美国学生世界地理教材 第151期:众神之国(4)

 Long before the time of Christ, athletic¹ meets used to be held in Greece once every four years. 在耶稣诞生前很久，希腊每四年举行一次体育大会，

These were called Olympic Games, and champions in running and jumping and other sports from all over Greece used to compete for a prize, 叫做“奥林匹克运动会”。来自希腊各地的跑步、跳远以及其他项目的冠军都来争夺一个奖品，

which was a simple crown made of laurel leaves. 奖品是一个用月桂树叶编的简单花冠。

There is a huge stadium in Athens where such games and races were held, but it had fallen to ruins. 雅典有一个巨大的体育场专门用来举办这样的比赛，但是后来变成了废墟。

Not so many years ago a Greek who had made a fortune and wanted to do something splendid for his home city repaired and recovered the old stadium with marble, and again the Olympic Games were held there. 没多少年前，一位发了财并想为自己的家乡做点贡献的希腊人用大理石修复了古老的体育馆，这样，奥林匹克运动会就又在那儿举行了。

Near Athens there is another hill called Mount² Hymettus, where was found a very delicious kind of honey. 在雅典附近，还有一座山，叫海麦搭斯山，人们在那儿发现了一种非常美味的蜂蜜。

It is said to taste like flowers and it was supposed to be the food the gods lived upon—they called it "ambrosia³." 据说尝起来像花的味道，是过去传说中众神赖以生存的食物——叫做“神馔”。

You can still get the same honey in the restaurants in Athens, but there are no more gods to feed on it. 你在雅典的餐馆里可以品尝到同样的蜂蜜，只是再没有神仙以此为食了。

Greece of to-day is famous for—what do you suppose? For poetry? No. For music? No. For sculpture? No. 现在的希腊是以什么著称呢？你猜一猜。诗歌？不是。音乐？不是。雕刻？不是。

For beautiful buildings? No. My geography says it is famous for "currants." 美丽的建筑？也不是。我的地理学书告诉我，希腊是以“加仑子”著称的。

Currants are little dried grapes that are used in cakes and puddings. 加仑子是无核小葡萄，做蛋糕和布丁可以放一些加仑子。

Currants are named from Corinth, the stem⁴ that joins north and south Greece, 加仑子的名字来自科林斯，也就是连接南北希腊的那条狭长的地带，

or rather, I should say, the stem that used to join them, for the Greeks have cut a canal four miles long straight through the isthmus⁵ so that boats can now sail across Corinth without going all the way around Greece. 更确切地说，是过去连接南北希腊的狭长的地带，因为希腊人已经挖了一条4英里长的运河，笔直地贯穿这条地峡，现在船只可以穿过科林斯而不用走远路绕过整个希腊。

There is a lunch-room downtown kept by a young Greek who has come to America to make his fortune. 我们这里市中心有一家快餐店，是一位想来美国发财的希腊年轻人经营的，

He calls it the Delphi Restaurant. 他把小快餐店叫做“德尔斐餐馆”。

Last week I went in for luncheon⁶, and just for fun I asked him if he had any ambrosia. 上周，我去那儿吃午餐。只是为了逗乐，我问他有没有“神馔”——什么好吃的？

"No," said he, "we have corned beef and cabbage to-day." 他回答说，“没有，今天只有咸牛肉和卷心菜。”

1 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

2 mount   

n.山峰，乘用马，框，衬纸；vi.增长，骑上（马）；vt.提升，爬上，装备

参考例句：

• Their debts continued to mount up.他们的债务不断增加。
• She is the first woman who steps on the top of Mount Jolmo Lungma.她是第一个登上珠穆朗玛峰的女人。

3 ambrosia   

n.神的食物；蜂食

参考例句：

• Later Aphrodite herself brought ambrosia.后来阿芙洛狄特亲自带了仙肴。
• People almost everywhere are buying it as if it were the biggest glass of ambrosia in the world for a nickel.几乎所有地方的人们都在买它，就好像它是世界上能用五分钱买到的最大瓶的美味。

4 stem   

n.茎，干，船首，词干，血统；vt.堵住，阻止，抽去梗；vi.起源于，发生

参考例句：

• Cut the stem cleanly,just beneath a leaf joint.把茎切整齐点，正好切在叶根下。
• The ship was in a blaze from stem to stern.整艘船从头到尾都着火了。

5 isthmus   

n.地峡

参考例句：

• North America is connected with South America by the Isthmus of Panama.巴拿马海峡把北美同南美连接起来。
• The north and south of the island are linked by a narrow isthmus.岛的北部和南部由一条狭窄的地峡相连。

6 luncheon   

n.午宴，午餐，便宴

参考例句：

• We have luncheon at twelve o'clock.我们十二点钟用午餐。
• I have a luncheon engagement.我午饭有约。