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In due time he learned that he could use this guttural noise to warn his fellow beings whenever danger threatened and he gave certain little shrieks which came to mean "there is a tiger!" or "here come five elephants."
日子长了，他突然意识到，可以用这种喉部发出的声音去提醒同伴。当某种危险悄然接近的时候，他便发出具有特定含义的尖叫，比如“那儿有一只老虎”或者“这边来了5头大象”。
Then the others grunted something back at him and their growl meant, "I see them," or "let us run away and hide."
同伴听见他的警告，也向他回吼几声，表示“我看见它们了”或者“我们快跑开藏起来吧”。
And this was probably the origin of all language.
这大概就是所有语言的起源。
But, as I have said before, of these beginnings we know so very little.
可正如我前面讲过的，我们对这些起源知道的非常之少。
Early man had no tools and he built himself no houses.
早期的人类不会制造工具，不会修建房屋。
He lived and died and left no trace of his existence except a few collar-bones and a few pieces of his skull.
他活着，死去，除了留下几根锁骨与头骨的碎片，再没有其它线索可以追寻他们生存的踪迹。
These tell us that many thousands of years ago the world was inhabited by certain mammals who were quite different from all the other animals
我们只知道在几百万年前，地球上曾生活着某种哺乳动物，他们与其它所有的动物都截然不同。
who had probably developed from another unknown ape-like animal which had learned to walk on its hind-legs and use its fore-paws as hands
他们可能是由一种像猪的动物进化而来的。他们学会了用下肢直立行走，把前爪当手来使用。
and who were most probably connected with the creatures who happen to be our own immediate ancestors.
他们与恰巧是我们直接的祖先的动物可能具有某种联系。
It is little enough we know and the rest is darkness.
总之，我们对人类祖先知道的就这些，其它的秘密仍然匿于沉沉黑暗之中。
