普羅米修斯（古希臘語(yǔ)：Προμηθε??；英語(yǔ)：Prometheus），在希臘神話(huà)中，是最具智慧的神明之一，最早的泰坦巨神后代，名字有“先見(jiàn)之明”（Forethought）的意思。泰坦十二神伊阿佩托斯與海洋女仙克呂墨涅的兒子。普羅米修斯不僅創(chuàng)造了人類(lèi)，給人類(lèi)帶來(lái)了火，還很負(fù)責(zé)的教會(huì)了他們?cè)S多知識(shí)。
今天U君就帶大家一起來(lái)讀一下這篇希臘神話(huà)的英文版，里面有很多非常重要的單詞大家要著重記憶。
原文來(lái)自網(wǎng)絡(luò)，筆記制作/文章修正：新浪微博@YouTube君學(xué)英語(yǔ)，公眾號(hào)EnglishVocab。
There once lived a race of huge giants called Titans. These giants were fierce, violent, and lawless-always fighting among themselves and against Zeus, the king of the gods.
【知識(shí)點(diǎn)】titan 泰坦，是希臘神話(huà)中曾統(tǒng)治世界的古老的神族，這個(gè)家族是天穹之神烏拉諾斯和大地女神蓋亞的子女，他們?cè)y(tǒng)治世界，但因?yàn)樗麄冮幐盍烁赣H烏拉諾斯，而受到烏拉諾斯的詛咒，最終被宙斯為首的奧林匹斯神族推翻并取代。
相關(guān)詞匯：Titanic 泰坦尼克號(hào)；titanium [化學(xué)] 鈦（金屬元素） ；
Zeus [zju:s] 宙斯（希臘神話(huà)中的主神）
【翻譯】從前，有一個(gè)地方住著一族叫泰坦的巨人。這些巨人不但性情暴躁，而且無(wú)法無(wú)天--他們總是自相殘殺，甚至還跟眾神之王宙斯作對(duì)。
One of the Titans, whose name was Prometheus, was wiser than the rest. He often thought about what would be likely to happen in the future.
【翻譯】泰坦中有一個(gè)名叫普羅米修斯，他是巨人中最聰明的，時(shí)常思考將來(lái)會(huì)發(fā)生什么。
One day, Prometheus said to his brother Titans, 'What is the use of wasting so much strength? In the end, wisdom and forethought will win. If we are going to fight against the gods, let us choose a leader and stop quarrelling among ourselves.'
【知識(shí)點(diǎn)】forethought n. 深謀遠(yuǎn)慮；先見(jiàn)；前綴fore-表示“先，前”例如foretell預(yù)言，預(yù)告；foresee預(yù)見(jiàn)，預(yù)知；打高爾夫球時(shí)，打球的人會(huì)說(shuō)“fore！”，讓別人讓開(kāi)。
quarrel爭(zhēng)吵。表示“爭(zhēng)吵”的單詞還有argue，brawl，bicker，dispute；
相似詞匯：squirrel松鼠。
【翻譯】一天，普羅米修斯對(duì)他的兄弟們說(shuō)：“我們浪費(fèi)這么多力氣到底有什么好處呢？有了智慧和深謀遠(yuǎn)慮，最終才會(huì)贏得勝利。如果我們有意和眾神爭(zhēng)斗，就讓我們選一個(gè)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者，并且結(jié)束內(nèi)部的爭(zhēng)斗。”
The Titans answered him by a shower of great rocks and uprooted trees. Prometheus, after escaping unhurt, said to his younger brother, 'Epimetheus, we can do nothing among these Titans. If they keep on, they will tear the earth to pieces. Let us go and help Zeus to overcome them.'
【生詞】tear… to pieces 把…撕成碎片
overcome 戰(zhàn)勝,克服 ; 前綴over-有兩種含義：
① 表示”過(guò)度，過(guò)分” ，例如：overstudy 用功過(guò)度；overwork 過(guò)度勞累；overact 表演過(guò)火。② 表示”在……之上” ，例如：overlap 重疊；overwhelm v.壓倒，泛濫；overlook俯視，疏忽；overcoat外套
【翻譯】泰坦們拔起大樹(shù)，并且擲出一陣亂石回答了他。及時(shí)躲避而未受傷害的普羅米修斯對(duì)他的弟弟說(shuō)：“厄庇墨透斯，我們?cè)谶@些泰坦之中無(wú)法有所作為。假如他們?cè)龠@樣執(zhí)意下去的話(huà)，塵世會(huì)被摧毀的。讓我們?nèi)椭嫠拐鞣麄儭！?/p>
Epimetheus agreed to this, and the two brothers went over to Zeus, who called the gods together and began a terrible battle. The Titans tore up enormous boulders and cast them at the gods, while Zeus hurled his thunderbolts and his lightnings in all directions. Soon the sky was a sheet of flame, the sea boiled, the earth trembled, and the forests took fire and began to burn.
【知識(shí)點(diǎn)】boulder n. 卵石，大圓石；thunderbolt雷電；lightning閃電；
【翻譯】厄庇墨透斯同意了哥哥的決定，兩兄弟就去見(jiàn)宙斯了。宙斯召來(lái)眾神，于是一場(chǎng)可怕的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)爆發(fā)了。泰坦們將巨石砸裂，然后扔向諸神，宙斯則將霹靂和雷電投擲到各處。整個(gè)天空立刻火光閃耀，海水沸騰，大地震動(dòng)，森林起火，并開(kāi)始燃燒。
At last the gods-partly by the help of the wise counsel of Prometheus-conquered the Titans, took them to the ends of the earth, and imprisoned them in a deep underground cavern. Neptune, the sea-god, made strong bronze gates with heavy bolts and bars, to keep the giants down, while Zeus sent Briareus and his brothers, three giants with fifty heads and a hundred hands each, to stand guard over them.
【知識(shí)點(diǎn)】破折號(hào)之間（partly…Prometheus）為插入語(yǔ)，看句子主干時(shí)可以去掉。
cavern洞穴；cave也是洞穴的意思。
【翻譯】普羅米修斯的智謀在某種程度上幫助眾神最終征服了泰坦，并將他們帶到塵世的邊緣，關(guān)在一個(gè)很深的地下洞穴里。海神尼普頓早了一座有著沉重的門(mén)閂的堅(jiān)固的銅門(mén)，把他們鎖在下面，宙斯有派了三個(gè)各有五十個(gè)頭和一百只手的巨人--布里阿柔斯和他的兄弟在門(mén)外看守。
All but one of the Titans who had fought against the gods were imprisoned in this cavern. This one who was not shut in with the others was Atlas, whose enormous strength was greater than that of his brothers, while his character was less quarrelsome. He was made to stand and hold up the sky on his head and hands.
【知識(shí)點(diǎn)】
Atlas：n. 阿特拉斯（希臘神話(huà)中受罰以雙肩掮天的巨人）；阿特拉斯山（非洲）n. 地圖；地圖集。
quarrelsome adj. 喜歡吵架的；好爭(zhēng)論的。-some為形容詞后綴，例如：
troublesome 令人煩惱的；
meddlesome 愛(ài)管閑事的；
wholesome 健全的；
loathsome 討厭的；
irksome 令人厭惡的；
winsome 快樂(lè)的，漂亮的；
【翻譯】跟眾神作對(duì)的所有泰坦巨人中，只有一個(gè)沒(méi)被關(guān)進(jìn)洞穴。這個(gè)沒(méi)跟其他人關(guān)在一起的人叫阿特拉斯，他的力氣比他的兄弟們都大，但他并不太好爭(zhēng)斗。于是，他被命令站著有頭和雙手撐住天空。
As the Titans could now make no more trouble, there was comparative peace and quiet on the earth. Nevertheless, Zeus said that, although the men who remained on the earth were not so strong as the Titans, they were foolish and wicked race. He declared that he would destroy them-sweep them away, and have done with them, forever.
【知識(shí)點(diǎn)】sweep 掃除，消滅。表示“消滅”的單詞短語(yǔ)還有eliminate，exterminate，eradicate， wipe out；
相近詞匯：weep 哭泣；
【譯文】泰坦們無(wú)法制造任何麻煩以后，塵世變得較為和平寧?kù)o?？墒牵嫠拐f(shuō)雖然塵世間其余的人類(lèi)沒(méi)有泰坦們強(qiáng)壯，但他們卻是愚昧陰險(xiǎn)的種族。于是，他宣布要把他們毀滅--永遠(yuǎn)掃除，毀滅他們。
When their king said this, none of the gods dared to say a word in defence of mankind. But Prometheus, the Titan, who was earth-born himself, and loved these men of the earth, begged Zeus so earnestly to forgive them, Zeus consented to do so.
【知識(shí)點(diǎn)】in defence of 保護(hù)；
earnestly 認(rèn)真地；consent同意。
【翻譯】當(dāng)眾神之王說(shuō)完此話(huà)時(shí)，眾神都不敢為人類(lèi)說(shuō)話(huà)。但是，那個(gè)生長(zhǎng)在人間并熱愛(ài)人類(lèi)的泰坦普羅米修斯，卻很誠(chéng)懇地請(qǐng)求宙斯寬恕他們。宙斯答應(yīng)了他的請(qǐng)求。
At this time, men lived in dark gloomy caves. Their friend, Prometheus taught them to build simple houses, which were much more comfortable than the caves had been. This was a great step forward. but men needed more help yet from the Titan. The beasts in the forests, and the great birds that build their nests on the rocks were strong; but men were weak. The lion had sharp claws and teeth; the eagle had wings; the turtle had a hard shell; but man, although he stood upright with his face toward the stars, had no weapon with which he could defend himself.
【翻譯】這時(shí)，人類(lèi)還生活在漆黑的洞穴里。人類(lèi)的朋友普羅米修斯教他們建造比洞穴舒適的簡(jiǎn)易房屋。雖然這已經(jīng)是一個(gè)很大的進(jìn)步，可人類(lèi)還需要泰坦更多的幫助。森林中的野獸和在巖石上筑巢穴的鳥(niǎo)都很強(qiáng)壯，但人類(lèi)卻很虛弱。獅子有銳利的爪和牙齒；老鷹有翅膀；烏龜有堅(jiān)硬的外殼；盡管人類(lèi)臉朝著星星直立行走，卻沒(méi)有武器來(lái)保護(hù)自己。
Prometheus said that man should have Zeus's wonderful flower of fire, which shone so brightly in the sky. So he took a hollow reed, went up to Olympus, stole the red flower of fire, and brought it down to earth in his reed.
【知識(shí)點(diǎn)】reed 蘆葦；
【譯文】普羅米修斯認(rèn)為人類(lèi)應(yīng)該擁有宙斯那種能照亮天空的奇妙火花。于是，他帶了一根空心的蘆葦?shù)綂W林匹斯山去偷紅色的火花，并把火花裝入蘆管帶到了人間。
After this, all the other creatures were afraid of man, for this red flower had made him strong than them. Man dug iron out of the earth and by the help of his new fire made weapons that were sharper than the lion's teeth; he tamed the wild cattle by the fear of it, yoked them together, and taught them how to draw the plough; he sharpened strong stakes, hardening them in its heat, and set them around his house as a defence from his enemies; he did many other things besides with the red flower that Prometheus had made to blossom at the end of the reed.
【知識(shí)點(diǎn)】tame 馴服；yoke 束縛； plough [pla?] v. 犁；耕 n. 犁；耕地（等于plow）
【翻譯】有了火花以后，其他所有的動(dòng)物都開(kāi)始害怕起人類(lèi)來(lái)，因?yàn)檫@紅色的火花使人類(lèi)比它們更加強(qiáng)大。人類(lèi)從地里挖出鐵礦，用火煉成比獅子尖銳的牙齒更堅(jiān)韌的武器；人類(lèi)憑著野牛怕火，把牛馴服并套在一起，教它們犁地耕田；人類(lèi)將削尖的圍樁用活加熱，使之更加堅(jiān)固，插在房屋周?chē)靡苑烙鶖橙?。此外，人?lèi)還用普羅米修斯那朵使蘆葦端部綻放的紅色火花制造出不少其他東西。
Zeus, sitting on his throne, saw with alarm how strong man was becoming. One day he discovered the theft of his shining red flower, and knew that Promethwus was the thief. He was greatly displeased with this act.
【知識(shí)點(diǎn)】throne寶座，王位；thorn 刺；
【翻譯】宙斯坐在寶座上看到人類(lèi)逐漸強(qiáng)大起來(lái)，非常驚訝。一天，他發(fā)現(xiàn)他那會(huì)發(fā)光的紅火花被盜，并且知道普羅米修斯就是竊賊，對(duì)此十分惱火。
'Prometheus loves man too well,' said he, 'he shall be punished.' Then he called his two slaves, Strength and Force, and told them to take Prometheus and bind him fast to a great rock in the lonely Caucasian Mountains. At the same time he ordered Hephaestus to lock the Titan's chains-in a cunning way that only Hephaestus knew.
【知識(shí)點(diǎn)】cunning 狡猾的；近義詞還有shrewd，tricky.
【翻譯】“普羅米修斯對(duì)人類(lèi)的感情太深了。他應(yīng)該受到懲罰?！彼f(shuō)。于是，他命令力氣和武力兩個(gè)奴隸去捉拿普羅米修斯，把他牢牢地綁在荒蕪的高加索山上的一塊巨石上。他又命令赫菲斯托斯用一種只有赫菲斯托斯知道的巧妙方法鎖牢鐵鏈。
There Prometheus hung on the rock for hundreds of years. The sun shone on him pitilessly, by day-only the kind night gave him shade. He heard the rushing wings of the seagulls, as they came to feed their young who cried from the rocks below. The sea nymphs floated up to his rock to give him their pity. An eagle, cruel as the king of the gods, came daily and tore him with his claws and beak.
【知識(shí)點(diǎn)】young n.動(dòng)物幼崽； nymph [n?mf] 仙女；
【翻譯】普羅米修斯就這樣被綁在石頭上好幾百年。白天，太陽(yáng)無(wú)情地炙烤他--只有仁慈的夜晚給他遮陰。當(dāng)海鷗銜來(lái)食物喂巖石下號(hào)叫的幼鳥(niǎo)時(shí)，普羅米修斯傾聽(tīng)著它們拍翅的聲音。海仙女有時(shí)會(huì)到巖石上安慰他。只有一只跟眾神之王一樣殘忍的老鷹，天天用爪和嘴啄他。
But this frightful punishment did not last forever. Prometheus himself knew that some day he should be set free, and his knowledge made him strong to endure.
【知識(shí)點(diǎn)】endure忍耐；
【翻譯】不過(guò)，這種殘酷的懲罰不會(huì)持久的。普羅米修斯知道，終有一天他會(huì)獲得自由的，正是這個(gè)想法使他勇敢地忍受著。
At last the time came when Zeus's throne was in danger, and Prometheus, pitying his enemy, told him a secret which helped him to make everything safe again. After this, Zeus sent Hercules to shoot the eagle and to break the Titan's chains. So Prometheus was set free.
【翻譯】當(dāng)宙斯的王位岌岌可危時(shí)，這個(gè)時(shí)刻終于到來(lái)了。普羅米修斯同情他的敵人，再次告訴宙斯一個(gè)能幫助他轉(zhuǎn)危為安的秘訣。局勢(shì)平定后，宙斯派赫拉克勒斯把那只老鷹殺死并且解開(kāi)鐵鏈。于是，普羅米修斯又自由了。
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