質問: 日本語訳を! 1-(2) お願いします。 without the nile you wouldn't have much of a kingdom to rule. strutting might seem a bit silly. egypt would be home to nothing more than a few wandering bands of nomads passing through the red land, dusty and dragging from the relentless heat, in search of the rare oasis. the nile, however, the glorious nile, brought a narrow band of life to egypt. it carried rich, black dirt and spread it over the floodplains, creating fields for the egyptians to plant their seeds. the egyptians called it khemet―the black land. the change from red land to black land was so abrupt you could straddle the border, standing with one foot in red earth and the other in black. the ancient egyptians knew tha without the great river they would have no villages, no fields of wheat, and no cattle. to them the water was sacred. they believed it flowed from paradise and could heal the sick. they wrote songs to the nike―praising its life-giving force. the hymn to the nile began "hail to thee o, nile!" and praised the great river for coming "to give life to egypt." it may seem as if the ancients got carried away with their praise when they sang, "if you cease your toil and your work, then all that exists is in anguish." but if the nile did "cease its toil," the people would starve. maybe they weren't so carried away after all.
回答: without the nile you wouldn't have much of a kingdom to rule. ナイルがなかったら、支配できる王国はそんなに大きくないでしょう。 strutting might seem a bit silly. そうなれば、(王だからといって)ふんぞり返って歩くのは少し馬鹿に見えるかもしれません。 egypt would be home to nothing more than a few wandering bands of nomads passing through the red land, dusty and dragging from the relentless heat, in search of the rare oasis. (ナイルがなかったら)エジプトは、赤い大地を通過する少数の遊牧民の群のための土地にすぎないでしょう。彼らはほこりまみれとなり、情け容赦のない炎熱から逃れようと、めったに見つからないオアシスを求めて、足を引きずりながら歩いていることでしょう。 the nile, however, the glorious nile, brought a narrow band of life to egypt. しかし、ナイル、神々の賜のナイルは、エジプトに、生命の息づく細長く伸びる土地を与えたのです。 it carried rich, black dirt and spread it over the floodplains, creating fields for the egyptians to plant their seeds. ナイルは、豊かな黒い土を運び、氾濫した跡地全面にそれを広げました。それによって、エジプト人たちが種を蒔くことのできる畑地が生まれたのです。 the egyptians called it khemet―the black land. エジプト人はこうした土地をケメット(黒い土地)と呼びました。 the change from red land to black land was so abrupt you could straddle the border, standing with one foot in red earth and the other in black. 赤い土地と黒い土地は突然に変わっています。ですから、あなたは一方の足を赤い土地に、もう一方の足を黒い土地に置いて、その境界にまたがるように立つことができました。 the ancient egyptians knew that without the great river they would have no villages, no fields of wheat, and no cattle. 古代エジプト人たちは、この大いなる河がなければ、村も、小麦畑も、牛たちも存在できないことを知っていました。 to them the water was sacred. 彼らにとってこの河は神聖なものでした。 they believed it flowed from paradise and could heal the sick. they wrote songs to the nile―praising its life-giving force. 彼らは、ナイルはこの世の楽園から流れ来ており、その水は病人を癒すことができると信じていました。彼らはナイルに歌を捧げ、その生命を与えてくれる力を讃えました。 the hymn to the nile began "hail to thee o, nile!" and praised the great river for coming "to give life to egypt." ナイル讃歌は「ナイルよ、汝に栄あれ!」と始まり、そして「エジプトに命を与えてくれる」ために流れて来てくれたことを讃えます。 it may seem as if the ancients got carried away with their praise when they sang, "if you cease your toil and your work, then all that exists is in anguish." 歌の中で「汝がその苦役と仕事をやめれば、生きとし生けるものは苦しみに沈む」と歌われるのを聞くと、古代エジプト人たちは、称賛のトランス状態に陥っているかのように思われるかもしれません。 but if the nile did "cease its toil," the people would starve. maybe they weren't so carried away after all. しかしもし本当にナイルが「その苦役をやめれば」、人々は飢えてしまうでしょう。多分古代エジプト人たちは、称賛のトランス状態になどまったく陥ってはいなかったのです。