The Lost Continent 遗失的大陆-11

Here in his study in Minnesota, Ignatius Donnelly, a failed politician, wrote one of the greatest best-sellers of his age, making him the founding father of the modern hunt for a real Atlantis. His ideas launched a wave of Atlantis mania¹ that has been with us ever since. A former congressman² and lieutenant³ governor of Minnesota, Donnelly had railed against the tycoon⁴s of big business who controlled the politics of the day, choosing to champion the cause of the common man. His idealism, unfortunately, brought only political and financial disaster.

He started a commune in Minnesota with a man called Nininger, the commune was called Nininger City, it didn't seem to work very well as an idealistic commune. And by the time it was over, there was exactly one resident there, and that was Ignatius Donnelly.

By 1880 Donnelly was out of office and down on his luck. And so he retired⁶ to his study to begin the work for which he is now most famous, a book entitled Atlantis--the Antediluvian⁷ World. Donnelly had studied Plato as a boy and the story of Atlantis had always intrigue⁸d him. With time on his hands, he decided¹⁰ to read everything and anything he could to find out once and for all, the truth about Atlantis. Donnelly had been galvanized in his quest to find the location of the sunken continent, by an archeological find that had thrown all preconceived ideas about the myth of the ancient world into chaos¹¹. Ten years earlier, a German businessman-turned-archeologist Heinrich Schliemann uncovered on the coast of Turkey the ruins of the city of Troy and many of the treasures from the mythical¹² war between the Greeks and Trojans.

When Schliemann discovered Troy, it completely changed the way people looked at mythology¹³ and archeology. Before Schliemann, people had thought that what Homer had written was fiction. He made this up, there wasn't really a city of Troy. But what Schliemann did was he read Homer carefully and he figured out correctly where Troy would be located if you performed a literal translation of Homer.

It was this astonishing find that persuaded Donnelly that if Schliemann could discover Troy by carefully rereading Homer, then he too might discover Atlantis by rereading Plato. Obsessed¹⁴ in his quest, Donnelly tirelessly searched for Atlantis in everything around him until a thesis slowly began to emerge. Donnelly found evidence of Atlantis having existed in the similarity of plants, animals and ancient cultures on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

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mania: n. 狂热
rail: v. 责备，漫骂
tycoon: n. 企业大亨
champion: v. 支持，拥护
idealistic: adj. 唯心主义的，空想主义的
antediluvian: adj. 大洪水之前的，上古的
intrigue: v. 激起兴趣
once and for all: adj. 坚决地，果断地
galvanize: v. 激励，刺激
preconceived ideas: n. 成见，先入为主的观点

1 mania   

n.疯狂；躁狂症，狂热，癖好

参考例句：

• Football mania is sweeping the country.足球热正风靡全国。
• Collecting small items can easily become a mania.收藏零星物品往往容易变成一种癖好。

2 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

3 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

4 tycoon   

n.有钱有势的企业家，大亨

参考例句：

• The tycoon is on the verge of bankruptcy.那名大亨濒临破产的边缘。
• The tycoon has many servants to minister to his needs.那位大亨有很多人服侍他。

5 tycoons   

大君( tycoon的名词复数 )； 将军； 企业巨头； 大亨

参考例句：

• The great tycoons were fierce competitors, single-minded in their pursuit of financial success and power. 企业巨头都是激烈的竞争者，他们一心追求钱财和权势。
• Tycoons and their conglomerates are even raising money again on international markets. 企业大亨们以及他们的企业甚至正再次从国际市场上筹集资金。

6 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

7 antediluvian   

adj.史前的，陈旧的

参考例句：

• His ideas are positively antediluvian!他的思想是纯粹的老古董。
• This antediluvian monetary system has now been replaced by the up-to-date monetary system of Japan.这种旧式的金融体系也已经被现代化的日本系统所取代。

8 intrigue   

vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋

参考例句：

• Court officials will intrigue against the royal family.法院官员将密谋反对皇室。
• The royal palace was filled with intrigue.皇宫中充满了勾心斗角。

9 intrigued   

adj.好奇的，被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式)；激起…的兴趣或好奇心；“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧！
• He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。

10 decided   

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。

11 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

12 mythical   

adj.神话的；虚构的；想像的

参考例句：

• Undeniably,he is a man of mythical status.不可否认，他是一个神话般的人物。
• Their wealth is merely mythical.他们的财富完全是虚构的。

13 mythology   

n.神话，神话学，神话集

参考例句：

• In Greek mythology,Zeus was the ruler of Gods and men.在希腊神话中，宙斯是众神和人类的统治者。
• He is the hero of Greek mythology.他是希腊民间传说中的英雄。

14 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。