紅葉兔子窩

    The 3000-year span（全長、跨度）of ancient Egyptian history is traditionally divided into thirty-one royal dynasties, from the first, said to have been founded by Menes, the king who originally united（統一）Upper and Lower Egypt, to the last, established by Alexander the Great, who conquered（征服）Egypt in 332 B.C.E. Ptolemy, one of Alexander’s generals（將領）, founded the Ptolemaic Dynasty, whose last ruler was Cleopatra. In 30 B.C.E., the Romans defeated Egypt, effectively ending the independent existence of a civilization that had lasted three millennia（千年期）.

　　總長3000年的古埃及歷史習慣上被分為三十一個王朝，第一個王朝據說是由最先統一上、下埃及的國王Menes所建立，最後一個則是由在西元前332年征服埃及的亞歷山大帝所建立的王朝。亞歷山大帝旗下一名為托勒密的將領建立了托勒密王朝，埃及豔后克麗歐佩卓即是其最後一位統治者。西元前30年，羅馬擊敗了埃及，實實結束這一個獨立存在持續三千年的文明。

    The unification of Upper and Lower Egypt was vital（極其重要的）, for it meant the entire river valley could benefit from an unimpeded（暢通無阻的）distribution（分配）of resources. Three times in its history, Egypt experienced a century or more of political and social disintegration（分裂）, known as Intermediate（中間的）Periods. During these eras, rival（競爭的）dynasties often set up separate（個別的）power bases in Upper and Lower Egypt until a strong leader reunified the land.

　　上、下的統一極為重要，原因在於其表示整個流域擁有順暢分配物資的利處。在歷史中，埃及經歷三次近一世紀或更久的政治、社會分裂，聞名者如中王國時期，在這期間，爭鬥的眾王朝經常於上、下埃及設立個別的政權，直到一個強大的領導者再次統一這片土地。