紅葉兔子窩

    As Mesopotamian civilization arose in the valley（流域） of the Tigris（底格里斯河）and Euphrates（幼發拉底河）, another great civilization emerged in Egypt, centered on the Nile River. From its sources in Lake Victoria and the Ethiopian highlands, the Nile flows north some 4000 miles to the Mediterranean（地中海）. Ancient Egypt included the 750-mile stretch of smooth, navigable（可航行的） river from Aswan to the sea. South of Aswan the river’s course（方向） is interrupted by several cataracts-rocky areas of rapids（急流） and whirlpools（漩渦）.

　　當美索不達米亞文明出現於底格里斯河和幼發拉底河流域時，位於尼羅河中心的埃及出現了另一個偉大文明。尼羅河源於維多利亞和衣索匹亞高地，北流至地中海，約4000公里。古埃及包含從Aswan（埃及城市名）延伸至海這750公里平順、可航行的河段，而尼羅河往Aswan南方的流向則被許多急流、漩渦等瀑布岩石區阻斷。

    The Egyptians recognized two sets of geographical divisions in their country. Upper（southern）Egypt consisted of the narrow valley of the Nile. Lower（northern）Egypt referred to the broad triangular（三角形的） area, named by the Greeks after their letter “delta”, formed by the Nile as it branches（分支）out to empty（流入）into the Mediterranean. They also made a distinction（區別）between what they termed the “black land”, the dark fertile（肥沃的） fields along the Nile, and the “red land”, the desert cliffs（峭壁） and plateaus（高原） bordering（毗鄰）the valley.

　　埃及人是識別其國家為兩個地理部分，上埃及位於尼羅河窄道，下埃及則歸於寬闊的三角區域，用自希臘的「三角洲」此字，由流出地中海的尼羅河分支所形成。他們也將兩者區別稱為「黑土」與「紅土」，前者為沿著尼羅河的肥沃土地，後者則是毗鄰於流域的沙漠峭壁和高原。