美国学生世界地理教材 第188期:白象(1)

 There was once an Indian prince named Gautama. 曾经有位叫乔答摩的印度王子。

Gautama was rich and had everything in the World he wanted, so he grew up gay and light-hearted. 他很富有，世界上他想要的东西他都有，所以他是快快乐乐、无忧无虑地长大的。

He had never seen any poor people, nor known any misery¹ in his life, 他从小到大从未见过穷人，也不知道什么是悲惨的生活，

so he thought every one in the World was just as well off and just as happy as he. 所以，他认为世界上人人都生活得很好，和他一样快乐。

Then one day when he was grown up he went on a trip and, to his amazement², saw for the first time in his life people who were sick, poor, and unhappy. 成年后，有一天他外出旅行，生平第一次看到了那些病人、穷人和不快乐的人，使他大为惊奇。

The sights he saw filled him with such pity that he gave up all he had and spent the rest of his life helping³ the needy⁴. 眼前的一幅幅悲惨的情景，让他内心充满了怜悯。于是，他放弃了所有的财产，用以后的有生之年去帮助那些贫困的人。

As Gautama went about from place to place he preached that certain things were right and certain things wrong. 乔答摩四处布道，教诲人们，什么是对的，什么是错的。

People began to call him Buddha⁵, which meant "the one who knows," and to worship him, and thus started a religion called Buddhism⁶. 人们开始尊称他为“佛陀”，意思是“觉悟者”，并开始崇拜他。这样就产生了一种宗教，叫做“佛教”。

This was about five hundred years before Christ. 这发生在耶稣诞生前500年左右。

After Buddha died, Buddhists⁸ sent missionaries⁹ to other countries to teach the people Buddhism too, 乔答摩去世后，佛教徒派遣传教士到其他国家向人们传播佛教，

just as Christians¹⁰ now send missionaries to other lands to teach Christianity. 就像现在的基督徒派遣传教士到其他国家去传播基督教一样。

After a long while most of the people in India got tired of Buddhism and took up other newer religions. 很长一段时间之后，大部分印度人厌倦了佛教，开始接受新的宗教。

Many became Mohammedans, but in the countries east of India they still held to Buddhism,  很多印度人成为伊斯兰教徒。但是，印度以东的一些国家仍坚持信仰佛教，

although now this worship has become chiefly a worship of idols¹¹. 不过只是崇拜佛像。

The two countries next door to India are Burma and Thailand. 与印度相邻的两个国家分别是缅甸和泰国。

A Mohammedan church is called a mosque¹², a Buddhist⁷ church is called a pagoda¹³. 伊斯兰教的教堂叫做清真寺，佛教的教堂叫做佛塔。

1 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

2 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

5 Buddha   

n.佛；佛像；佛陀

参考例句：

• Several women knelt down before the statue of Buddha and prayed.几个妇女跪在佛像前祈祷。
• He has kept the figure of Buddha for luck.为了图吉利他一直保存着这尊佛像。

6 Buddhism   

n.佛教（教义）

参考例句：

• Buddhism was introduced into China about 67 AD.佛教是在公元67年左右传入中国的。
• Many people willingly converted to Buddhism.很多人情愿皈依佛教。

7 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

8 Buddhists   

n.佛教徒( Buddhist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Jesuits in a phase of ascendancy, persecuted and insulted the Buddhists with great acrimony. 处于地位上升阶段的耶稣会修士迫害佛教徒，用尖刻的语言辱骂他们。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• The return of Saivite rule to central Java had brought no antagonism between Buddhists and Hindus. 湿婆教在中爪哇恢复统治后，并没有导致佛教徒与印度教徒之间的对立。 来自辞典例句

9 missionaries   

n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some missionaries came from England in the Qing Dynasty. 清朝时，从英国来了一些传教士。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The missionaries rebuked the natives for worshipping images. 传教士指责当地人崇拜偶像。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

11 idols   

偶像( idol的名词复数 )； 受崇拜的人或物； 受到热爱和崇拜的人或物； 神像

参考例句：

• The genii will give evidence against those who have worshipped idols. 魔怪将提供证据来反对那些崇拜偶像的人。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史
• Teenagers are very sequacious and they often emulate the behavior of their idols. 青少年非常盲从，经常模仿他们的偶像的行为。

12 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

13 pagoda   

n.宝塔（尤指印度和远东的多层宝塔），（印度教或佛教的）塔式庙宇

参考例句：

• The ancient pagoda is undergoing repairs.那座古塔正在修缮中。
• The pagoda is reflected upside down in the water.宝塔影子倒立在水里。