They spent 2 years there and lived on their small salaries from several part-time jobs they had managed to get.

lived 是动词 live 的过去式，表示"生活、居住"。 on 在这里是介词，表示"依靠、凭借"，指依靠某种资源或收入来源维持生活。 lived on 这个短语表示"靠...维持生活"，特指依靠有限的收入或资源生存。