我们的祖先是如何消暑的?

杨璐

In the hot summer， it is hard to live if we dont have air-conditioning2. Now， most families have air-conditioning， but air-conditioning has only been used in our times. What did our ancestors do to drive the heat3 away in the hot summer？ Was their life just bad all summer long？

在炎热的夏天，如果我们没有空调，日子会很难过。现在很多家庭都有空调，但是只有在我们这个时代才有空调用。那我们的祖先在炎热的夏天是怎么赶走酷热的呢？整个夏天他们的生活都很糟糕吗？

They could stay cool in many different ways！Here are some things our ancestors did to keep the heat away.

他们可以通过各种不同的方式消暑！下面是我们的祖先为赶走炎热而做的一些事情。

1. They lived underground4.

1. 他们住在地下。

Do you know where our ancestors houses were？ Yes， they lived in caves5 which were underground. Building underground caves kept the house cool both in the summer and winter. This is one of the ancestors oldest way for driving away the heat. Many people in early times built underground homes as well. In some places in the world， cities were built underground.

你知道我们祖先的房子建在哪里吗？是的，他们住在地下的洞穴里。建造的地下洞穴在冬夏都很凉爽。这是祖先们消除酷暑最古老的方法之一。许多早期的人类也在地下建造房屋。在世界上的有些地方，整个城市都建在地下。

2. They used thick6 stones7 to build homes.

2. 他们用厚石头造房子。

Thick stones are harder to heat， so they are able to keep cool air in home. Many homes were built out of thick stones in the 1700s and 1800s to combat8 the heat， as these thick stones were known to be cool.

厚石头更难加热，所以它们能保持屋子里面的空气凉爽。在18世纪和19世纪，许多房屋都是用厚石头来建造以抵御炎热，因为这些厚石头以凉快著称。

3. They planted9 trees around the house.

3. 他们在房屋周围种树。

When we walk outside in summer， we will walk on the road with trees on both sides10. Our ancestors also knew that. Planting trees was the easiest way to combat the summer heat. All our ancestors had to do was to plant big trees around the home to stop the summer sun before it could warm the home. These trees also cooled down the wind before they entered11 the houses.

當我们在夏天外出行走时，会选择两边都有树的那条路。我们的祖先也知道这一点，种树是抵御夏季炎热最简单的方法。我们的祖先所要做的就是在房子周围种上大树，好阻止太阳晒热房子。这些树还能在风进入房屋前降低其温度。

4. They built homes with high ceilings12.

4. 他们建造的房子天花板很高。

When we enter a building with a very high ceiling in the summer， we will feel cool. Because of that， old people liked building homes and buildings with high ceilings. In the summer time， high ceilings can keep the heat staying in the high air， so that the warm air would stay away from the people.

夏天，当我们进入一个屋顶很高的建筑时，会感到凉爽。正因为如此，以前的人们喜欢建造有高天花板的房子和建筑物。在夏季，高高的天花板可以让热量停留在高处，让热空气远离人们。

5. They slept on the porch13.

5. 他们睡在门廊上。

Old people in hot places liked building houses with front porch. On hot nights， the porch would be a great place to rest14 in the evening and sleep. This also was a way of making friends in their neighborhoods. They could just rest on their porches or visit your neighborhoods and relax there.

以前住在炎热地区的人们喜欢有前廊的房子。在炎热的夜晚，这里是傍晚休息和睡觉的好地方。这也成为了他们跟邻居交朋友的一种方式。他们可以在前廊上休息，或者去邻居的门廊那儿放松一下。

Our ancestors were quite smart in keeping themselves cool in the summer when there wasnt air-conditioning. Feeling hot in the summer time is something we dont have to experience15. Because of the use of heating and cooling services16， we can keep our home at any temperature17 we want all year around.

我们的祖先很聪明，能在没有空调的夏天里保持凉爽。而我们在夏季根本不需要经历这种酷热。由于使用冷暖设备的服务，我们可以让家里全年保持我们想要的任何温度。

（英语原文摘自：randallsheating.com）

【Notes】

1. ancestor  n. 祖先

2. air-conditioning  n. 空调

3. heat  n. 高温

4. underground  adv. 在地下 adj. 位于地下的

5. cave  n. 山洞，洞穴

6. thick  adj. 厚的

7. stone  n. 石頭

8. combat  v. 与……战斗

9. plant  v. 种植

10. side  n. 侧面

11. enter  v. 进入

12. ceiling  n. 天花板

13. porch  n. 门廊

14. rest  n. 休息，睡眠v. 休息

15. experience  v. 经历

16. service  n. 服务

17. temperature  n. 温度