世界小史 第26章:墓穴

 　　But the mummies of other kings and those of many ancient Egyptians have been found undisturbed in their tombs.

　　但是人们却发现别的国王的以及许多古代埃及人的木乃伊仍还在他们的墓穴里。

　　A tomb was intended to be a dwelling¹ for the soul when it returned to visit its body.

　　这些墓穴建成住房的样子，供灵魂来看望它的肉体时居住。

　　For this reason they put in food and furniture and clothes, and there are lots of paintings on the walls showing scenes from the life of the departed².

　　因为这个原因，他们放入了食物、家具和衣服，还有许多描写死者生前活动的图画。

　　His portrait was there too, to make sure that when his soul came on a visit it wouldn't go to the wrong tomb.

　　还有他自己的画像，好让灵魂来访时不会去错墓穴。

　　Thanks to the great stone statues, and the wonderfully bright and vivid wall paintings, we have a very good idea of what life in ancient Egypt was like.

　　幸亏有这些大型石雕像以及这些漂亮而生动的墙画，我们能知道古埃及人们的生活是什么情景。

　　True, these paintings do not show things as we see them.

　　确实，我们看这些图画时，这些画呈现的事物不够正确或自然。

　　An object or a person that is behind another is generally shown on top, and the figures often look stiff³.

　　在另一物体或人背后的人物通常呈现在顶部，画中的人物也往往是僵硬的。

　　Bodies are shown from the front and hands and feet from the side, so they look as if they have been ironed flat.

　　人们从正面看见它们的身体，从侧面看见它们的手和脚，致使它们看上去就像是给熨平了的。

1 dwelling   

n.住宅，住所，寓所

参考例句：

• Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
• He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。

2 departed   

a.(委婉的说法)已死的

参考例句：

• your dear departed brother 你挚爱的亡兄
• He departed from the text to tell an anecdote. 他偏离课文讲起了一则轶事。

3 stiff   

adj.严厉的，激烈的，硬的，僵直的，不灵活的

参考例句：

• There is a sheet of stiff cardboard in the drawer.在那个抽屉里有块硬纸板。
• You have to push on the handle to turn it,becanse it's very stiff.手柄很不灵活，你必须用力推才能转动它。