A SONG OF THE “CAVE PEOPLE”

 A SONG OF THE “CAVE PEOPLE”

 

By Gerald J. Lively

Hear now a tale—a tale of human genesis,

A tale of first endeavor,

The dawn-flush in the night.

It’s a long, long way to go, to those days of long ago,

But your baby feet have trod it, oh ye children of the light.

Dark were our early days—night and cold encumbered¹ us,

Driving us to trees and caves

Who had no eyes to fight.

Yet it still seems very near, does that dreary² age of fear,

When we trembled in our shelters at the noises of the night.

Prey³ to all the stronger beasts—mock of half the lesser⁴ ones;

Little, less, and lower ones

Marvelled⁵ at our shame.

Till from out our utter need came the thought, and came the deed,

And we won our way to freedom with the all-compelling flame.

Noises we misunderstood—dreams that came to trouble us;

Shades that shrank and lengthened⁶

And danced about our way.

Our world was full of hosts of goblins, gnomes⁷, and ghosts—

Are ye still afraid of goblins, oh ye children of the day?

10Stark—but for flint and bone—pitted we our wit against

The sabre-tooth and cave-bear

And beasts we slew⁸ for food;

But the fiercest fight began when we slew our brotherman:

Oh children of the daylight, have ye lost the taste for blood?

Dim is the tale we tell: dust of Time has muffled⁹ it;

Far apart the happenings

That made ye lords of earth.

By the ages in between times ye know and pleistocene

Have pity on our childish ways and pride in all our worth.

 

1 encumbered   

v.妨碍，阻碍，拖累( encumber的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The police operation was encumbered by crowds of reporters. 警方的行动被成群的记者所妨碍。
• The narrow quay was encumbered by hundreds of carts. 狭窄的码头被数百辆手推车堵得水泄不通。 来自辞典例句

2 dreary   

adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的

参考例句：

• They live such dreary lives.他们的生活如此乏味。
• She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。

3 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

4 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

5 marvelled   

v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I marvelled that he suddenly left college. 我对他突然离开大学感到惊奇。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I marvelled at your boldness. 我对你的大胆感到惊奇。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 lengthened   

（时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The afternoon shadows lengthened. 下午影子渐渐变长了。
• He wanted to have his coat lengthened a bit. 他要把上衣放长一些。

7 gnomes   

n.矮子( gnome的名词复数 )；侏儒；（尤指金融市场上搞投机的）银行家；守护神

参考例句：

• I have a wonderful recipe: bring two gnomes, two eggs. 我有一个绝妙的配方：准备两个侏儒，两个鸡蛋。 来自互联网
• Illusions cast by gnomes from a small village have started becoming real. 53侏儒对一个小村庄施放的幻术开始变为真实。 来自互联网

8 slew   

v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多

参考例句：

• He slewed the car against the side of the building.他的车滑到了大楼的一侧，抵住了。
• They dealt with a slew of other issues.他们处理了大量的其他问题。

9 muffled   

adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己）

参考例句：

• muffled voices from the next room 从隔壁房间里传来的沉闷声音
• There was a muffled explosion somewhere on their right. 在他们的右面什么地方有一声沉闷的爆炸声。 来自《简明英汉词典》