非洲(Africa)
世界第二大洲。以地中海、大西洋、红海和印度洋为界；大陆几乎被赤道一切为二。陆地总面积近11,724,300平方哩（30,365,700平方公里），人口约683,021,000（1994）。非洲大多以坚硬的古老岩石台地为基底，形成内陆大片高原区。非洲大陆平均海拔约2,200尺（670公尺），最高点为坦尚尼亚的吉力马札罗山（Mount Kilimaniaro），高5,895公尺，最低点是吉布地的阿萨勒湖（Lake Assal），低於海平面515尺（157公尺）。世界最大的撒哈拉沙漠占有非洲大陆1/4以上的面积。非洲水系以北部尼罗河和中部刚果河（Congo River）两河系为主。可耕地面积仅占6%左右，近1/4的土地是森林或林地。非洲民族所讲的语言堪称是世界最多样的，从埃及到茅利塔尼亚（Mauritania）和苏丹主要通行的是阿拉伯语，撒哈拉沙漠以南的居民大致讲班图语（Bantu），而有一小部分民族操来自西南非的科伊桑语语系（Khoisan language）的语言。欧洲人後裔集中於非洲南部，荷兰移民（布尔人）始自17世纪，19世纪英国人最先定居在现今的尚比亚和辛巴威。整个非洲属开发中地区，在多数国家，农业是最重要的经济部门。钻石和黄金的开采在南部特别重要，其他地区则生产石油和天然气。大部分的非洲政府是由单一党派控制，许多立法制度植基於殖民时期欧洲强权所引进的法律，虽然北非国家的法律多衍生於伊斯兰教。非洲领袖已透过非洲统一组织发展一个泛非体系来协调非洲大陆的政治、军事事务。
一般认为人类起源於非洲，已知最原始的人类是南猿属（Australopithecus）的成员，其年代可追溯至八百万年前。巧人（Homo habilis）和直立人（Homo erectus）在更新世（距今约一百六十万～一万年前）之前和期间已定居非洲。智人（Homo sapiens）在距今五十万～三十万年前出现。到了更新世末期，属现代人类的不同非洲种族已然出现。非洲第一大文明古国埃及约在西元前3000年崛起於尼罗河，之後繁荣了将近3,000年。腓尼基人在迦太基建立了殖民地，并控制地中海西部将近六百年。在北部非洲由罗马人统治几个世纪的同时，西非第一个已知帝国是迦纳帝国（5～11世纪）。穆斯林帝国包括马利帝国（1250年～1400）和桑海帝国（Songhai, 1400年～1591）。东部、中部非洲当时则与阿拉伯人发展了贸易关系，形成一些有势力的城邦，如摩加迪休（Mogadishu）和蒙巴萨（Mombasa）。15世纪时，葡萄牙人探勘了海岸地区。一直到19世纪末之前，欧洲人对殖民非洲没什麽兴趣。直至1884年，欧洲国家才争先恐後抢着瓜分这块大陆，到1920年大部分非洲土地落入殖民者手中。反殖民的情绪发展缓慢，在1950年後才变得较广泛，殖民地一个接着一个独立。
English version：
Africa
Second-largest continent on earth. It is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, the Red Sea, and the Indian Ocean; it is divided almost equally by the equator. Area: 11,724,300 sq mi (30,365,700 sq km). Population (1994 est.): 683,000,000. Africa is composed largely of a rigid platform of ancient rocks that underlies vast plateau regions in the interior. Its average elevation is about 2,200 ft (670 m), but elevations range from 19,340 ft (5,895 m) at Mount Kilimanjaro to 515 ft (157 m) below sea level at Lake Assal. The Sahara, the world's largest contiguous desert, occupies more than one-fourth of the total land area. The continent's hydrology is dominated by the Nile River in the north and the Congo in central Africa. Only about 6% of the continent is arable, while nearly one-fourth is forested or wooded. The peoples of Africa probably speak more languages than those of any other continent. Arabic is predominant from Egypt to Mauritania and in the Sudan. The sub-Sahara is inhabited by peoples speaking a number of languages known collectively as Bantu, while a smaller number use languages from the Khoisan language family of southwestern Africa. Peoples of European descent are found in the south; Dutch (Boer) migrations began in the 17th century, and the English first settled in what is now Zambia and Zimbabwe in the 19th century. Africa as a whole is a developing region. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy in most countries. Diamond and gold mining are especially important in the south, while other areas produce petroleum and natural gas. Most African governments are controlled by a single clique. Many legal systems are based on laws introduced by European powers during the colonial era, though North African countries derive many laws from Islam. African leaders have sought to develop a pan-African approach to the continent's political and military affairs through the Organization of African Unity. Human beings are widely thought to have originated in Africa. The oldest known hominids, members of the genus Australopithecus, date from about 8 million years ago. Homo habilis and Homo erectus inhabited Africa before and during the Pleistocene epoch (1.6 million-10,000 years ago), and forms of Homo sapiens began appearing 500,000-300,000 years ago. By the end of the Pleistocene, distinct African races of modern humans had emerged. Africa's first great historical kingdom, Egypt, arose along the Nile c. 3000 BC and flourished for nearly 3,000 years. The Phoenicians established a colony at Carthage and controlled the western Mediterranean for nearly 600 years. While northern Africa was dominated by the Romans for several centuries, the first known empire in western Africa was Ghana (5th-11th century AD). Muslim empires included those of Mali (c. 1250-1400) and the Songhai of Gao (c. 1400-1591). In eastern and central Africa the emphasis was on trade with Arabia, and several powerful city-states, including Mogadishu and Mombasa, were established. The Portuguese explored the coast in the 15th century. Before the late 19th century, Europe showed little interest in colonizing Africa, but by 1884 European countries had begun a scramble to partition the continent, and by 1920 much of it was under colonial rule. Anticolonial sentiment developed gradually, becoming widespread after 1950, and one by one the colonies became independent.
