普通高中课程标准实验教科书 英语选修7 Unit 3 Under the sea -

   Sedna was a beautiful young Inuit woman who lived alone offshore¹ with her father. There were many hunters who wished to marry her but she refused them all. As Sedna's father was getting old and would soon need someone to look after Sedna, he became very angry and yelled² at her,"You must acceot the next man who asks for your hand in marriage!"

             The following day, a stranger approached in his canoe³ and Sedna's father dragged his daughter down to the shore. Once there he urged⁴ the hunter to marry her, saying that his daughter would make a good wife. The hunter replied that he had in fact come to ask Sedna to marry him. He promised to provide her with plenty of food, furs for clothes and blankets. Sedna looked at the man and, although his face was partly hidden in his furs, he appeared handsome enough. She agreed to marry him and he took her away in his canoe across the waters to his island.

              When they arrived at the island, Sedna looked around and could see nothing except bare rock with a kind of nest made from seaweed, animal hair and feathers. She looked at her husband, shocked. Then she discovered, as he pulled the furs away from his face, that he was not a man, but a sea bird. No matter how angry she felt, she had no choice but to stay with him.

              Time went by, but Sedna never became used to the bird man. She felt very unhappy in the relationship and spent her days crying and calling her father's name. In the meantime⁵ her father began to feel guilty⁶ about forcing his daughter to marry against her will. So as soon as her cries reached her father, he decided⁷ to go in search of her. He packed his canoe and paddled⁸ for days, ignoring strong tides and freezing water till he came to the island. When he arrived, the bird man was away hunting and Sedna was standing⁹ on the shore. He asked his daughter for forgiveness and helped her into the canoe. They set off for home.

              Later that day, the bird man returned from fishing. Finding¹⁰ his wife was no longer there, he let out cries of anger and flew off in the direction of the canoe. He soon caught up with it and ordered the old man to give his wife back. When Sedna's father refused, he flapped¹¹ his wings so hard that the calm water suddenly turned into huge waves.

              Sedna's father was so scared that he grabbed¹² Sedna and threw her into the sea, screaming, "Here she is, take her." Sedna, terrified¹³, tried to hang on to the side of the canoe. But her father would not let her get back in. Grabbing¹⁴ his sharp knife, he cut off Sedna's fingers. As her fingers were sinking to the bottom of the ocean, they turned into seals, whales and other large sea mammals¹⁵. And Sedna, when she could no longer fight to keep herself alive, sank to the bottom too, where she became the goddess of the sea.

              It is said that Sedna has power over all the animals in the sea and that when she is angry, she keeps them away from the hunters. Because the Inuit depend on the sea for their survival¹⁶, they believe they must show the sea goddess great respect. One of the ways a hunter does this is to drop fresh water into a seal's mouth after he catches it. He believes that this is showing respect for the animal and is also thanking Sedna for her kindness in allowing him to feed his family.

1 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

2 yelled   

v.叫喊，号叫，叫着说( yell的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He yelled at the other driver. 他冲着另一位司机大叫。
• The lost man yelled, hoping someone in the woods would hear him. 迷路的人大声喊着，希望林子里的人会听见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 canoe   

n.独木舟；vi.乘独木舟，划独木舟

参考例句：

• They slid the canoe down to the water.他们使小舟滑到水中。
• It is only the second time he has been in a canoe.这仅是他第二次乘小游艇。

4 urged   

v.力劝( urge的过去式和过去分词 )；强烈要求；推进；驱策

参考例句：

• She urged him to stay. 她力劝他留下。
• Urged on by the PM the police tried to end the strike. 在首相的敦促下，警方力图终止罢工。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 meantime   

n.其时，其间；adv.同时，当时

参考例句：

• I continued working,meantime,he went out shopping.我继续工作，这期间他出去买东西。
• In the meantime we pressed on with the airlift.与此同时，我们加紧进行空运。

6 guilty   

adj.犯罪的；有罪的；内疚的

参考例句：

• There wasn't enough evidence to prove him guilty.没有充分的证据证明他有罪。
• Really honest people are ofter made to feel guilty.真正老实的人常被弄得感到犯了罪似的。

7 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。

8 paddled   

v.涉水( paddle的过去式和过去分词 )；趟水；用桨划船；用戒尺打（孩子）

参考例句：

• The natives paddled us over to the other side of the river. 当地人划桨送我们到河的对岸。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They paddled down the river in a canoe. 他们坐在独木舟上向下游划去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

10 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

11 flapped   

（使）上下左右移动( flap的过去式和过去分词 )； 轻拍； 焦急，焦虑； 振（翅）

参考例句：

• The swan flapped its wings noisily. 天鹅大声地拍打着翅膀。
• He flapped the flies away with a fan. 他用扇子把苍蝇拍走。

12 grabbed   

v.抢先，抢占( grab的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指匆忙地）取；攫取；（尤指自私、贪婪地）捞取

参考例句：

• He was grabbed by two men and frogmarched out of the hall. 他被两个男人紧抓双臂押出大厅。
• She grabbed the child's hand and ran. 她抓住孩子的手就跑。

13 terrified   

adj.很害怕的，极度惊慌的，吓坏了的v.使恐怖，使惊吓，恐吓( terrify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• the crying of terrified children 小孩受了惊吓的哭声
• I'm terrified of flying. 我十分害怕坐飞机。

14 grabbing   

v.抢先，抢占( grab的现在分词 )；（尤指匆忙地）取；攫取；（尤指自私、贪婪地）捞取

参考例句：

• The plane was grabbing for altitude. 这架飞机在抢占高度。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He sprang to his feet, grabbing his keys off the coffee table. 他一跃而起，从茶几上一把抓起自己的钥匙。 来自辞典例句

15 mammals   

n.哺乳动物( mammal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Whales belong among the mammals. 鲸鱼属于哺乳动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most mammals live on land. 大多数哺乳动物生活在陆地上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 survival   

n.留住生命，生存，残存，幸存者

参考例句：

• The doctor told my wife I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.医生告诉我的妻子，说我活下去的可能性只有50%。
• The old man was a survival of a past age.这位老人是上一代的遗老。