美国学生世界地理教材 第173期:产生《一千零一夜》的国家(2)

 Once upon a time there was a king in the old days long ago when kings could put to death whomsoever they wished. 在很久以前的古代，国王可以任意处死他不喜欢的人。

This king had a wife whom he was going to put to death the next morning, 有这样一位国王，打算第二天早上处死他的妻子，

but she told him a bedtime story which so interested him he wanted to hear another. 但是国王的妻子在临睡前给他讲了一个非常好听的故事，国王听完后还想听一个。

So, on condition that he would spare her life one more day, she promised to tell him another story the next night. 于是，国王的妻子答应第二天晚上再给他讲一个故事，只要国王让她多活一天。于是，为了能在晚上再听一个故事，

And again, day after day, he postponed¹ putting her to death in order that he might hear another story at night. 一天又一天，国王一再推迟妻子的死期。

This she kept on doing for one thousand nights and one night more for good measure until the king could no longer live without her stories, 就这样，国王的妻子连续说了一千零一个夜晚的故事，直到国王感到不听她讲故事就无法活下去，

so his queen was saved. Some of the most famous of these stories have been translated into English. They are called the "Arabian Nights." 于是皇后得救了。其中一些最著名的故事被翻译成英语，这些故事被称作“一千零一夜”。

Arabia was the birthplace of Mohammed, the man who started the Mohammedan religion. 阿拉伯是创立了伊斯兰教的穆罕默德的诞生地。

Mohammed was born in a place called Mecca about six hundred years after Christ² was born. 耶稣诞生后约六百年，穆罕默德出生在一个叫麦加的地方。

Mohammed thought he was called by God to be His messenger³. 穆罕默德认为上帝召唤他做使者。

His wife and friends believed in him, but his neighbors did not, so they ran him out of Mecca. 他的妻子和朋友都很相信他，但他的邻居却不相信他，于是把他赶出了麦加。

He fled to the next town, Medina, where he preached⁴ to the people, 穆罕默德逃到了另一个城镇麦地那。在那里，他向人们布道，

and before long there were millions who followed him and obeyed his teachings⁵, 不久以后，就有千千万万的人追随他，遵从他的教诲。

and now to-day there are about one third as many people who believe in Mohammed as believe in Christ. 如今，全世界伊斯兰教徒总人数大约是基督徒总人数的三分之一。

Mohammedans think Mecca is the center of the World. 伊斯兰教徒认为麦加是世界的中心，

Jerusalem is one of their holy cities, but Mecca is their holiest of holies. 耶路撒冷是他们的圣地之一，而麦加则是所有圣地中最神圣的。

Medina, which means simply "The City," is second only to Mecca in holiness. 麦地那，在阿拉伯语中，意思就是“城市”，是仅次于麦加的第二大圣地。

The Mohammedans think that one prayer said at Medina is worth a thousand prayers said anywhere else, 伊斯兰教徒认为在麦地那做一次祈祷相当于在别的地方做一千次祈祷。

so Mohammedans send long distances to have prayers said for them in Medina. 于是，远离麦地那的伊斯兰教徒就派人前往麦地那，在那里替自己祈祷。

1 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

2 Christ   

n.基督，救世主，耶稣

参考例句：

• I regarded him as the Christ.我把他当作救世主。
• Christ preached that we should love each other.基督在布道中说人们应该互爱。

3 messenger   

n.报信者，先驱

参考例句：

• By the time the messenger reached him,the damage had been done.送信人赶到他那儿时，损失已经造成了。
• I'll order a special messenger to deliver the document.我会派专人把文件送去。

4 preached   

v.布道( preach的过去式和过去分词 )；劝诫；说教；宣传

参考例句：

• She preached to the congregation about forgiveness. 她向会众宣讲宽恕的道理。
• The friar preached against stealing and had a goose in his sleeve. 口是心非。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 teachings   

n.教学( teaching的名词复数 )；教学工作；教诲；学说

参考例句：

• We must never be unworthy of our teachers' untiring and sincere teachings. 我们决不要辜负老师的谆谆教导。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The Party's teachings were ringing in her ears. 党的教导在她耳边回响。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》