How Prometheus Made Mankind普羅米修斯如何造人
by Olivia Wycech
There is more to the name Prometheus than a blockbuster movie.
全世界其中一起最《普羅米修斯》不光是一部賣座電影,這個名字大有來頭。
We may never truly know how man was created, but there are certainly many theories to be explored. One story that has recently gained popularity with a movie released under the same name is the legend of Prometheus, who in Greek mythology is credited with having created man from clay.
Prometheus, which means forethought as he was forever thinking of the future, was the son of a Titan. After engaging in a war with the Olympians, all of the Titans were sent to prison except for Prometheus and his brother Epimetheus, which means afterthought since he was always dwelling on the past. The brothers were instead assigned the task of creating man and animals.
According to the myth, Prometheus molded man from clay, and the goddess Athena breathed life into the clay figure. Zeus, the king of the Olympian gods, felt threatened
by mankind and took fire away from them. Man suffered greatly, so
Prometheus stole fire back from Zeus and returned it to mankind. As
punishment for this act, Prometheus was banished to a mountain, where he was chained to a rock to live out eternity. Every day, an enormous eagle was sent to feed on his liver, and since Prometheus was immortal, his liver would grow back before the eagle returned to feast the following day. Some stories say Prometheus spent 30 years there, while others say it was 1,000, but even more discrepancies
exist between the stories of how Prometheus was freed. The most popular
version is that Hercules, the son of Zeus, freed Prometheus by slaying the eagle and unbinding him.
1. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
(A) The movie Prometheus is about the Greek god with the same name.
(B) Greek mythologies are best suited for children.
(C) The story of Prometheus aims to teach people about the consequences of stealing.
(D) Greek mythology offers alternate explanations for the creation of the world.
2. Which quality would NOT be used to describe Prometheus?
(A) Courageous.
(B) Bold.
(C) Greedy.
(D) Kind.
3. Which of the following is true about Zeus?
(A) He was worried that man would become too powerful.
(B) His children were angry and turned against him.
(C) He was concerned that Prometheus would replace him as king.
(D) He hated mankind.
4. Why was Prometheus chained to a rock on a mountain?
(A) He was punished for being greedy and stealing.
(B) Zeus wanted to punish the Titans, so he banished him.
(C) Zeus was angry that mankind had been given fire.
(D) Zeus' malnourished eagle was hungry.
- mankind n. 人類(集合名詞,不可數)
- a blockbuster movie賣座電影
- theory n. 理論
- explore vt. 研究,探索
- release vt. 放映
- mythology n. 神話(集合名詞,不可數)
- clay n. 黏土
- forethought n. 事先的考慮
- afterthought n. 事後的想法
- eternity n. 永恒;不朽
- enormous a. 巨大的
- immortal a. 不死的;不朽的
- feast vi. 大快朵頤,盡情地吃(與介詞 on 并用)
- slay vt. 殘殺,屠殺
- alternate a. 供選擇的
- courageous a. 勇敢的
- bold a. 大膽的
- greedy a. 貪婪的
- replace vt. 取代
- think of...想到……;考慮……
- be sent to prison關進監(jiān)獄,入獄
- be chained to...被拴在……
- be inferred from...從……推斷
- aim to...旨在……,目的在於……
"關系代名詞 who, which 非限定修飾" 的用法
注意
專有名詞(如∶Tom、Taipei)及獨一性名詞,
如 father、mother(爸爸、媽媽只有一個),
之後若接關系代名詞所引導的形容詞子句時,該關系代名詞之前一定要置逗點。此時該形容詞子句就稱為非限定修飾語。換言之,專有名詞或獨一性名詞本身就具有特殊性,不必再用形容詞子句加以限定。翻譯成中文時,按照順序譯出來。
You should talk with my father, who is an English teacher.
你該和我父親談談,他是個英文老師。
My friend just came back from New Orleans, which is a big city in the US.
我的朋友剛從紐奧良回來,那是美國的一座大城市。
- gain popularity贏得喜愛;受歡迎
= increase in popularity
The TV show failed to gain popularity and was canceled.
該電視節(jié)目因沒能受觀眾喜愛而被中止了。 - be credited with...把……歸功於
Paul is credited with turning the company around and making it the most successful in the industry.
保羅被認為對改造公司成為業(yè)界龍頭有功。 - engage in...從事……;參加……
= take part in...
The survey shows that only 32 percent of American adults engage in regular exercise.
這項調查顯示只有百分之三十二的美國人有規(guī)律運動。 - dwell on...老是想著……
Jill dwells on the negative aspects of her life instead of focusing on the positives.
吉兒老是想著生活的消極面,卻不去想積極的一面。 - assign vt. 指派
assign sb a task指派某人一項任務
The troop leader assigned each of the scouts a different task.
該部隊指揮官指派給每個偵察兵不同的任務。 - mold vt. 用模子做;塑造 & n. 模具,模子
(= mould)
mold A into B把 A 塑造成 B 的形狀
We molded the wax into different shapes in art class.
我們在美術課將蠟塑造成各種不同形狀。 - breathe life into sth
為某事物注入生命 活力
The artist hopes his new paintings will breathe life into his diminishing career.
該藝術家希望他的新畫作能為岌岌可危的生涯注入一股新的生命。
*diminishing a. 漸漸縮小的 - threaten vt. 威脅
threaten to V威脅從事……
My sister threatened that she would tell our parents what I had done.
我姐威脅我要把我所做的一切告訴老爸老媽。
The terrorists threatened to kill one hostage every hour if their demands were not met.
假如沒有滿足恐怖份子的要求,他們威脅每隔一小時就要殺死一個人質。 - banish vt. 放逐
After the scandal, Thomas was banished from politics.
在丑聞爆發(fā)後,湯瑪士就被逐出了政界。 - live out...以(某種方式)度過馀生
The old man lived out his days alone.
那位老人獨自度過馀生。 - feed on...(動物)靠吃……過活
live on...(人)以……為食
There is plenty of grass for the cattle to feed on in the field.
野外有一大片的青草供牛群食用。
Most people in Asia live mostly on rice.
大多數住在亞洲的人主要以吃米飯為生。 - discrepancy n. 差異之處,矛盾
The police found discrepancies between the two men's statements.
警方發(fā)現兩名男子的說法有矛盾。 - unbind vt. 解放;解開(三態(tài)為∶
unbind, unbound, unbound)
Cynthia unbound the stack of books and started putting them on the shelves.
辛西亞解開這一疊書,并開始將它們放到書架上。 - be suited for...適合於……
Miranda is well suited for law because of her personality.
由於個性的緣故,米蘭達很適合從事司法工作。 - turn against...敵視……;反對……
People who once supported Stan began to turn against him.
那些原來支持史丹的人也開始與他反目成仇。 - malnourished a. 營養(yǎng)不良的
nourish vt. 滋養(yǎng);養(yǎng)育
The stunted growth of these children shows that they are malnourished.
這些孩童發(fā)育不良,表示他們營養(yǎng)不良。
*stunted a. 發(fā)育不良的
Your baby is healthy and well nourished.
您的寶寶很健康且營養(yǎng)很好。
普羅米修斯如何造人
《普羅米修斯》不光是一部賣座電影,這個名字大有來頭。
我們可能永遠無法確切知道人類是如何被創(chuàng)造出來的,但肯定還有許多理論值得去探索。普羅米修斯的傳說最近隨著同名電影上映變成了一個很受歡迎的故事,他在希臘神話中被歸功為那位從泥土創(chuàng)造出人類的神明。
普羅米修斯是泰坦之子,普羅米修斯這個名字的意思是指深謀遠慮,因為他一直考慮著未來。參與了奧林匹斯山眾神戰(zhàn)役之後,所有泰坦家族的人除了普羅米修斯及他的兄弟厄庇米修斯以外都被關進了監(jiān)獄,厄庇米修斯指的是事後的想法,因為他老是惦記著過去。他們兄弟倆沒被關入牢中,反而被指派了創(chuàng)造人類及動物的工作。
根據神話,普羅米修斯將黏土塑造成人形,而女神雅典娜為泥人注入生命。眾神之王──宙斯,對人類倍感威脅而將火從人類手中奪走。人類遭受極大的痛苦,所以普羅米修斯從宙斯那里把火偷回來,還給人類。為了懲戒普羅米修斯這樣的舉動,他被放逐到山中,被拴在一顆巖石上并永遠待在那里。一蘋巨鷹每天都被派去吃普羅米修斯的肝臟,因為普羅米修斯是不死的,他的肝臟會在翌日巨鷹去享用前就重新長回來。有些故事說普羅米修斯在那里待了 30 年,也有人說是 1 千年,但是他是如何獲得釋放的,有關這點的說法莫衷一是。最普遍的解釋就是宙斯的兒子??肆κ繉⒕搡棜⑺啦诺靡运砷_普羅米修斯身上的鎖鏈。
1. 從這篇文章可以推斷出下列哪一項敘述?
(A) 電影《普羅米修斯》是講述有著相同名字的希臘天神。本文未提及
(B) 古希臘神話最適合小朋友閱讀。本文未提及
(C) 普羅米修斯的故事旨在教導人偷竊所造成的後果。請見文章第 3 段
(D) 希臘神話為世界的創(chuàng)造提供了其他的解釋。
題解∶根據本文,應選 (D) 選項。
2. 哪一項特質不能用來形容普羅米修斯?
(A) 勇猛的。請見文章第 3 段
(B) 大膽的。請見文章第 3 段
(C) 貪婪的。本文未提及
(D) 仁慈的。請見文章第 3 段
題解∶根據本文第 3 段的故事內容,普羅米修斯為他所
創(chuàng)造的人,向眾神之王──宙斯奪回火還給人類,因此可知答案應選 (C)。
3. 對於宙斯的描述哪一項是正確的?
(A) 宙斯擔心人類會變得過於強大。
(B) 宙斯的子女很生氣,轉而對抗他。本文未提及
(C) 宙斯擔心普羅米修斯會取代 成為眾神之王。本文未提及
(D) 宙斯討厭人類。本文未提及。
題解∶根據本文第 3 段,宙斯對人類倍感威脅而將火從人類手中奪走。因此,可知 (A) 應為正選。
4. 為什麼普羅米修斯被拴在山上的一塊巖石上?
(A) 他因貪婪及偷竊而受到懲罰。
(B) 宙斯想要懲戒泰坦族人,所以他驅逐了普羅米修斯。
(C) 宙斯對於人類獲得火這件事感到很生氣。
(D) 宙斯營養(yǎng)不良的老鷹餓了。
題解∶根據本文第 3 段,普羅米修斯從宙斯那里把火偷回來,還給人類。而宙斯為了懲戒普羅米修斯這樣的舉動,將他放逐到山中,因此可知答案應選 (C)。
答案∶1. D2. C3. A4. C
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