世界小史 第42期:星星

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 To be nearer to their stars, and also to see them better in a misty1 land,

為了離他們的星星近一點，也為了在這個多霧的地方看星星看得更清楚些，

the Babylonians, and the Sumerians before them, erected2 strange buildings with a wonderful name: ziggurats.

巴比倫人和早先的蘇美爾人，都已經(jīng)建造了奇特建筑物，它們有個優(yōu)美的名字：金字形神塔。

These are tall, broad towers made up of terraces piled one on top of another, with formidable ramps3 and steep, narrow staircases.

這些又高又寬的塔由幾個碩大的平臺壘成，有巨大的扶墻和高聳的陡梯。

Right at the very top was a temple dedicated4 to the moon, or one of the other planets.

塔頂處才是祭祀月亮或行星的神廟。

People came from far and wide to ask the priests to read their fortunes in the stars, and brought offerings of great value.

人們遠道而來，聽祭司按星星預言自己的命運，他們帶來昂貴的獻祭品。

These half-ruined ziggurats can still be seen today, poking5 out of the rubble6 mounds7,

這些梯級塔的斷垣殘壁至今還凸出于廢墟之上，

with inscriptions8 telling how this or that king built or restored them.

人們找到了國王們講述他們?nèi)绾谓ㄔ旎蛐迯退鼈兊你懳摹?/p>

The earliest kings in this region lived as long ago as 3,000 BC, and the last around 550 BC.

這個地區(qū)的頭幾個國王也許生活在公元前3000年，最后幾個國王大約生活在公元前550年。