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短篇科普小品：第十六篇
本文为原创纪实科普文稿
沿用《国家地理》严谨写实文风，内容独立撰写、无抄袭。
英文原文
Long before the rise of Greek and Roman civilizations,
Babylon stood as one of the most
dazzling urban centers of the ancient Near East.
Located on the fertile floodplain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers,
this legendary city was the heart of the Babylonian Empire.
When people talk about Babylon,
they often picture grand monuments:
the towering city walls, the famous Ishtar Gate,
and the mythical Hanging Gardens.
Yet behind these iconic landmarks existed a complete,
bustling urban world,
filled with ordinary citizens going about their daily lives.
The city was enclosed by massive double mud-brick walls,
pierced by several monumental gates dedicated to Babylonian gods.
Inside the walls, the city was laid out along wide main streets
and a tangled network of narrow alleys.
Major thoroughfares were paved with baked bricks,
and small side streets wound between tightly packed one- and two-story houses.
Most homes were built from sun-dried mud bricks, with flat roofs
that residents used for sleeping in the cool night air, storing goods,
and even growing small patches of vegetables and herbs.
Houses usually centered around an open courtyard,
which brought light and fresh air into the inner rooms.
Society in Babylon was strictly layered,
yet the city’s economy depended
on the labor and trade of common people.
Merchants operated shops along the main avenues,
trading grain, dates,
woolen textiles, bronze tools, pottery,
precious metals and imported timber.
Market stalls were run by artisans: metalworkers,
weavers, potters, jewelers and scribes.
Scribes held a special position in this world.
Since cuneiform writing was complex
and took years to master,
most ordinary people could not read or write.
They hired scribes to write contracts, personal letters,
legal records and business receipts
on soft clay tablets, which hardened into permanent documents.
Family life formed the foundation of Babylonian society.
Marriages were often arranged with formal legal contracts,
and family property rules were clearly written into Hammurabi’s famous code.
Men typically worked in trade, farming, craft workshops or state service.
Women managed households, raised children,
processed grain and textiles at home.
Some women also ran small businesses, owned land,
or worked as temple musicians and priestesses.
Children learned practical skills from their parents;
only a small privileged group received formal schooling to become scribes.
Religion wove itself into every part of daily existence.
The great temple complex of Marduk, the patron god of Babylon,
dominated the city center.
Ordinary citizens visited smaller neighborhood shrines
to leave offerings of food and incense, pray for health,
good harvests or safe journeys.
Babylonians believed omens,
dreams and celestial movements revealed the will of gods.
Priests and astrologers watched the moon,
planets and stars carefully,
recording observations on clay tablets to predict floods,
epidemics or political changes.
Food in Babylon relied heavily on crops grown in the river valley.
Barley was the staple grain,
used to make flat bread and a popular barley beer.
The diet also included dates, figs, onions, garlic,
lentils, cucumbers and sesame oil.
Wealthier families occasionally ate mutton,
beef or fish from the rivers.
Ordinary people drank beer as a standard daily beverage,
safer to consume than river water that often carried waterborne diseases.
Life in Babylon was not without danger.
Floods from the two great rivers
could breach dikes and destroy neighborhoods.
Infectious diseases spread quickly
within crowded mud-brick housing.
Legal disputes over land, debts and inheritance
were common, and citizens could bring their cases before judges
who ruled according to the laws of Hammurabi.
War was another constant threat.
The city was conquered and rebuilt many times,
and its inhabitants experienced occupation,
taxation and forced labor under foreign rulers.
Archaeologists have uncovered countless clay tablets,
house ruins and craft workshops
that reconstruct the routines of Babylon’s inhabitants.
These artifacts reveal that Babylon was
far more than a symbol of ancient splendor.
It was a living city, where merchants bargained,
children played, families argued,
workers labored and worshippers prayed.
The daily world of Babylon reminds us that great civilizations are built
not only by kings and monuments,
but also by millions of ordinary people.
Their household customs, business practices,
legal ideas and religious habits
shaped the culture of Mesopotamia
and left a lasting legacy for human history.
译文
早在希腊与罗马文明兴起之前，
巴比伦就已是古代近东地区最耀眼的城市中心之一。
这座传奇城市坐落于底格里斯河与幼发拉底河之间肥沃的洪泛平原，
是巴比伦帝国的核心。
提起巴比伦，人们脑海中浮现的往往是宏伟遗迹：
高耸的城墙、著名的伊什塔尔城门，还有传说中的空中花园。
但在这些标志性建筑背后，是一个完整而热闹的城市世界，
无数普通市民在这里度过日复一日的生活。
整座城市被厚重的双层泥砖城墙环绕，
城墙开设数座献给巴比伦诸神的纪念城门。
城内以宽阔主干道为骨架，搭配纵横交错的狭窄小巷。
主干道由烧制砖块铺成，
小巷蜿蜒穿行在紧密相连的一层与两层民居之间。
大多数房屋由晒干泥砖建造，屋顶平坦；
居民夜晚会在屋顶纳凉睡觉、存放物资，
甚至开辟小块土地种植蔬菜与香草。
房屋一般以露天庭院为中心，
为内部房间引入光线与新鲜空气。
巴比伦社会等级分明，但城市经济依靠普通人的劳作与贸易运转。
商人在沿街开设店铺，交易谷物、椰枣、
毛纺织品、青铜工具、陶器、贵金属以及进口木材。
市集摊位上各类工匠营生：金属匠、织工、陶匠、珠宝匠与书吏。
书吏在当时拥有特殊地位。楔形文字体系复杂，需要多年学习才能掌握，
绝大多数普通人无法读写。
他们聘请书吏在软泥板上撰写契约、私人信件、法律文书与商业收据，
泥板干燥硬化之后，就成为永久留存的档案。
家庭生活是巴比伦社会的根基。
婚姻大多通过正式法律契约缔结，
财产相关条款被清晰写入著名的汉谟拉比法典。
男性一般从事商贸、农耕、手工业或者公职。
女性操持家务、养育子女、在家加工谷物与织物。
部分女性也经营小生意、拥有土地，或是担任神庙乐师与女祭司。
孩子跟随父母学习实用技艺；
只有少数特权阶层能够接受正规教育，成长为书吏。
宗教渗透到日常生活的方方面面。
巴比伦守护神马尔杜克的宏大神庙建筑群占据城市中心。
普通市民前往社区内小型神龛，
供奉食物与熏香，祈求健康、丰收或是旅途平安。
巴比伦人相信预兆、梦境与天体运行揭示神的意志。
祭司与占星师持续观测月亮、行星与星辰，
在泥板上记录观测结果，以此预判洪水、瘟疫或是政局变动。
巴比伦人的主食来自两河流域种植的农作物。
大麦是核心粮食，用来制作面饼和广受欢迎的大麦啤酒。
日常饮食还有椰枣、无花果、洋葱、大蒜、小扁豆、黄瓜与芝麻油。
富裕家庭偶尔食用羊肉、牛肉或是两河捕捞的鱼类。
普通人日常饮用啤酒，相比容易携带致病菌的河水，
啤酒饮用起来更加安全。
巴比伦的生活并非安稳无忧。
两条大河的洪水可能冲垮堤坝，摧毁居民区。
拥挤的泥砖房屋内，传染病极易快速传播。
土地、债务、遗产相关的法律纠纷十分常见，
市民可以向法官提起诉讼，
法官依照汉谟拉比法典作出裁决。
战争也是长久的威胁。这座城市多次被攻占、重建，
居民曾经历外族统治、重税与徭役。
考古学家发掘出海量泥板、民居遗址与手工作坊，
还原巴比伦居民的生活日常。
这些文物证明，巴比伦绝不只是古代辉煌的符号。
它是一座鲜活的城市：商人讨价还价，
孩童嬉戏，家庭产生争执，工匠劳作，信徒祷告。
巴比伦的日常生活告诉我们：伟大文明的缔造者
不只有君王与宏伟建筑，还有千千万万普通人。
他们的家庭习俗、商业规则、法律理念与宗教传统，
塑造了美索不达米亚文化，为人类历史留下深远遗产。
一、核心生词
1. fertile
/ˈfɜːtaɪl/
肥沃的
形容词（adj.）
2. floodplain
/ˈflʌdpleɪn/
洪泛平原
名词（n.）
3. cuneiform
/kjuːˈniːɪfɔːm/
楔形文字
名词（n.）
4. scribe
/skraɪb/
书吏；抄写员
名词（n.）
5. artifact
/ˈɑːtɪfækt/
文物
名词（n.）
6. inheritance
/ɪnˈherɪtəns/
遗产；继承
名词（n.）
7. temple
/ˈtempl/
神庙
名词（n.）
8. omen
/ˈəʊmən/
预兆；征兆
名词（n.）
9. celestial
/səˈlestʃl/
天体的
形容词（adj.）
10. staple
/ˈsteɪpl/
主要的；主食
形容词（adj.）
11. epidemic
/ˌepɪˈdemɪk/
流行病
名词（n.）
12. Mesopotamia
/ˌmesəpəˈteɪmiə/
美索不达米亚
名词（n.）
二、重点短语
1. Tigris and Euphrates rivers
底格里斯河与幼发拉底河
2. mud-brick walls
泥砖城墙
3. Ishtar Gate
伊什塔尔城门
4. clay tablets
泥板文书
5. Hammurabi’s code
汉谟拉比法典
6. patron god
守护神
7. baked bricks
烧制砖
8. waterborne diseases
水传播疾病
9. craft workshops
手工作坊
10. legal contracts
法律契约
三、长难句拆解
句子：
When people talk about Babylon,
they often picture grand monuments:
the towering city walls, the famous Ishtar Gate,
and the mythical Hanging Gardens.
Yet behind these iconic landmarks existed a complete,
bustling urban world,
filled with ordinary citizens going about their daily lives.
时间状语从句：
When people talk about Babylon
从句译文：
当人们谈起巴比伦
主干1：
they often picture grand monuments
主干1译文：
脑海中常常浮现宏伟建筑
主干2（倒装句）：
a complete, bustling urban world existed behind these iconic landmarks
主干2译文：
在这些标志性建筑背后，存在一个完整热闹的城市世界
后置定语：
filled with ordinary citizens going about their daily lives
定语译文：
无数普通市民在这里度过日常（的城市）
解析：
采用先扬后抑的叙事结构，先讲大众熟知的名胜，
再转向普通人的城市生活。
第二句倒装句式增强文学感，
现在分词短语做后置定语，
句式结构高级，符合科普阅读风格。
句子：
Since cuneiform writing was complex and took years to master,
most ordinary people could not read or write.
They hired scribes to write contracts,
personal letters, legal records and business receipts on soft clay tablets,
which hardened into permanent documents.
原因状语从句：
Since cuneiform writing was complex and took years to master
从句译文：
因为楔形文字体系复杂，需要多年学习才能掌握
主干1：
most ordinary people could not read or write
主干1译文：
绝大多数普通人无法读写
主干2：
They hired scribes to write various texts on soft clay tablets
主干2译文：
他们聘请书吏在软泥板上书写各类文书
非限定定语从句：
which hardened into permanent documents
从句译文：
泥板干燥硬化之后，就成为永久留存的档案
解析：
since引导原因状语从句，which引导非限制性定语从句，
补充说明泥板特性。整段逻辑连贯，
解释书吏这一职业存在的底层原因，表述客观严谨。
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