PREFACE 引言
To give the child some idea of what has gone on in the world before he arrived；
To take him out of his little self-centered,shut-in life,which looms so large because it is so close to his eyes；
To extend his horizon,broaden his view,and open up the vista down the ages past；
To acquaint him with some of the big events and great names and fix these in time and space as a basis for detailed study in the future；
To give him a chronological file with main guides,into which he can fit in its proper place all his further historical study—
Is the purpose of this first Survey of the World's History.
让孩子初步了解他/她出生之前世界上发生的一些事情；
让孩子摆脱他/她那种小小的、以自我为中心的封闭生活，他/她也许认为自己所处的那种生活与世界就是他/她的一切；
让孩子开阔视野、拓宽眼界，并且在他/她面前展开一幅从古至今的历史长卷；
让孩子熟悉一些重大事件和重要人物，并且将它们与特定的时间和空间联系起来，以便为孩子将来的全面学习打好基础；
让孩子以时间为主线熟悉世界历史，从而能够对自己将来的历史学习进行准确定位；
这些方面，就是这本书的目的。