书城外语看古希腊神话故事学英语
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第13章 希腊神话故事(11)

每当奏起庄严的国歌时,我总在情感上受到激发。

19.combine[k?mba?n]v.联合,结合

例句 Circumstances have combined to ruin our plans for a holiday.各种情况凑在一起破坏了我们的假日计划。

20.admiration[,?dm?re??n]n.赞赏,钦佩

例句 Her handling of the crisis fills me with admiration.

她对这一危机的处理使我赞叹不已。

21.glory[gl??r?]n.光荣,荣誉

例句 Our team didnt exactly cover itself with glory today.

我们队今天未能真正载誉而归。

22.dusk[d?sk]n.薄暮,黄昏

例句 The street lights come on at dusk and go off at dawn.

路灯在黄昏时开,拂晓时关。

23.kneel[ni?l]v.跪(其过去式和过去分词是knelt)

例句 She knelt in prayer.她跪下祈祷。

24.outstretch[a?tstret?]v.伸出,伸展

例句 He lay outstretched on the grass.他手脚摊开躺在草地上。

25.sunflower[s?n昀a??(r)]n.向日葵

例句 The sunflower turns towards the sun.

向日葵向着太阳。

神话背后的习语

1.swan song 绝笔,最后杰作,临死哀歌

swan song 指的就是天鹅临死前发出的美妙歌声,按字面意直译是“天鹅之歌”。在古希腊神话中天鹅是阿波罗(Apollo)的神鸟。阿波罗既是太阳神、光明之神,也是音乐之神、诗歌之神,所以天鹅被用以喻指“才华横溢的)诗人”或“杰出的)歌手”等,因此莎士比亚一度被人称为the Swan of Avon(艾冯河畔的天鹅),荷马被称为the Swan of Meander(米安德河畔的天鹅)。swan song转义为“诗人,音乐家等的)最后作品(或言行等)”或“告别演出”即a last or farewell appearance;the last work before death之意。在英国,乔叟、莎士比亚等伟大诗人、剧作家,都使用过这个成语典故。如:莎翁的着名悲剧《奥赛罗》(Othello)中塑造的爱米莉的形象,她在生死关头勇敢地站出来揭穿其丈夫的罪行。她临死时把自己比做天鹅,一生只唱最后一次歌。

例句 All the tickets have been sold out for the singers solo concert.The public clearly believe that this will be her swan song.那位歌手的个人演唱会门票已经全部卖完。公众非常清楚,这是她的告别演出。

The Tempest was W.Shakespeares swan song in 1612.

1612年的《暴风雨》是莎士比亚的最后一部作品。

This weekend's match was his swan song as the team's captain.本周末的比赛是他当队长的最后一场比赛。

2.like an Apollo 形容男子风度不凡

阿波罗是太阳神,掌管医学、数学和预言的神,又兼职艺术,主管音乐诗歌及一切美术,是九名缪斯的直接领导,也是帖鲁波伊神殿的主人。他以太阳的马车从东之宫殿往西之平地的天空飞过,是黄金之弓的统治者。

即使在众神之中,他也是超级美男子,今天,英语中用习语like an Apollo形容男子风度不凡,Apollonain一词也是这个意思,形容男子英俊娴静、沉着稳健。他的名字Apollo是太阳和大帅哥的代名词。

例句 Like an Apollo,he comes and arrests everyones attention in the hall.他风度翩翩地来了,把大厅里每一个人的注意力都吸引住了。

3.Apollo 美男子

主神宙斯(Zeus)有许多合法儿子和私生子,太阳神阿波罗就是他的私生子。在西方文学作品中,阿波罗多用来指“美男子”。

Apollo 阿波罗

例如 Tom just likes an Apollo,and has many admires.汤姆是个美男子,有很多爱慕者。

10.The Olympian Gods

The Olympian gods were the main gods of Ancient Greece.After overthrowing their ancestors,the Titans,the Olympian gods became the rulers of the world.The home of the gods was on the top of Mount Olympus,in Thessaly.It was in the palace on Mount Olympus that the Olympian gods and goddesses discussed the affairs of heaven and earth.As they feasted upon their nectar,Apollo,the god of music,delighted the gods with the tones of his lyre.When the sun was set,the Olympian gods retired to sleep in their dwellings on Mount Olympus.

The Olympian Gods 奥林匹斯山的神们

Greek myths always refer to the twelve Gods of Mount Olympus.The leader of the Olympian gods was Zeus.He was the king of Mount Olympus.His temper a ffected the weather,and he threw thunderbolts when he was unhappy.He made the sun and moon come and go.He made the seasons change.He would cause a storm with one shake of his shield.He was married to Hera.She spent much of her time in a jealous rage,planning to destroy Zeus or punish his lady friends when Zeus betrayed her.She was often seen with her pet peacock.She was worshiped by women as the protector of marriage.

Poseidon was ruler of the sea,and was the 2nd most powerful god.Apollo was the god of the sun,music and poetry,while his twin sister Artemis was the goddess of the moon and the hunt.Athena was the goddess of wisdom.Hestia,goddess of the hearth and family,represented home life and family happiness.Ares was the god of war,and the charming Aphrodite was the goddess of love and beauty.The god of fire,Hephaestus,was the forger of the thunderbolts of Zeus.He was the least good looking of all of the gods.His own mother hated him for his lack of looks.Although he made armor and weapons for the gods,he loved peace.He was unhappily married to Aphrodite.The wing footed messenger Hermes was the god of invention and commerce,and the goddess of grains and harvests-Demeter,looked after agriculture and was the mother of civilization.

The gods were born and grew just like human beings,some of them even married,however they were unaging and death never came to them.They had passions and human weaknesses and were many times at fault,but were then obliged to take the full responsibility of their actions.

10.奥林匹斯山的神们

奥林匹斯山的神们是古希腊的主要神明。在推翻了他们的祖先——泰坦族后,奥林匹斯山的神们成为世界的统治者。他们的大本营在塞萨利的奥林匹斯山上。男女神明们在奥林匹斯山上的宫殿里面商讨天上和凡间的大事。当他们用琼浆玉液进行宴饮的时候,音乐之神阿波罗为众神们用竖琴演奏助兴。当太阳落山的时候,他们就回自己在奥林匹斯山的居所睡觉。

The Olympian Gods 奥林匹斯山的神们

希腊神话通常与奥林匹斯山的十二位神明有关。他们的首领是宙斯。他是奥林匹斯山之王,他的脾气影响着天气,当他心情不好的时候,他就释放雷电;他安排太阳和月亮的来去;他主宰四季交替;他一抖动盾牌就能引起暴风雨。赫拉是他的妻子。她把大部分时间花在嫉妒上面,当宙斯背叛她的时候,她就计划毁掉他或惩罚他的女性朋友。她常常带着她的宠物鸟——孔雀。她作为婚姻的扞卫者,被女人们所尊敬。

波塞冬是大海的统治者,他是第二强大的神。阿波罗是太阳神、音乐和诗神。他的孪生姐姐阿耳忒弥斯是月亮和狩猎女神。雅典娜是智慧女神。赫斯提亚是家庭和健康之神,象征着家庭中的生命与幸福。阿瑞斯是战神。迷人的阿芙洛狄忒是爱与美神。火神赫淮斯托斯是宙斯雷电的铸造者。他是众神中长得最丑的一位。他自己的母亲曾嫌他长得不好看,尽管他为众神们铸造盔甲和武器,但是他热爱和平,不幸的是,他被迫与阿芙洛狄忒结婚。以翅代步的信使赫耳墨斯是发明与商业之神。谷物与丰收女神得墨特尔负责管理农业,她是文明之母。

神明们跟人类一样经历出生和成长,他们中的一些甚至结婚,但是他们长生不老。他们也拥有人类的情感和弱点,也犯一些错误,但他们得为自己的行为承担责任。

单词短语透视

1.Olympian[?l?mp??n]adj.奥林匹斯山的

例句 How much do you know about the Olympian mythology?

对于奥林匹斯山的神话你了解多少?

2.ancestor[?nsest?(r)]n.祖先;祖宗

例句 His ancestors had come to England as refugees.

他的祖先来到英国的时候是难民。

3.affair[?fe?(r)]n.事件;事情

例句 We must try to forget this sad affair.

我们要尽量把这件难过的事忘掉。

4.feast[昀?st]v.宴饮;参加宴会

例句 They celebrated by feasting all day.

他们整天大吃大喝地庆祝。

5.nectar[nekt?(r)]n.(希腊和罗马神话中的)神的饮品

例句 On a hot summer day,a long cool drink is like nectar.

在炎热的夏天喝一通冷饮如获琼浆玉液。

6.retire[r?ta??(r)]v.离开

例句 She retired to her own room after supper.

她吃完晚饭就回到自己的房间。

7.dwelling[dwel??]n.住处;寓所

例句 He changed his dwelling recently.

他最近搬了家。

8.temper[temp?(r)]n.心情;脾气

例句 Dont let your temper run away with you.

要控制住自己,不要发脾气。

9.thunderbolt[θ?nd?b??lt]n.霹雳;雷电

例句 The news came upon me like a thunderbolt.