2008-11-17 埃及艳后

Her name is synonymous with beauty, power, intrigue¹ and ultimately tragedy. In 69 BC, Cleopatra was born into Egypt's Ptolemaic Dynasty, a dynasty in decline and under the protection of Rome. At the age of 18, she assumed the throne along with her younger brother as husband, Ptolemy XIII, according to Egyptian royal custom. But these royal siblings² were hostile to each other, and Cleopatra was soon forced from power.

Down but not out, Cleopatra waited for the right opportunity to prove her political cunning. That opportunity came when Julius Caesar, the newly minted victor in Rome Civil War, arrived in Alexandria, Egypt in pursuit of a renegade Roman general. As legend has it, Cleopatra smuggled³ herself into his inner sanctum, rolled up inside a rug. Caesar was captivated and they soon fell in love. He took arms against Cleopatra's rivals and restored her to the throne. Shortly after, she gave birth to a boy, Caesarian, whom she claimed was Caesar's son.

Egypt was a vastly wealthy country, and Cleopatra sought to keep it independent of Rome. Her affair with Caesar kept the Romans from taking direct control of Egypt, but his assassination⁴ made her status and that of her country uncertain.

Searching for allies among Rome's new leaders, she was delighted when Mark Antony, one of Caesar's heir apparents, sent for her. Mark Antony fell head over heels for the Egyptian queen and her richness. Together they set up court in Alexandria, an arrangement that elevated Cleopatra from protected sovereign to a fully⁵ independent monarch⁶.

 Cleopatra and Antony shared a legendary⁷ love matched by their insatiable appetite for empire. They eventually married and became the “Power Couple” of the eastern Mediterranean⁸. Antony tried to bring some Roman territories under her domain⁹ and he declared Cleopatra's son Caesarian to be the son and rightful heir to Julius Caesar. That infuriated Mark Antony's Roman rival Octavian, who went to war against them. Antony and Cleopatra were quickly defeated at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC.

 Legend tells us that Cleopatra spread false rumors¹⁰ of her death. Consumed by grief over her death, Antony stabbed himself. But word came she was still alive, and Antony's followers¹¹ carried him to Cleopatra, where he died in her arms.

 After 22 years as queen, Cleopatra's fortunes were fast unraveling. She tried in vain to make peace with Octavian. Rather than be humiliated¹² by the Romans in defeat, she took hold of an asp, permitting it to inflict¹³ a poisonous and mortal wound.

 With her death, the fate of the Ptolemaic Dynasty was sealed and Egypt fell firmly into Roman hands. Although her ambitions were never realized, Cleopatra has achieved immortality¹⁴ through her personal story of love and tragedy.

Notes

l Synonymous: meaning the same同义的

l Cunning: shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception¹⁵ (诡变的政治手腕)

l Mint:原意是指铸币；用来比喻新的事物、身份地位等

l renegade:叛变者

 l sanctum：密室，内室

l captivated：被迷得神魂颠倒

l heir apparent: 有确定继承权的人is an heir who (short of a fundamental change in the situation) cannot be displaced from inheriting;

l head over heels: to be madly in love with

l take arms against: 拿起武器反对.莎士比亚名句:“take arms against a sea of troubles”

lsend for sb: 派人去恭请某人

lsovereign：统治者

l unravel: 松开（线团），比喻她的钱财纷纷散去

l asp：一种非洲毒蛇

l immortality：不朽

1 intrigue   

vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋

参考例句：

• Court officials will intrigue against the royal family.法院官员将密谋反对皇室。
• The royal palace was filled with intrigue.皇宫中充满了勾心斗角。

2 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

3 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

4 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

7 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

8 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

9 domain   

n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围

参考例句：

• This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
• This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。

10 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

12 humiliated   

感到羞愧的

参考例句：

• Parents are humiliated if their children behave badly when guests are present. 子女在客人面前举止失当，父母也失体面。
• He was ashamed and bitterly humiliated. 他感到羞耻，丢尽了面子。

13 inflict   

vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担

参考例句：

• Don't inflict your ideas on me.不要把你的想法强加于我。
• Don't inflict damage on any person.不要伤害任何人。

14 immortality   

n.不死，不朽

参考例句：

• belief in the immortality of the soul 灵魂不灭的信念
• It was like having immortality while you were still alive. 仿佛是当你仍然活着的时候就得到了永生。

15 deception   

n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计

参考例句：

• He admitted conspiring to obtain property by deception.他承认曾与人合谋骗取财产。
• He was jailed for two years for fraud and deception.他因为诈骗和欺诈入狱服刑两年。