世界小史 第21章:尼罗河

 　　Glory be to thee, oh Nile!

　　赞美你啊，尼罗河!

　　You rise out of the earth and come to nourish Egypt!

　　你来自大地，来到这儿，给埃及输送营养!

　　You water the plains and have the power to feed all cattle.

　　你灌溉田野，喂养全部牲口。

　　You quench¹ the thirsty desert, far from any water.

　　你浸润远离河水的沙漠。

　　You bring forth² the barley³, You create the wheat.

　　你使大地长出大麦和小麦。

　　You fill the granaries and storehouses, not forgetting the poor.

　　你灌满水库并使谷仓堆满粮食，你救济穷人。

　　For You we pluck our harps⁴, for You we sing.

　　我们为你弹奏竖琴，我们为你歌唱。

　　So sang the ancient Egyptians.

　　古老的埃及人就是这样歌唱的。

　　And they were right.

　　他们做得对。

　　For, thanks to the Nile, their land grew rich and powerful.

　　因为这个国家由于尼罗河而变得如此富有和强大。

　　Mightiest⁵ of all was their king.

　　他们的国王是所有国王中最强大的。

　　One king ruled over all the Egyptians, and the first to do so was King Menes.

　　一个统治所有埃及人的国王，第一个这样的国王就是美尼斯国王。

　　Do you remember when that was?

　　你还记得是什么时候吗？

　　It was in 3,100 BC.

　　公元前3100年。

　　And can you also remember - perhaps from Bible stories - what those kings of Egypt were called?

　　你还能不能记得--大概是来自圣经故事--这些埃及国王的称呼是什么？

　　They were called pharaohs.

　　他们叫做法老。

　　A pharaoh was immensely powerful.

　　一个法老的权力无比强大。

　　He lived in a great stone palace with massive pillars and many courtyards, and his word was law.

　　他住在一座巨大的石造的宫殿里，宫殿里有许多又大又粗的柱子，还有许多庭院；他说的每一句话都必须照办。

　　All the people of Egypt had to toil⁶ for him if he so decreed. And sometimes he did.

　　只要他下令，埃及的所有人就都得为他工作，有时候他就这样做。

1 quench   

vt.熄灭，扑灭；压制

参考例句：

• The firemen were unable to quench the fire.消防人员无法扑灭这场大火。
• Having a bottle of soft drink is not enough to quench my thirst.喝一瓶汽水不够解渴。

2 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

3 barley   

n.大麦，大麦粒

参考例句：

• They looked out across the fields of waving barley.他们朝田里望去,只见大麦随风摇摆。
• He cropped several acres with barley.他种了几英亩大麦。

4 harps   

abbr.harpsichord 拨弦古钢琴n.竖琴( harp的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She continually harps on lack of money. 她总唠叨说缺钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He could turn on the harps of the blessed. 他能召来天使的竖琴为他奏乐。 来自辞典例句

5 mightiest   

adj.趾高气扬( mighty的最高级 )；巨大的；强有力的；浩瀚的

参考例句：

• \"If thou fearest to leave me in our cottage, thou mightiest take me along with thee. “要是你害怕把我一个人留在咱们的小屋里，你可以带我一块儿去那儿嘛。 来自英汉文学 - 红字
• Silent though is, after all, the mightiest agent in human affairs. 确实，沉默毕竟是人类事件中最强大的代理人。 来自互联网

6 toil   

vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事

参考例句：

• The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
• Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。