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1、The Beginning of the World 1The Beginning of the WorldBefore earth and sea and heavens became known the face of nature was one crude, formless mass. Land and sea and air were mingled together. The universe was a uniform darkness, without sun and moon, and the earth was no more than an embryo heap. I
2、n the middle of the pervading gloom was Chaos and his wife, the goddess of Night(Nyx), who reigned but did not rule, for the whole space was lifeless. Centuries later, with the birth of Light and Day, earth and sea and air came into existence. Still later, the union of Gaea(Earth) and Uranus(Heaven)
3、 gave birth to the Titans, the Cyclopes and the Centimani, all giants in stature and strength. Afraid that his own gigantic children might usurp his throne, Uranus drove them all back to the earth, and thus roused the resentment of the mother Gaea. At her instigation one of her sons, Kronus (Saturn)
4、, attacked and wounded Uranus with a sickle he had taken from his mother, and took over as supreme ruler of the universe. He married his own sister Rhea and entrusted the management of the sun to his brother Hyperion and the moon to his sister Phoebe. He ruled his realm peacefully until an oracle pr
5、ophesied that he would one day be dethroned by one of his own children. To avert the disaster he took the excessive precaution of swallowing up all his five children one by one immediately after their birth. These were Hestia(Vesta), Demeter(Ceres), Hera(Juno), Poseidon(Neptune) and Hades(Pluto). Wh
6、en Rhea bore the last child, Zeus(Jupiter) by name, Kronus wanted to get rid of him in the same fashion. But the mother wrapped up a piece of stone in the infants swathes and handed it over to the unsuspecting father. Thus Zeus was saved, and sent to Mt Ida, where the mountain nymphs did all in thei
7、r power to protect him from any harm.By the time Kronus became aware of the deception it was too late, for young Zeus suddenly appeared before him and easily deposed him. With the help of a nauseous potion, Zeus forced his father to disgorge his five brothers and sisters. But Kronus and his Titans w
8、ere not reconciled to their defeat. They made war on Zeus and his brothers and sisters. Acting on the advice of his mother Rhea, Zeus released the Cyclopes from under the earth and armed himself with their thunderbolts, for the Cyclopes were thunderboltmakers. The rebellious Titans were soon reduced
9、 to submission and cast down into Tartarus. Zeus became the undisputed ruler on Olympus. He made his sister Hera his queen, and distributed power among his brothers and sisters and his sons and daughters. Among others, Poseidon ruled over the vast expanse of seas and oceans, and Pluto was created lo
10、rd of the lower world. Thus, for untold centuries, the Olympians reigned supreme in the universe, lording it over man and beast alike, until they were dethroned and superseded by a new, monotheistic faith. 1 roused the resentment of ：引起了的怨恨2 took the excessive precaution of： 采取了过分的防范措施3 Mt Ida ：埃达人（
11、位于克里特岛）4 Acting on the advice of：遵守的意见（或劝告）5 reduced to submission：被迫降服6 Among others：其中，就中。7 a new, monotheistic faith：一种新的一神教（指基督教） 。The Beginning of the World 2New Words:crude kru:d adj.天然的, 未加工的, 粗糙的, 拙劣的, 粗鲁的mass ms n.块, 大多数, 质量, 群众,大量mingle migl v.(使)混合be no more than 只是embryo embriu n.胚胎, 胎儿,
12、 胚芽heap hi:p n.堆, 大量, 许多pervade pveid v.遍及gloom glu:m n.阴暗, 阴沉reign rein vi.统治, 支配, 盛行, 占优势Gaea di: (Earth) n.希神盖亚( 大地女神)Uranus ju:rns (Heaven) n.天王星Titan taitn n.希神 提坦, 太阳神, 巨人Cyclope saiklup 独眼巨人Centimani 百手怪物giant daint n.巨人, 大力士stature stt n.身高, 身材, (精神、道德等的)高度usurp juz:p v.篡夺, 篡位, 侵占throne run
13、n.王座, 君主;vi.即位，登上王位dethrone dirun v.废黜, 废位赶出instigation instigein n, 教唆, .鼓动, 煽动Kronus (Saturn)也作 Cronussckle sikl n.镰刀take over v.把.从一地带到另一地 , 接收, 接管supreme sju: pri:m adj.极度的,极大的,至高的Rhea ri【希腊神话】 瑞亚：克罗诺斯的妹妹和妻子，得墨忒耳、哈德斯、赫拉、赫斯提、波塞冬及宙斯的母亲Hyperion haipirin n.希神亥伯龙神Phoebe fi:bi 【希腊神话】 女神阿耳忒弥斯; 月亮n.菲比（女
14、子名）realm relm n.领域oracle rkl n.宗(古希腊)神谕, 预言, 神谕处, 神使, 哲人, 圣贤prophesy prfisi v.预言, 预报avert v:t v.转移disaster diza:st n.灾难, 天灾, 灾祸excessive iksesiv adj.过多的, 过分的, 额外precaution prik:n n.预防, 警惕, 防范swallow swlu vi.吞下, 咽下Hestia hesti (Vesta) n.希神 赫斯提(女灶神,罗马神话中称为 Vesta)Demeter dimi:t (Ceres) n.希神 得墨忒耳( 掌农业,结
15、婚,丰饶之女神)Poseidon psaidn (Neptune) n.希神 波赛冬（海神）Hades heidi:z (Pluto)n.希 哈迪斯（冥府,地狱,阎王）Zeus zju:s (Jupiter)n.希神 宙斯by name 名字是get rid of 摆脱，除去fashion fn n.样子, 方式, 流行, 风尚, 时样swathe swei n.包装品, 带子, 绷带unsuspecting nsspekti adj.不怀疑的, 无疑虑的, 信任的nymph nimf n.希神罗神 居于山林水泽的仙女, 美丽的少女became aware of 意识到deception disepn n.欺骗, 诡计depose dipuz vt.免职, 废(王位), 作证nauseous n:sjs adj.令人作呕的,厌恶的potion pun n.一服, 一剂disgorge disg:d v.吐出reconcile reknsail vt.使和解,使和谐,使顺从rebellious ribeljs adj.造反的, 反叛的, 反抗的, 难于对付的Tartarus ta:trs n.地狱底下暗无天日之深渊undisputed ndispju
