房龍地理

內(nèi)容概要

《房龍地理》（Van Loon's Gecography）是一部以通俗的手法描寫以人的衍動與發(fā)展為中心的世界地理巨著，它是由付蘭裔美國著名歷史學(xué)家、作家房龍（1882－〕1944）編著而成。在簡要介紹基本地理知識之后，作者按國別或特征地理地區(qū)分別講述了其地理環(huán)境，側(cè)重于分析地理對國家或地區(qū)的歷史演變、國家或地區(qū)性格的形成、民族特性等影響，因此這是一本關(guān)于“人的”地理書。丹麥人喜歡靜謐書齋，而西班牙人則熱衷于廣闊的天地；日本近代瘋狂地向外擴(kuò)張，而國土狹小的瑞士卻保持中立，等等，難道國家性格真的與國家地理有關(guān)?在本書中似乎能夠找到答案。    這本中文導(dǎo)讀英文版的經(jīng)典讀本，無論作為通俗的世界地理讀本，還是作為語言學(xué)習(xí)的課外讀物，對當(dāng)代中國的讀者都將產(chǎn)生重要的影響。為了使讀者能夠了解每篇故事的概況，進(jìn)而提高閱讀速度和閱讀水平，在每篇英文故事的開始部分增加了中文導(dǎo)讀。

書籍目錄

1．我們生活的世界還生活著其他人/And These Are the People Who Live in the World We Live in	12．“地理”一詞的定義以及我將在本書中如何使用它/A Definition of the Word Geography and How I Shall Apply It in the Present Volume	93．我們的行星：它的習(xí)性、風(fēng)俗以及舉止/Our Planet: Its Habits, Customs and Manners	124．地圖。非常簡潔的一章但卻描述一個龐大而吸引人的話題。同時還介紹人們通過緩慢地學(xué)習(xí)如何在這個行星上找到路線的幾點(diǎn)觀察/ Maps. A very Brief Chapter upon a very Big and Fascinating Subject. Together with a Few Observations on the Way People Slowly Learned How to Find Their Way on This Planet of Ours	355．季節(jié)以及它們是怎樣變化的/The Seasons and How They happen	526．想想這個星球上的小塊旱地，為什么其中一些被稱為洲，而另外一些卻不是/ Concerning the Little Spots of Dry Land on This Planet and Why Some of Them are Called Continents While Others are not	567．關(guān)于歐洲的發(fā)現(xiàn)以及生活在那里的人們/ Of the Discovery of Europe and the Sort of People Who Live in That Part of the World	648．希臘，東地中海的巖石岬角，連接古老亞洲和新興歐洲的橋梁/ Greece, the Rocky Promontory of the Eastern Mediterranean Which Acted as the Connecting Link Between the Old Asia and the New Europe	689．意大利，它的地理情況使它一旦時機(jī)成熟就能充當(dāng)海上霸主或陸上霸主的角色/ Italy, the Country Which due to Its Geographical Situation Could Play the Role of a Sea-Power or a Land-Power, as the Occasion Demanded	8010．西班牙，非洲和歐洲碰撞處/Spain, Where Africa and Europe Clashed	9911．法國，擁有想要的一切的國家/ France, the Country That Has Everything It Wants	11312．比利時，紙片締造的國家，除內(nèi)部和諧，擁有一切/Belgium, A Country Created by Scraps of Paper and Rich in Everything except Internal Harmony	12813．盧森堡，歷史奇跡/Luxemburg, the Historical Curiosity	13314．瑞士，高山上的國家，擁有優(yōu)秀的學(xué)校和團(tuán)結(jié)的國民——講四種不同的語言/ Switzerland, the Country of High Mountains, Excellent Schools and a Unified People Who Speak Four Different Languages	13515．德國，建立得太晚的國家/Germany, the Nation That was Founded too Late	14316．奧地利，一個不受人重視的國家，除非它不再存?/Austria, the Country That Nobody Appreciated Until It noLonger Existed	15417．丹麥，某些方面小國勝過大國的典范/Denmark, An Object Lesson in Certain Advantages of Small Countries over Large Ones	15918．冰島，北冰洋中有趣的政治實(shí)驗(yàn)室/Iceland, An Interesting Political Laboratory in the Arctic Ocean	16419．斯堪的納維亞半島，瑞典王國與挪威王國的領(lǐng)地/The Scandinavian Peninsula, The Territory Occupied by the Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway	16820．荷蘭，北海岸堤上的沼澤，它卻變成了一個帝國/The Netherlands, the Swamp On the Banks of the North Sea That Became An Empire	17921．大不列顛，荷蘭海岸線外的一個島嶼，為全人類1/4的人口謀幸福/ Great Britain, An Island off the Dutch Coast Which Is Responsible For the Happiness of Fully One-Quarter of the Human Race 	18522．俄羅斯，其地理位置讓人難以斷定它是歐洲的一部分還是亞洲的一部分/ Russia, the Country Which Was Prevented By Its Geographical Location From Ever Finding Out Whether It Was Part of Europe Or of Asia	20723．波蘭，遭受作為走廊之痛的國家，而現(xiàn)在卻擁有自己的走廊/Poland, the Country That Had always suffered from Being a Corridor and Therefore now Has a Corridor of Its Own	22624．捷克斯洛伐克，《凡爾賽和約》的產(chǎn)物/Czechoslovakia, a Product of the Treaty of Versailles	23025．南斯拉夫，《凡爾賽和約》的另一個產(chǎn)物/Yugoslavia, Another Product of the Treaty of Versailles	23426．保加利亞，巴爾干國家中最健全者，因愛好收集蝴蝶的國王在世界?戰(zhàn)中押錯了寶而自食其果/ Bulgaria, the Soundest of All Balkan Countries, Whose Butterfly-Collecting King Bet on the Wrong Horse during the Great War and Suffered the Consequences	23827．羅馬尼亞，擁有石油和皇室的國家/Romania, a Country Which Has Oil and a Royal Family	24328．匈牙利，或它的那些遺物/Hungary, or What Remains of It	24629．芬蘭，另一個通過智慧和勤奮戰(zhàn)勝惡劣自然環(huán)境的例子/Finland, Another Example of What Hard Work and Intelligence can Achieve amid Hostile Natural Surroundings	25030．亞洲的發(fā)現(xiàn)/The Discovery of Asia	25331．對于世界其他地方而言，亞洲意味著什么/What Asia has Meant to the Rest of the World	25832．中亞高地/The Central Asiatic Highlands	26133．亞洲西部大高原/The Great Western Plateau of Asia	27034．阿拉伯，何時是亞洲的一部分，何時又不是/Arabia—or When is a Part of Asia not a Part of Asia	28535．印度，自然和人類同時在從事大規(guī)模生產(chǎn)的地方/　　India, Where Nature and Man are Engaged in Mass-Production	29036．占據(jù)另一個南亞大半島的緬甸、泰國、安南以及馬六甲/Burma, Siam, Anam and Malacca, Which Occupy the Other Great Southern Peninsula of Asia	30237．中國，東亞大半島/The Republic of China, the Great Peninsula of Eastern Asia	30838．朝鮮、蒙古/Korea, Mongolia	32539．日本帝國/The Japanese Empire	32940．菲律賓，墨西哥的古老轄地/The Philippines, an old Administrative Part of Mexico	34241．荷屬東印度，尾大不掉/The Dutch East Indies, the Tail That Wags the Dog	34642．澳大利亞，大自然的養(yǎng)子/Australia, the Step-Child of Nature	35343. 新西蘭/New Zealand	36344. 太平洋上的島嶼，在那里，人們既不辛勤工作，也不會胡扯，卻同我們一樣地生活著/ The Islands of the Pacific Where People Neither Toiled Nor Spun but Lived Just the Same	36745. 非洲，矛盾與對立的大陸/Africa, the Continent of Contradictions and Contrasts	37046. 美洲，幸運(yùn)之洲/America, the Most Fortunate of All	40847. 新世界/A New World	437

章節(jié)摘錄

　　1．我們生活的世界還生活著其他人　　And These Are the People Who　　Live in the World We Live in　　　　假設(shè)每個人都高6英尺（譯者注：1英尺=0.3048米），寬1.5英尺，厚1英尺，就可以將全人類裝在邊長為半英里那么大的盒子里。把盒子推入亞利桑那州的大峽谷，人類將被埋葬在那里。遠(yuǎn)方的天文學(xué)家不會注意到這些，一個世紀(jì)后，只有那里周圍的山和植物見證著人類被埋葬的所在地?！　∥覀冎徊贿^是一小撮脆弱而沒有什么防范能力的哺乳動物。從人類誕生那天起，我們便被大群的生物團(tuán)團(tuán)包圍，它們天生有比我們更強(qiáng)壯的生理?xiàng)l件?！　‘?dāng)我們笨拙地用兩腿，而不像厚皮動物那樣借助樹干行走時，是這些陸地和水域的動物而不是我們主宰著世界。而現(xiàn)在，它們中的絕大數(shù)在自然歷史博物館中，或是被人類圈養(yǎng)，大部分則回到叢林，不再稱霸世界。　　人類憑借自己理性的頭腦成為世界的統(tǒng)治者，而人類中理性和獨(dú)立思考能力更強(qiáng)的一小部分人成為人類的統(tǒng)治者?！　〉厍虮痪哂胁煌橇退伎寄芰Φ娜祟悇澐郑祟惤柚约喊l(fā)達(dá)的大腦為自己奪取財富，但是底線是不能超越自然的法則，她要求我們研究并順從她的命令。過猶不及。　　人類對于“創(chuàng)造大法則”，即同類之間應(yīng)該和平友愛的公然違背會使人類陷入滅絕的困地。其他的物種正在高度警惕，畢竟被它們統(tǒng)治總是比裝在盒子里的人類充斥著戰(zhàn)艦和武器的世界有更多優(yōu)點(diǎn)。　　本書希望能給讀者以啟示，指出問題所在。我們都有責(zé)任維護(hù)我們的世界的安寧?！　 sounds incredible, but nevertheless it is true. If everybody in this world of ours were six feet tall and a foot and a half wide and a foot thick (and that is making people a little bigger than they usually are), then the whole of the human race (and according to the latest available statistics there are now nearly 2,000,000,000 descendants of the original Homo Sapiens and his wife) could be packed into a box measuring half a mile in each direction. That, as I just said, sounds incredible, but if you don’t believe me, figure it out for yourself and you will find it to be correct.　　If we transported that box to the Grand Canyon of Arizona and balanced it neatly on the low stone wall that keeps people from breaking their necks when stunned by the incredible beauty of that silent witness of the forces of Eternity, and then called little Noodle, the dachshund, and told him (the tiny beast is very intelligent and loves to oblige) to give the unwieldy contraption a slight push with his soft brown nose, there would be a moment of crunching and ripping as the wooden planks loosened stones and shrubs and trees on their downward path, and then a low and even softer bumpity-bumpity-bump and a sudden splash when the outer edges struck the banks of the Colorado River.　　Then silence and oblivion!　　The astronomers on distant and nearby planets would have noticed nothing out of the ordinary.　　A century from now, a little mound, densely covered with vegetable matter, would perhaps indicate where humanity lay buried.　　And that would be all.　　I can well imagine that some of my readers will not quite like this story and will feel rather uncomfortable when they see their own proud race reduced to such proportions of sublime insignificance.　　There is however a different angle to the problem——an angle which makes the very smallness of our numbers and the helplessness of our puny little bodies a matter of profound and sincere pride.　　Here we are, a mere handful of weak and defenceless mammals. Ever since the dawn of the first day we have been surrounded on all sides by hordes and swarms of creatures infinitely better prepared for the struggle of existence than we are ourselves. Some of them were a hundred feet long and weighed as much as a small locomotive while others had teeth as sharp as the blade of a circular saw. Many varieties went about their daily affairs clad in the armor of a medieval knight. Others were invisible to the human eye but they multiplied at such a terrific rate that they would have owned the entire earth in less than a year’s time if it had not been for certain enemies who were able to destroy them almost as fast as they were born. Whereas man could only exist under the most favorable circumstances and was forced to look for a habitat among the few small pieces of dry land situated between the high mountains and the deep sea, these fellow-passengers of ours considered no summit too high and found no sea too deep for their ambitions. They were apparently made of the stuff that could survive regardless of its natural surroundings.　　When we learn on eminent authority that certain varieties of insects are able to disport themselves merrily in petroleum (a substance we would hardly fancy as the main part of our daily diet) and that others manage to live through such changes in temperature as would kill all of us within a very few minutes; when we discover to our gruesome dismay that those little brown beetles, who seem so fond of literature that they are forever racing around in our bookcases, continue the even tenor of their restless days minus two or three or four legs, while we ourselves are disabled by a mere pin-prick on one of our toes, then we sometimes begin to realize against what sort of competitors we have been forced to hold our own, ever since we made our first appearance upon this whirling bit of rock, lost somewhere in the darkest outskirts of an indifferent universe.　　What a side splitting joke we must have been to our pachydermous contemporaries who stood by and watched this pinkish sport of nature indulge in its first clumsy efforts to walk on its hind legs without the help of a convenient tree-trunk or cane!　　But what has become of those proud and exclusive owners of almost 200,000,000 square miles of land and water (not to mention the unfathomable oceans of air) who ruled so sublime by that right of eminent domain which was based upon brute force and sly cunning?　　The greater part of them has disappeared from view except where as “Exhibit A” or “B” we have kindly given them a little parking space in one of our museums devoted to natural history. Others, in order to remain among those present, were forced to go into domestic service and today in exchange for a mere livelihood they favor us with their hides and their eggs and their milk and the beef that grows upon their flanks, or drag such loads as we consider a little too heavy for our own lazy efforts. Many more have betaken themselves to out-of-the-way places where we permit them to browse and graze and perpetuate their species because, thus far, we have not thought it worth our while to remove them from the scene and claim their territory for ourselves.　　In short, during only a couple of thousands of centuries (a mere second from the point of view of eternity), the human race has made itself the undisputed ruler of every bit of land and at present it bids fair to add both air and sea as part of its domains. And all that, if you please, has been accomplished by a few hundred million creatures who enjoyed not one single advantage over their enemies except the divine gift of Reason.　　Even there I am exaggerating. The gift of Reason in its more sublime form and the ability to think for one’s self is restricted to a mere handful of men and women. They therefore become the masters who lead. The others, no matter how much they may resent the fact, can only follow. The result is a strange and halting procession, for no matter how hard people may try, there are ten thousand stragglers for every true pioneer.　　Whither the route of march will eventually lead us, that we do not know. But in the light of what has been achieved during the last four thousand years, there is no limit to the total sum of our potential achievements——unless we are tempted away from the path of normal development by our strange inherent cruelty which makes us treat other members of our own species as we would never have dared to treat a cow or a dog or even a tree.　　The earth and the fullness thereof has been placed at the disposal of Man. Where it has not been placed at his disposal, he has taken possession by right of his superior brain and by the strength of his foresight and his shot-guns.　　This home of ours is a good home. It grows food enough for all of us. It has abundant quarries and clay beds and forests from which all of us can be provided with more than ample shelter. The patient sheep of our pastures and the waving flax fields with their myriads of blue flowers, not to forget the industrious little silk-worm of China’s mulberry trees——they all contribute to shelter our bodies against the cold of winter and protect them against the scorching heat of summer. This home of ours is a good home. It produces all these benefits in so abundant measure that every man, woman and child could have his or her share with a little extra supply thrown in for the inevitable days of rest.　　But Nature has her own code of laws. They are just, these laws, but they are inexorable and there is no court of appeal.　　Nature will give unto us and she will give without stint, but in return she demands that we study her precepts and abide by her dictates.　　A hundred cows in a meadow meant for only fifty spells disaster——a bit of wisdom with which every farmer is thoroughly familiar. A million people gathered in one spot where there should be only a hundred thousand causes congestion, poverty and unnecessary suffering, a fact which apparently has been overlooked by those who are supposed to guide our destinies.　　That, however, is not the most serious of our manifold errors. There is another way in which we offend our generous foster-mother. Man in the only living organism that is hostile to its own kind. Dog does not eat dog——tiger does not eat tiger——yea, even the loathsome hyena lives at peace with the members of his own species. But Man hates Man, Man kills Man, and in the world of today the prime concern of every nation is to prepare itself for the coming slaughter of some more of its neighbors.

編輯推薦

　　房龍始終站在全人類的高度在寫作，他摒棄了深奧理論，卻擁有自己獨(dú)立的思想和體系。他的論述主要是圍繞人類生存與發(fā)展等本質(zhì)的問題，貫穿其中的精神是科學(xué)、寬容和進(jìn)步，他的目標(biāo)是向人類的無知與偏執(zhí)挑戰(zhàn)，他采取的方式是普及知識和真理，使它們成為人所皆知的常識。

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