白领英语晨读-015 Daphne 丹芙妮

Daphne was a lovely blooming fairy maiden¹．As she was playing merrily in the woods one day she saw Apollo the sun-god staring at her with more than amazement² and admiration³ in his eyes．The beaming face of the sun put her to flight．The eager Apollo followed her closely behind，calling out to her to stop．His passion had been lighted by her beauty and grace．He was afraid that this might be the last time he saw her．The quick footed maiden made the best of her legs ，but the passionate⁴ Apollo pressed hard upon her ．Through rough fields and pathless woods she ran，but the sound of his pursuing feet ever grew nearer．As he ran he begged his beloved maiden to slow down，for he feared that she might fall and hurt her sparkling skin on the rocky roads．But the escaping maiden never cared so much about that．She even threw one glance backwards⁵ ．At last she was quite breathless and cried to her father，a rivergod，for help．No sooner had her prayer been uttered than answered ，for she had instantly found herself glued to the ground and a layer of soft bark growing over her fair skin ．She had been turned into a laurel tree．Sighing，Apollo put his arms around the tree trunk．The trunk responded by turning thinner．To show his undying love for the maiden，he decided⁶ that the laurel would be his favorite tree and should be the prize of honour and fame for deathless poets and poetry ．Thus the most outstanding poet always desires to be made a poet laureate ．

1 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

2 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

3 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

4 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

5 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。