[译] 人类的开化经过了多少千年。
[误] The civilizations of mankind have taken thousands of years.

[正] The civilization of mankind have taken thousands of years.
[注] civilization 表示“开化，教化”，属不可数名词，词尾不能加 s。只有用来指“文化”时，civilization 才作可数名词用。如：The history student hoped to compare the civilizations of ancient China and Japan. 这个学历史的学生希望对古代中国和日本的文化进行比较。