Europe, an ancient continent. Within its borders lies unrivalled richness of both natural and human wonders.

At its northern limits, Europe reaches into the icy wastes of the high Arctic. To the south and west, its fringes have been shaped by the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. Far to the east, it is bounded by the primeval forests of Russia, rubbing shoulders with Asia. These boundaries enclose an area just half the size of North America, yet 713,000,000 people make Europe their home. It's hard to find a space unmarked by human occupation.

The Europe that we see today is the product of a long and complex history. Thousands of years of settlements, invasions, revolutions and inventions have allowed us to reorder nature's ancient patterns to suit our needs.

On a human time scale, the story of the changing face of Europe seems immense, but there is an even more extraordinary story to be told, one that stretches back half a billion years, and tells of the events that have really shaped the continent. 8,000 years ago, the skyscrapers of Frankfurt would have risen over endless primeval wildwood, stretching from Lisbon to Leningrad. Over the last 2 million years, Europe has seesawed between perishing cold and stifling heat. During the Ice Ages, Amsterdam and London would have been smothered by huge glaciers.

words and expressions

wastes:large areas of land that are not cultivated and have few living animals or plants荒地

fringe:the outer or less important part of an area, group or activity边缘,四周

rub shoulders with sth:和...接触
also: rub shoulders with sb.=rub elbows with sb.
to meet and spend time with:与某人有来往
eg:She claims that she rubs shoulders with royalty all the time.

tell of:讲述

seesaw:vi.to change repeatedly from one emotion, situation, etc. to another and then back again交替；起伏