

  美[dɪˈzɜːrv] | 英[dɪˈzɜːv]

  vt. 应受；值得

• vast [高考]

  美[væst] | 英[vɑːst]

  adj. 广阔的；巨大的；大量的；巨额的 n. 浩瀚；广阔无垠的空间 n. (Vast)人名；(法)瓦斯特

• BC [高考]

  美[ˌbi'si] | 英[ˌbi:'si:]

  abbr. 公元前(=Before Christ)

• impact on [高考]

  美[ˈɪmˌpækt ɑn] | 英[ˈimpækt ɔn]

  对 ... 产生影响

• civilisation [高考]

  美[ˌsɪvəlɪˈzeɪʃən] | 英[ˌsɪvɪlaɪˈzeɪʃən]

  n. 文明；文化；教化

• hardware [高考]

  美[ˈhɑːrdwer] | 英[ˈhɑːdweə(r)]

  n. 五金器具；[计] 硬件；武器装备

• harness [高考]

  美[ˈhɑːrnɪs] | 英[ˈhɑːnɪs]

  n. 马具；安全带；甲胄；系在身上的绳子 vt. 束以马具；披上甲胄；利用；管理；控制

• millennium [高考]

  美[mɪˈleniəm] | 英[mɪˈleniəm]

  n. 一千年；太平盛世

• where [高考]

  美[wer] | 英[weə(r)]

  adv. 在哪里；在那个地方 conj. 在 ... 地方

• would [高考]

  美[wʊd , wəd] | 英[wʊd , wəd]

  aux. 将；可能；大概；总会；愿意；will的过去式

• horsepower [四级]

  美[ˈhɔːrspaʊər] | 英[ˈhɔːspaʊə(r)]

  n. 马力(功率单位)

• usefulness [四级]

  美[ˈjusfəlnɪs] | 英[ˈju:sfəlnəs]

  n. 有用；有用性

• warfare [四级]

  美[ˈwɔːrfer] | 英[ˈwɔːfeə(r)]

  n. 战争；冲突

• biotechnology [四级]

  美[ˌbaɪoʊtekˈnɑːlədʒi] | 英[ˌbaɪəʊtekˈnɒlədʒi]

  n. 生物技术

• quantify [四级]

  美[ˈkwɑːntɪfaɪ] | 英[ˈkwɒntɪfaɪ]

  v. 用数量表示；量化

• look at [四级]

  美[lʊk æt] | 英[lʊk æt]

  （仔细地）看；着眼，考虑

• hunting [四级]

  美[ˈhʌntɪŋ] | 英[ˈhʌntɪŋ]

  n. 打猎；搜寻

• alliance [四级]

  美[əˈlaɪəns] | 英[əˈlaɪəns]

  n. 联盟；联姻；结盟

• integral [六级]

  美[ˈɪnteɡrəl , ɪnˈteɡrəl] | 英[ˈɪntɪɡrəl , ɪnˈteɡrəl]

  adj. 完整的；构成整体所必需的 n. [数] 积分；完整

• pasture [六级]

  美[ˈpæstʃər] | 英[ˈpɑːstʃə(r)]

  n. 牧场；草原 vi. 吃草 vt. 放牧

• hoof [专四]

  美[huːf] | 英[huːf]

  n. 蹄； [俚]人的脚 v. 以蹄踢； 行走

• provided [专四]

  美[prəˈvaɪdɪd] | 英[prəˈvaɪdɪd]

  conj. 假如；若是 adj. 预备好的；提供的

• chivalry [专八]

  美[ˈʃɪvəlri] | 英[ˈʃɪvəlri]

  n. 骑士精神；骑士制度

• domesticate [专八]

  美[dəˈmestɪkeɪt] | 英[dəˈmestɪkeɪt]

  vt. 驯养；使专注于家务；教化 n. 家禽；(家养)植物

• terms [雅思]

  美[tɜːrmz] | 英[tɜːmz]

  n. 条件；条款；关系；措辞

重点讲解

An equine alliance

人类与马的结盟

roam  v. 漫步；随意走动

【例】The traveller roamed about the town.

旅人在镇上四处闲逛。

Her eyes roamed the room. 

她将房间扫视了一遍。

How the horse has moulded empires, wars and human affairs.

马如何塑造了帝国、战争和人类事务。

roam  v. 漫步；随意走动

【例】The traveller roamed about the town.

旅人在镇上四处闲逛。

Her eyes roamed the room. 

她将房间扫视了一遍。

There was nearly a world without horses. At the end of the last ice age warming temperatures turned the grasslands where horses roamed into swamps and forests. Humans hunted them heavily for meat.

曾经世界上差一点没有马。在最后一个冰河时代末期，气温升高，将马漫步的草原变成了沼泽和森林。人类曾为了获得肉而大量猎杀马。

roam  v. 漫步；随意走动

【例】The traveller roamed about the town.

旅人在镇上四处闲逛。

Her eyes roamed the room. 

她将房间扫视了一遍。

You could say that by stopping hunting and starting to domesticate and harness them, humans saved horses. Humans were forever changed by their equine alliance.

你可以说，通过停止捕猎、开始驯化和驾驭马，人类拯救了它们。人类因与马结盟而永远改变了。

domesticate  v. 家养；驯化

【例】Dogs have been domesticated by humans for a long time.

狗很早就被人类驯化了。

【拓展】domestic  adj. 家庭的；驯养的

【例】a domestic cat 家猫

【近义词】tame  v./adj. 驯服/驯顺的；听话的

【例】The dog is very tame.

这只狗很听话。（不要说The dog listens.）

harness  v. 给马上挽具；驾驭；利用

【例】to harness the horse to the cart 把马套在车上

to harness the solar power 利用太阳能

to harness the creativity of the employees 发挥员工的创造力

【近义词】utilize  v. 利用

A herd of new books has come out looking at the horse's impact on human history, though their approaches are very different. All three books consider how mastery of the horse empowered the people who first achieved it in the third millennium BC.

最近出版了几本新书，阐述了马对人类历史的影响，尽管这几本书的论述方法大不相同。这三本书都探讨了在公元前3000年，驭马技术如何让首次掌握这一技术的人获得权力。

approach  n. & v.

1. 作为名词：（思考问题的）方式，方法

【例】to adopt a new approach to the problem

采取一种新的解决问题的办法

The book has a new approach to Shakespeare.

这本书用新的方式研究莎士比亚。

【近义词】way  n. 方式

2. 作为动词：（以某种方式）处理，解决

【例】How do you approach the problem?

你怎样处理这个问题？

mobility  n. 机动性；流动能力

【例】A wheelchair has given her greater mobility. 

轮椅让她可以更方便地行动。

social mobility  社会阶层流动性

【拓展】mobile  adj. 可移动的

mobilize  v. 调动；动员

Using horses for food, transport and warfare provided mobility and an edge over others. Mastery of mounts brought the Huns into Europe, the Arabs into Spain and the Turks into India and Anatolia.

将马用于食用、运输和战争让这些人有了机动性和比其他人更大的优势。对骑马术的掌握使匈奴人进入欧洲，使阿拉伯人进入西班牙，使土耳其人进入印度和安纳托利亚高原。

approach  n. & v.

1. 作为名词：（思考问题的）方式，方法

【例】to adopt a new approach to the problem

采取一种新的解决问题的办法

The book has a new approach to Shakespeare.

这本书用新的方式研究莎士比亚。

【近义词】way  n. 方式

2. 作为动词：（以某种方式）处理，解决

【例】How do you approach the problem?

你怎样处理这个问题？

mobility  n. 机动性；流动能力

【例】A wheelchair has given her greater mobility. 

轮椅让她可以更方便地行动。

social mobility  社会阶层流动性

【拓展】mobile  adj. 可移动的

mobilize  v. 调动；动员

Horses**** also**** spread**** the vast**** Mongol**** armies**** under Genghis Khan**** across**** nearly**** the whole of**** the Eurasian**** land**** mass****,**** including China.**** In**** Europe**** feudalism and chivalry**** arrived on**** horseback,**** as**** did Napoleon****'s troops****.****

马还让成吉思汗率领的庞大蒙古军队遍布几乎整个欧亚大陆，其中包括中国。在欧洲，封建主义和骑士精神是骑马而来的，拿破仑的军队也是如此。

A look at the "biotechnology" of the horse explains its usefulness. In terms of power a horse packs more than ten times that of a human. (People still use "horsepower" as a way to quantify might.)

看一看马的"生物技术"就能解释马的用处。就力量而言，一匹马含有的力量是人类的十倍以上。（人们仍然用"马力"作为力的一种量化方式。）

pack  v.

1. 装箱；使装入

【例】to pack my suitcase 打包行李

to pack a lot of information into a very small book

把大量信息放进一本小书

【搭配】be packed with sth  含有大量的某物

【拓展】packed  adj. 挤满的；压实的；充满的

2. 含有

【例】a play that packs a message 

具有特定寓意的一出戏

a storm that packs a strong wind  

夹带狂风的暴雨

stretch  n. 连续的一段时间

【例】She used to read for hours at a stretch. 

她以前看书常常连看几小时。

【近义词】spell  n. 一段时间

span  n. 持续的一段时间

temperament  n. 性情；禀性

【例】He is silent by temperament.

他生性沉默寡言。

【拓展】temperate  adj. （脾气、气候等）温和的

temper  n./v. 脾气/使缓和

Horses hardly need sleep, run fast for long stretches and have temperaments that make them easy to herd and train. Handy "hardware" like stirrups and saddles, as well as the innovation of hitching horses to wheeled vehicles, have given people more control.

马几乎不需要睡眠，能长时间快速奔跑，而且性情温顺，易于放牧和训练。方便的"硬件"（如马镫和马鞍）以及将马套在轮式车辆上的创新，让人们对马有了更多的控制。

pack  v.

1. 装箱；使装入

【例】to pack my suitcase 打包行李

to pack a lot of information into a very small book

把大量信息放进一本小书

【搭配】be packed with sth  含有大量的某物

【拓展】packed  adj. 挤满的；压实的；充满的

2. 含有

【例】a play that packs a message 

具有特定寓意的一出戏

a storm that packs a strong wind  

夹带狂风的暴雨

stretch  n. 连续的一段时间

【例】She used to read for hours at a stretch. 

她以前看书常常连看几小时。

【近义词】spell  n. 一段时间

span  n. 持续的一段时间

temperament  n. 性情；禀性

【例】He is silent by temperament.

他生性沉默寡言。

【拓展】temperate  adj. （脾气、气候等）温和的

temper  n./v. 脾气/使缓和

It is only in the past 100 years, since the invention and spread of automobiles, that horses became less integral to human civilisation and people's daily lives.

直到过去100年里，自从汽车发明和普及以来，马才变得对人类文明和人们的日常生活不那么不可或缺。

integral  adj. 作为组成部分的；不可或缺的

【例】He's an integral part of the team and we can't do without him.

他是团队里不可或缺的一员，没了他不行。

【拓展】integrate  v. 融入；成为一体

integration  n. 融入；一体化

put sth out to pasture

1. 放 (牛、羊等) 到牧场吃草

【例】The cattle were put out to pasture.

牛群放牧在牧场草地上。

2. 使某人退休

【例】They were so old, they should have been put out to pasture years ago. 

他们年龄太大了，多年前就该叫他们退休了。

However, as these books make clear, it would be unwise to put horses out to pasture in people's memories. They deserve enduring respect, for their hoof beats changed the world.

然而，正如这些书所表明的那样，将马从人们的记忆中遗忘是不明智的。马值得永远的尊敬，因为它们的蹄声曾改变了世界。

integral  adj. 作为组成部分的；不可或缺的

【例】He's an integral part of the team and we can't do without him.

他是团队里不可或缺的一员，没了他不行。

【拓展】integrate  v. 融入；成为一体

integration  n. 融入；一体化

put sth out to pasture

1. 放 (牛、羊等) 到牧场吃草

【例】The cattle were put out to pasture.

牛群放牧在牧场草地上。

2. 使某人退休

【例】They were so old, they should have been put out to pasture years ago. 

他们年龄太大了，多年前就该叫他们退休了。

课后练习

• What saved horses from extinction?

  A. The climate change that turned swamps into grasslands.

  B. The migration of horses into habitable regions.

  C. The alliance of horses with other animals.

  D. The domestication of horses by humans.

• How did the mastery of horses impact human history?

  A. It intensified conflicts among various countries.

  B. It led to the development of advanced technologies.

  C. It contributed to the decline of feudalism in Europe.

  D. It facilitated interactions between different civilizations.

• The biological features of horses show that they ____.

  A. are aggressive and suitable for war

  B. are adaptable and multiply quickly

  C. are easy to train and highly useful

  D. are superior to any other animal

• How should people treat horses today according to the author?

  A. Continue to use them in daily life.

  B. Recognize their historical significance.

  C. Release them back into the wild.

  D. Dismiss them as no longer important.