The Lost Continent 遗失的大陆-12

Letters of congratulations arrived from all over the world, including one marked only Ignatius Donnelly, America. To Donnelly’s astonishment¹, it came from William Gladstone, prime minister of the British Empire.
"Though much pressed by public affairs, I have contrived² to read an already appreciable³ portion of your book, and I’m much disposed to believe in Atlantis. "
Gladstone sent this letter and addressed it to Ignatius Donnelly Esquire, America. And Ignatius being an Irish man and not wishing to be outdone, decided⁴ to reply to him and his reply said: The Right Honorable William Ewart Gladstone, the world.
I could not but smile. I was corresponding with a man whose word was fate anywhere in the British Empire. I could have uttered a whirlpool of exultation⁵.
Because his book was so popular, people tended to believe that it was / fact. A good parallel, I think , is with Peter Benchley’s book Jaws⁶. What Benchley has the white shark doing in Jaws does not actually happen, but think about how many people read this book and became absolutely terrified to swim in the ocean. It is possible for people to take what is essentially⁷ a work of fiction, but if it’s presented cleverly enough and if it has enough science woven into it, to believe that it’s absolute fact.
Flushed by the overwhelming success of his book, Donnelly, now a wealthy man, turned his attention to the truth behind other ancient myths. But none of his other books ever came close to matching the success of Atlantis, the Antediluvian⁸ world. Disappointed, he returned to politics again without success. He died in 1901.
In many ways, politics was his undoing⁹. This, a quote, from the obituary¹⁰, which says, the memory of Donnelly the politician will die. It is for Donnelly the author as we weep, which sounds bitter.
Donnelly’s book began a tradition of armchair exploration that has accompanied the search for Atlantis ever since. The father of Atlantology, Donnelly was the first man to convince the public that Atlantis really could be found. Little did he realize that his work would prompt a search for the lost continent that is literally¹¹ out of this work.

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disposed: adj. 有...倾向的
exultation: n. 狂喜
obituary: n. 讣告
armchair: adj. 空想的，不切实际的

1 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

2 contrived   

adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的

参考例句：

• There was nothing contrived or calculated about what he said.他说的话里没有任何蓄意捏造的成分。
• The plot seems contrived.情节看起来不真实。

3 appreciable   

adj.明显的，可见的，可估量的，可觉察的

参考例句：

• There is no appreciable distinction between the twins.在这对孪生子之间看不出有什么明显的差别。
• We bought an appreciable piece of property.我们买下的资产有增值的潜力。

4 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。

5 exultation   

n.狂喜，得意

参考例句：

• It made him catch his breath, it lit his face with exultation. 听了这个名字，他屏住呼吸，乐得脸上放光。
• He could get up no exultation that was really worthy the name. 他一点都激动不起来。

6 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

7 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

8 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。

9 undoing   

n.毁灭的原因，祸根；破坏，毁灭

参考例句：

• That one mistake was his undoing. 他一失足即成千古恨。
• This hard attitude may have led to his undoing. 可能就是这种强硬的态度导致了他的垮台。

10 obituary   

n.讣告，死亡公告；adj.死亡的

参考例句：

• The obituary records the whole life of the deceased.讣文记述了这位死者的生平。
• Five days after the letter came,he found Andersen s obituary in the morning paper.收到那封信五天后，他在早报上发现了安德森的讣告。

11 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。