美国学生世界地理教材 第177期:狮子和太阳(2)

 On my wife's dressing-table is a small thin bottle of perfume called attar of roses. 我妻子的梳妆台上有一小细瓶叫“玫瑰油”的香水。

In some parts of Persia they grow the most beautiful and fragrant¹ roses and from their petals² this perfume is made. 波斯一些地方种植极为美丽、芬芳的玫瑰并用其花瓣来制作这种香水。

I have a scarfpin in which is a pearl that came from an oyster³ that was brought up from the bottom of the Persian Gulf⁴ by a naked diver. 我有一个领带夹针，上面有一颗珍珠，这颗珍珠就来自波斯海湾海底的一只牡蛎，而这只牡蛎是由一个赤身裸体的潜水员捞上来的。

My bath slippers—big, sloppy⁵ slip-ons, with heels turned down—are Persian. 我沐浴时穿的拖鞋——一双又宽又肥的无扣便鞋，后跟很低——是波斯产的。

The electric light I am writing under is a Mazda lamp, and Mazda was the old Persian god of light. 我写作时用的台灯是玛兹达灯，而玛兹达则是古代波斯的光明之神。

In my bookcase is a book called "The Rubaiyat." It is a book of poetry written by a Persian named Omar Khayyam. 我书橱里有本书，书名叫《鲁拜集》，是一位名叫“欧玛尔.海亚姆”的波斯人写的诗歌集。

For breakfast I might have had a melon, and melons were first grown in Persia. 早餐我有可能会吃一个甜瓜，甜瓜最早是在波斯种植的，

Our melons are grown from seeds brought many years ago to this country from Persia. 我们的甜瓜就是由多年前从波斯传来的种子种植出来的。

What I did have for breakfast were peaches, and these too were first grown in Persia. 我早餐吃的桃子也是最早在波斯种植的，

Peach-stones were brought to this country and from these our first peach-trees were grown. 桃子的果核被带到美国后，由这些果核种植出我们的第一批桃树。

If I had a Persian cat this would complete the picture, but I have a dog instead. 如果我有一只波斯猫，那么与波斯有关的各种东西都有了。但是我只有一条狗，没有波斯猫。

Persia is called the Land of the Lion and the Sun, and the Persian flag has a lion and a sun on it. 波斯被称作是“狮子和太阳之地”，波斯的国旗上有一头狮子和一个太阳。

I do not know why there is a lion, but the sun is on it because the people of that country used to worship the sun. 我不明白为什么会有狮子，但是上面有太阳是因为那个国家的人们过去崇拜太阳。

The sun was their god. They also worshiped the stars, moon, and fire, so we call them fire-worshipers, but they call themselves Parsees. 太阳是他们的神。他们还崇拜星星、月亮和火，所以我们称他们是“拜火教徒”，但他们称自己是帕西人。

1 fragrant   

adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的

参考例句：

• The Fragrant Hills are exceptionally beautiful in late autumn.深秋的香山格外美丽。
• The air was fragrant with lavender.空气中弥漫薰衣草香。

2 petals   

n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• white petals tinged with blue 略带蓝色的白花瓣
• The petals of many flowers expand in the sunshine. 许多花瓣在阳光下开放。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 oyster   

n.牡蛎；沉默寡言的人

参考例句：

• I enjoy eating oyster; it's really delicious.我喜欢吃牡蛎，它味道真美。
• I find I fairly like eating when he finally persuades me to taste the oyster.当他最后说服我尝尝牡蛎时，我发现我相当喜欢吃。

4 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

5 sloppy   

adj.邋遢的，不整洁的

参考例句：

• If you do such sloppy work again,I promise I'll fail you.要是下次作业你再马马虎虎，我话说在头里，可要给你打不及格了。
• Mother constantly picked at him for being sloppy.母亲不断地批评他懒散。