英语读物《神奇树屋》 第十六册 Hour of the Olympics 05 Hi, Zeus

　　"This is the very first day of the games," Plato toldJack, "the day of the chariot races.""Oh, wow," whispered Jack¹.

He couldn't believe he was going to see a chariotrace. The modern Olympic Games didn't have chariotraces.

They walked toward the race track. Plato pointed² toa large building near the road.

"That is the gymnasium," he said. "It is where ourathletes train. They practice running and throwingthe javelin³ and discus.""We have a gymnasium at our school in FrogCreek," said Jack. "We call it a gym.""People all over the world copy us Greeks," Platosaid.

"Wait," said Jack. "I have to take notes for Annie.

He pulled out his notebook and wrote:

Ancient Greeks invented gyms"Okay, we can go," said Jack. He tucked hisnotebook under his arm.

As they moved along, Plato pointed to a beautifultree nearby.

"The olive tree is our sacred tree," he said. "Thewinners of the games will wear crowns made from itsbranches.""Oh, wow," said Jack. And he wrote:

olive trees is sacredNext they passed a beautiful statue of a lady.

Who's that?" said Jack.

Nike, the goddess of victory," said plato.

Jack quickly wrote:

Nike, the goddess of victory"Nike is important to the games," said Plato. "Butthe most important Olympic god is in there."He took Jack to a brick building with huge columns.

They stepped through the door. It was a temple. Jackgasped.

In front of them loomed⁴ the biggest statue he hadever seen.

The statue was at least two stories high. It was abearded man sitting on a throne.

"This is the temple of Zeus. And that is a statue ofZeus himself," said Plato. "The Olympic Games areplayed in his honor. He is the chief god of the Greekgods and goddesses.""Oh, man," whispered Jack.

"Yesterday all the athletes came here," said Plato.

"They swore to Zeus that they had trained for tenmonths. And they promised to obey the rules of thegames."The statue of the mighty⁵ Greek god stared down atJack.

Jack felt very small.

"Hi, Zeus," he said. His voice was small, too.

Suddenly, trumpet⁶ sounds came from outside.

"The hour has come," said Plato. "We must hurry.

The Olympic parade begins!"

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 pointed   

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。

3 javelin   

n.标枪，投枪

参考例句：

• She achieved a throw of sixty metres in the javelin event.在掷标枪项目中，她掷了60米远。
• The coach taught us how to launch a javelin.教练教我们投标枪。

4 loomed   

v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• A dark shape loomed up ahead of us. 一个黑糊糊的影子隐隐出现在我们的前面。
• The prospect of war loomed large in everyone's mind. 战事将起的庞大阴影占据每个人的心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 mighty   

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。

6 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。