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新编英语教程第三册Unit11

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Unit 11

TEXT I

Shaka — King of the Zulus

Text

Shaka's military career started at about the same time as Napoleon's came to an end at Waterloo. Neither man had ever heard of the other, yet they had a surprising amount in common, particularly in their genius for war and politics. Had Shaka been born in Europe he too might well have altered the course of world affairs. As it was, he built the Zulu nation. And he would have destroyed it had it not been for the courage of a minor1 chieftain, Gala.
When he was still only twenty-nine, Shaka seized the throne of the Zulus. It took him very little time to turn the Zulu people into a first-class fighting race because he was absolutely ruthless, never moving without an escort of "slayers", whose job it was to kill anyone who displeased2 him in any way. If his warriors3 could not run 50 miles a day, they died; if they were unable to dance barefoot on a carpet of jungle thorns, they died; if they showed anything less than suicidal courage in battle, they would be unhesitatingly murdered by the slayers. Shaka was inhuman4, perhaps, but he built up a formidable army in a very short time.
Shaka had already increased his kingdom from 100 square miles to 100,000 when personal tragedy struck: his mother, Nandi, died. Nandi was the one person for whom Shaka felt deep affection, and on her death something seemed to snap in his mind. What followed was unbelievable, but it was recorded by an Englishman named Flynn who was in the area at the time.
Nandi was buried, and 12,000 warriors were ordered to guard her grave for a year. Then Shaka sent his impis or regiments5 to scour6 the countryside and punish all those who had failed to be present at the funeral. Only after this had been done did he announce his orders for mourning: no crops were to be planted the following year; no milk was to be used — it was to be drawn7 from the cow and poured on to the earth and all women who were found with child during the following year were to be put to death with their husbands. As the staple8 diet of the Zulus consisted of grain and milk products, this order was little less than a sentence of national starvation.
Shaka now developed a brooding and bitter spirit: "I have conquered the world but lost my mother," he would cry, "and all taste has gone out of my life."
After two months of intensive mourning over Nandi's death, the country was in a desperate state. The fields were overgrown with weeds and one of the staple diets, namely milk, was no longer on the food list. Total ruin now faced the Zulu nation, and it was obvious that those who had not been killed by Shaka would certainly starve to death.
Finally, one of Shaka's warriors, Gala, determined9 to end the tyranny. "It is enough," he told his family. "Someone must tell the Great Elephant. I shall do it. " Gala's family stared at him in horror: to challenge the King's wishes at such a moment was to ask for instant death. But Gala took his warrior's stick and went to Bulawayo to see Shaka. When he reached the right distance from the royal enclosure he shouted: "O King, you have destroyed your country. What will you reign10 over? Will you create a new race? Shall we all die because your mother died? You have destroyed the country. Your country will be inhabited by other kings, for your people will die of hunger. As for me, O King, I say you are dead yourself through this mother of yours. Stuff a stone into your stomach. This is not the first time anyone has died in Zululand!"
Stuff a stone into your stomach! This was the Zulu way of saying: "pull yourself together". There was a gasp11 of horror from the onlookers12, and the slayers took a grip on their clubs. That a man should dare to speak to the King in such a way was unthinkable, and Gala's life seemed to be measured in seconds. But Shaka turned to his Councillors and said: "What use are you to me? You never dared, like Gala, to tell me to stuff a stone in my stomach. Now let all men know that crops are to be planted as usual and that milk may be drunk again. And as for you," said Shaka, turning to Gala, "you shall have a mighty13 gift of many cattle."
From an article in Look and Learn

TEXT II

The Stamping of the Thorns

Shaka's particular genius lay in his great personal attention to detail and in his capacity for hard work. If at all possible, he always insisted on inspecting everything himself, and he invariably checked all reports by getting evidence from as many sources as possible. He was a firm believer in the saying: "It is the master's eye which makes the cow grow fat."
Two months after becoming king, Shaka called all his "regiments" together. His combined fighting forces totalled only about 500 men. He told them of the virtues14 of the short, heavy stabbing spear or assegai which he himself had designed to replace the light throwing one used in the past by the Zulu fighters. As he expected, the younger soldiers took up the new assegai with enthusiasm, soon to be followed by the older men.
Next Shaka ordered all his regiments to throw away their sandals. There was considerable protest at this, especially from the older groups, but he pointed15 to his own bare feet and even ran a race to prove that he was faster than any of his men wearing sandals.
A month later, Shaka noticed that there was still a lot of dissatisfaction and grumbling16 about his order that sandals should no longer be worn. So, he told one of his regiments to collect many basketfuls of the sharp "devil thorns". These thorns have three spikes17, one of which always points upwards18 when they lie on the ground.
When enough of these thorns had been collected, Shaka ordered them to be spread over the parade ground. All his regiments were then ordered to parade a little to the side of the ground covered with thorns. Shaka then addressed them: "It has come to my ears," he said, "that some of you have soft feet, and this has made me very sad. So I have decided19 to help you harden them!"
Shaka then ordered his men to stamp the thorns into the ground with their bare feet. Anyone who hesitated or did not stamp hard enough was to be killed at once by his "slayers".
The regiments gritted20 their teeth and, led by Shaka himself, spread over the parade ground. Shaka turned to face them and the stamping began. Shaka's feet, however, were horny and impervious21. He felt nothing; but his eagle eye at once picked out those who were hesitant. These men were told to stand forward and were then clubbed to death by the slayers. And so he went on, searching up and down the lines, but after half a dozen examples had been made all the soldiers stamped as hard as they could.
When Shaka was satisfied that the thorns had been stamped out of sight he told his men they could go. That evening they were given a great feast at which they could eat and drink as much as they liked.
From Shaka Zulu by E. A. Ritter


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 minor e7fzR     
adj.较小(少)的,较次要的;n.辅修学科;vi.辅修
参考例句:
  • The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
  • I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。
2 displeased 1uFz5L     
a.不快的
参考例句:
  • The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了,瞪了我一眼。
  • He was displeased about the whole affair. 他对整个事情感到很不高兴。
3 warriors 3116036b00d464eee673b3a18dfe1155     
武士,勇士,战士( warrior的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
  • The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。
4 inhuman F7NxW     
adj.残忍的,不人道的,无人性的
参考例句:
  • We must unite the workers in fighting against inhuman conditions.我们必须使工人们团结起来反对那些难以忍受的工作条件。
  • It was inhuman to refuse him permission to see his wife.不容许他去看自己的妻子是太不近人情了。
5 regiments 874816ecea99051da3ed7fa13d5fe861     
(军队的)团( regiment的名词复数 ); 大量的人或物
参考例句:
  • The three regiments are all under the command of you. 这三个团全归你节制。
  • The town was garrisoned with two regiments. 该镇有两团士兵驻守。
6 scour oDvzj     
v.搜索;擦,洗,腹泻,冲刷
参考例句:
  • Mother made me scour the family silver.母亲让我擦洗家里的银器。
  • We scoured the telephone directory for clues.我们仔细查阅电话簿以寻找线索。
7 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
8 staple fGkze     
n.主要产物,常用品,主要要素,原料,订书钉,钩环;adj.主要的,重要的;vt.分类
参考例句:
  • Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
  • Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。
9 determined duszmP     
adj.坚定的;有决心的
参考例句:
  • I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
  • He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
10 reign pBbzx     
n.统治时期,统治,支配,盛行;v.占优势
参考例句:
  • The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
  • The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。
11 gasp UfxzL     
n.喘息,气喘;v.喘息;气吁吁他说
参考例句:
  • She gave a gasp of surprise.她吃惊得大口喘气。
  • The enemy are at their last gasp.敌人在做垂死的挣扎。
12 onlookers 9475a32ff7f3c5da0694cff2738f9381     
n.旁观者,观看者( onlooker的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • A crowd of onlookers gathered at the scene of the crash. 在撞车地点聚集了一大群围观者。
  • The onlookers stood at a respectful distance. 旁观者站在一定的距离之外,以示尊敬。
13 mighty YDWxl     
adj.强有力的;巨大的
参考例句:
  • A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
  • The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。
14 virtues cd5228c842b227ac02d36dd986c5cd53     
美德( virtue的名词复数 ); 德行; 优点; 长处
参考例句:
  • Doctors often extol the virtues of eating less fat. 医生常常宣扬少吃脂肪的好处。
  • She delivered a homily on the virtues of family life. 她进行了一场家庭生活美德方面的说教。
15 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
16 grumbling grumbling     
adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的
参考例句:
  • She's always grumbling to me about how badly she's treated at work. 她总是向我抱怨她在工作中如何受亏待。
  • We didn't hear any grumbling about the food. 我们没听到过对食物的抱怨。
17 spikes jhXzrc     
n.穗( spike的名词复数 );跑鞋;(防滑)鞋钉;尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 );偷偷地给某人的饮料加入(更多)酒精( 或药物);把尖状物钉入;打乱某人的计划
参考例句:
  • a row of iron spikes on a wall 墙头的一排尖铁
  • There is a row of spikes on top of the prison wall to prevent the prisoners escaping. 监狱墙头装有一排尖钉,以防犯人逃跑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
18 upwards lj5wR     
adv.向上,在更高处...以上
参考例句:
  • The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
  • The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。
19 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
20 gritted 74cb239c0aa78b244d5279ebe4f72c2d     
v.以沙砾覆盖(某物),撒沙砾于( grit的过去式和过去分词 );咬紧牙关
参考例句:
  • He gritted his teeth and plunged into the cold weather. 他咬咬牙,冲向寒冷的天气。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • The young policeman gritted his teeth and walked slowly towards the armed criminal. 年轻警官强忍住怒火,朝武装歹徒慢慢走过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
21 impervious 2ynyU     
adj.不能渗透的,不能穿过的,不易伤害的
参考例句:
  • He was completely impervious to criticism.他对批评毫不在乎。
  • This material is impervious to gases and liquids.气体和液体都透不过这种物质。
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