英语听力精选进阶版 6304

Dragons are for China a symbol of prosperity but in the West they've had a bad press for centuries.

They've been depicted¹ as roaring, flesh-eating, fire-spitting animals so it's no surprise that they've been broadly perceived as villains².

The Greek heroes Hercules and Perseus are supposed to have slain³ dragons. The Egyptians wrote of the dragon Apophis, seen as an enemy of the sun god Re. The Babylonians described a monster called Tiamat as the embodiment of chaos⁴.

Throughout history references to these creatures have been used to convey fear. In Britain, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of 793 says that ''fiery⁵ dragons were seen flying in the air'' during an attack from Viking invaders⁶ over Northumbria.

St George, the patron saint of England, popularly identified with the country's ideals of honour and bravery, is always shown slaying⁷ a dragon. According to the myth, the animal was on the verge⁸ of eating a local woman.

But there's hope for this much-maligned creature. A red dragon is shorthand for all things Welsh. It even features on its main emblem⁹, the flag of Wales.

Recently, a dragon came to epitomise a child's innocence¹⁰. The lyrics¹¹ of the 1963 song Puff¹², the Magic Dragon describe a creature who befriends a little boy. The boy grows up and loses interest in imaginary adventures, leaving the sensitive Puff feeling alone and depressed¹³. Maybe the Chinese Year of the Dragon will improve the reputation of dragons everywhere.

Quiz 小测验

1. How have some cultures in the West represented dragons?

As frightening creatures that roar, eat flesh and spit fire.

2. According to the text, who has killed dragons?

Hercules, Perseus and Saint George.

3. Look at the article. In what national symbol does a dragon appear?

A red dragon features on the flag of Wales.

4. What are the two expressions in the text that mean a bad reputation?

To have a bad press and much-maligned.

5. Is this statement true, false or not given? A boy bitten by a dragon got depressed. 

False. The boy grew up and lost interest in his friend, a dragon called Puff, and the dragon was the one who felt alone and depressed.

Glossary¹⁴ 词汇表

a symbol 一个象征

to have a bad press 不好的评价，不良印象

to be depicted as 被描绘成…

to be perceived as 被视为...

to be seen as 被看成...

the embodiment of 什么的化身

to convey 转达，传递（信息）

to be identified with 与…相关， 联系在一起

the ideal 完美事物，典范

shorthand for 代表…的缩写

emblem 象征，标志

to come to do (something) 成为…/来…

to epitomise 体现，象征 

much-maligned 多不实之词的

1 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

2 villains   

n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼

参考例句：

• The impression of villains was inescapable. 留下恶棍的印象是不可避免的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some villains robbed the widow of the savings. 有几个歹徒将寡妇的积蓄劫走了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

4 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。

5 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

6 invaders   

入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They prepared to repel the invaders. 他们准备赶走侵略军。
• The family has traced its ancestry to the Norman invaders. 这个家族将自己的世系追溯到诺曼征服者。

7 slaying   

杀戮。

参考例句：

• The man mimed the slaying of an enemy. 此人比手划脚地表演砍死一个敌人的情况。
• He is suspected of having been an accomplice in the slaying,butthey can't pin it on him. 他有嫌疑曾参与该杀人案，但他们找不到证据来指控他。

8 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

9 emblem   

n.象征，标志；徽章

参考例句：

• Her shirt has the company emblem on it.她的衬衫印有公司的标记。
• The eagle was an emblem of strength and courage.鹰是力量和勇气的象征。

10 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

11 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

12 puff   

n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气

参考例句：

• He took a puff at his cigarette.他吸了一口香烟。
• They tried their best to puff the book they published.他们尽力吹捧他们出版的书。

13 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

14 glossary   

n.注释词表；术语汇编

参考例句：

• The text is supplemented by an adequate glossary.正文附有一个详细的词汇表。
• For convenience,we have also provided a glossary in an appendix.为了方便，我们在附录中也提供了术语表。