一、解说
1. Egypt, wrote the Greek historian Hecataeus, is the gift of the Nile. 希腊历史学家赫卡泰奥斯写道：埃及是尼罗河送来的礼物。
    原句中的“wrote the Greek historian Hecataeus”是个插入语，翻译时应根据汉语的表达习惯将其置于句首。
    译文中的“送来”一词是译者添加的，这样译文更显生动。

2. Egypt's very soil was born in the Nile's annual flood; with the flood came the life-giving mud that made Egypt the granary of the ancient world. 就连埃及的土地也是尼罗河每年泛滥而带来的。河水泛滥带来了泥沙，万物得以生长，埃及就这样成了古代世界的粮仓。
   “very”在原文中是个形容词，不是副词，用以加强名词的语气。在翻译时应体现这种强调的语气，故译作“就连埃及的土地也是……”
   例：(1) He knows our very thoughts. 他了解我们内心深处的想法。
      (2) The very idea of going abroad delighted him. 他想到出国一事就很欢喜。
      (3) The very idea. 真是个馊主意！
    “with the flood came the life-giving mud”是个倒装句，介词短语前置于句首，谓语动词“came”放在主语“the life-giving mud”的前面，“that”引导的从句作定语修辞主语；主语中的“life-giving”是现在分词作定语修辞“mud”，整个句子在翻译时采用了意译的方法，因为无法和原句语序保持一致。

3. And as rain fell in the Ethiopian highlands and the snows melted in the Mountains of the Moon, the river was everlastingly renewed. 埃塞俄比亚高原上的雨水，和月亮山上融化的积雪，为尼罗河提供了无穷无尽的水源。
    “renew”用于被动语态时可喻为：put new life and vigour into (sb/sth) 赋予（某人/某事物）新的生命和活力。水源是一条河流的生命，故译作“为……提供了水源”。

4. In the gathering dusk Ahmed and his five companions had invited me to join them. 天色渐渐暗了下来，阿赫迈德和五个一起干活的人早就约我去和他们玩儿。
    “gathering”是现在分词，动词的意思是：increase (sth) 增加（某事物）。
    例：(1) The darkness is gathering. 夜色渐浓。
        (2) in the gathering gloom of a winder's afternoon 在冬天的一个下午，天色越来越暗
        (3) The car gathered speed. 汽车速度逐渐加快了。
    “companions”意为：person who shares in the work, pleasure, misfortunes, etc of another 于另一人共事、同甘共苦等的人。此处译作“一起干活的人”。
    “join them”意为：come into the company of them与他们在一起。

5. Their galabias and turbans stained by the sweat and dirt of a long day's work, they sat in front of a wayside shop, enjoying three of the best things in life along the Nile - tea, conversation, and the water pipe. 他们干了一天的活，袍子和头巾上又是汗，又是土。这时候，他们坐在路旁一家商店门口，享受着尼罗河沿岸人们生活里的三大乐事——喝茶、聊天、抽水烟。
    “stained”是过去分词，“their galabias and turbans stained by the sweat and dirt of a long day's work”是独立主格结构。全句很长，译成中文时被处理成两个句子。两个句子中间添加“这时候”起连贯作用。

6. At he edge of a nearby canal, donkeys laden with freshly harvested alfalfa waited for their masters to lead them home, braying a fretful counterpoint to the steady thud of an irrigation pump. 在附近一条水渠旁，驴子背上驮着刚割的苜蓿，等着主人牵它们回家去，一面发出一阵阵急促的叫声，和浇地的水泵不断发出的突突声交织在一起。
    “counterpoint”意为：melody added as an accompaniment to another对位旋律；喻为：和…形成对比。
    例：The dark curtains make an interesting counterpoint to the lighter walls. 深色的窗帘与浅色的墙壁形成有趣的对比。
    原文给我们这样一种意境：驴子不停地发出急躁的叫声，浇地的水泵也突突地响个不停，两种声音此起彼伏。
    “bray”作名词意为：cry of a donkey，其动词的意思是：make this cry or sound。原文中的“braying”是现在分词短语，作状语表示伴随状态，故译作“一面发出…的叫声”。
   “fretful”意为：irritable or complaining, esp. because unhappy or worried烦躁的，发牢骚的（尤指因不愉快或烦恼）。如：a fretful child烦躁的孩子。

7. All this suggested ancient harmonies. 这一切使人感到古代的和谐气氛。
    “suggest”在这里的意思是：put (an idea, etc) into sb's mind使某人想到（某事物）。
    例：(1) Which illness do these symptoms suggest? 这些症状像是什么病？
        (2) His cool response suggested that he didn't like the idea. 他反映冷淡表明他并不喜欢这个主意。

8. In 1971 engineers and workers completed the Aswan High Dam, nearly 600 miles upriver from Cairo toward the Sudanese frontier. 1971年，技术人员和工人在从开罗向苏丹边境方向600英里处建造了阿斯旺高坝。
    “nearly 600 miles upriver from Cairo toward the Sudanese frontier”表示高坝的位置，译作“在…处”比较能顺，符合汉语的表达方式。

9. The devastating floods and droughts that imposed a recurrent tax of suffering on the fellahin no longer occur. 过去常给农民带来苦难的旱涝灾害，现在不再发生了。
    “recurrent”意为：recurring often or regularly 经常发生的；周期性的。
    “impose a tax on sb”意为：place a tax officially on sb. 对某人课税。但原文中“tax”后面还有一个定语“of suffering”点出了真正的意思，即“苦难”。故主语部分就译作“过去常给农民带来苦难的旱涝灾害”。

10. Standing on a sandy beach at the mouth of the Roseta branch of the Nile, I was puzzled by what seemed a ghost town - a sad vista of crumbling buildings, smashed windows, and broken wires dangling from utility poles. 洛塞塔河是尼罗河入海处的一个支流，我站在河口的沙滩上看到一个小镇，感到迷惑不解。这仿佛是一个被人遗弃了的小镇，一片萧索景象，房子濒于倒塌，窗户破碎，断了的电线挂在电线杆子上。
    “Standing on a sandy beach at the mouth of the Roseta branch of the Nile”是一个现在分词短语，作状语。汉语中没有现在分词，翻译时要灵活处理，故译作“我站在河口的沙滩上…”。另外，英语中定语用得比较多，如“of the Roseta branch of the Nile”，译成汉语时被处理成单句。
    “vista”意为：view as seen between long rows of trees, buildings, etc 从长长的两排树木、建筑物等中间望过去的景色。
    例：This street offers a fine vista of the cathedral. 这条街的尽头是个大教堂，远远望去非常好看。
    “ghost town”意为：town whose former inhabitants have all left 废弃的城镇。
    “utility”意为：quality of being useful 有用；实用；效用；功用。例：a utility vehicle 多用途车。原文中的“utility poles”不是一般的杆子，而是专门挂电线的电线杆子。

11. Day by day the sea is eating the land - the dam has stopped the sediment of the Nile from replenishing the shoreline. 海水一天天冲刷陆地——水坝已经使得尼罗河的泥沙无法沉积下来加固海岸了。
    动词“eat”在原句中是拟人用法，使得该描述十分生动、形象，被译作“冲刷”符合原意，也可译作“吞食”，保持拟人用法。
    短语“stop sb/sth from doing sth”意为：前一单元vent sb from doing sth or sth from happening 阻止某人做某事；阻碍某事物发生。译文中“使得…无法…”就体现了这个句型结构。
    例：(1) I'm sure he'll go, there's nothing to stop him. 我肯定他要去的，没法阻止他。
        (2) You can't stop us from going if we want to. 假若我们要去，你是阻止不了的。
    “sediment”意为：matter (eg sand, gravel, mud, etc) carried by water or wind and deposited on the surface of the land 沉积物（如沙、砾、石、泥等）。
    “replenish”意为：fill sth again 再将某物充满。
    例：(1) Let me replenish your glass. 我给你把杯子再斟满吧。
        (2) replenish one's wardrobe 添置衣服

12. Now there is no mud, and no food for the fish - they've left us. 现在泥沙没有了，鱼没有可吃的了，也就不来了。
    这里有鱼是因为泥沙里有食物，跟“我们”没有任何关系。现在泥沙没有了，鱼自然也就不来了。动词“left”虽然意思是“离开”，但应译作“不来”更通顺。