Echo and Narcissus
回声和那喀索斯
Narcissus was a handsome youth. His lovely face and graceful form were the admiration of all who looked upon him. And he knew it. He was proud that he thought no one but himself was worthy to see his youthful beauty. Thus given up to sweet thoughts of self, Narcissus avoided allcompany. He roamed the wooded little valleys every day,madly in love with himself.
那喀索斯是位英俊的青年,面容可爱,体形优美,每个见到他的人都羡慕不已。他骄傲地认为,除了自己之外,没有人配欣赏他那充满青春气息的美貌。因而,他沉溺于甜美的自我欣赏之中,远离所有人。每天他在苍翠蓊郁的小山谷中闲逛,疯狂地爱着自己。
When he was delightfully wandering through the woods one day, a wood fairy maiden, Echo by name, caught sight of him. She was excited at once. Joyfully coming down towards Narcissus, she stretched out her loving arms. To her dismay, however, the young man roughly brushed her aside and went by without so much as a glance at her. The poor fairy maiden's face turned red and quickly withdrew to a shady spot, following the object of her love with her longing eyes.
一天,那喀索斯在树林中愉快地游荡。一位名叫回声的林中仙女看见了他,她立刻兴奋不已。她高兴地走向那喀索斯,伸出爱的双臂。然而,令她吃惊的是,这位青年粗暴地将她推开,连看都不看她一眼就走开了。可怜的仙女羞红了脸,迅速退到遮阴处,含情脉脉地凝望着心上人。
Presently Narcissus stopped to drink from a little stream. Kneeling down on the bank,he saw a lovely face in the clear water. His heart gave a beat. lie smiled and was smiled back to. Thinking that it must be a maiden in love with him, he bent down to kiss her. But as soon as he touched the clear surface the lovely face disappeared. The angry youth was
now desperate. Never had he been looked down upon like that before. Day and night,he stayed at the stream without drinking and eating. Before long he died, never suspecting that his maiden was just his own image in the stream. The gods took pity on the fair dead body and turned it into a flower bearing his name. This flower was the first narcissus. All the flowers of this family, when they grow by the side of a pond or a stream, still bend their beautiful heads and look at the reflection of their ovm faces in the water.
不久,那喀索斯在一条小溪边停下饮水。当他跪在岸边时,他发现清澈的溪水中有一张可爱的面庞。他的心扑通跳着,他对着水中的人微笑,水中人也给了他一个微笑。他认为,一定是一位仙女爱上了他。于是,他俯下身子去吻她。但是,当他的嘴唇一接触清澈的溪水,水中可爱的面容就消失了。这位恼怒的青年人此时变得绝望了,他从未受过如此的鄙视。他日夜待在溪边,不吃不喝,不久就死了,但他从未怀疑过水中的女子只是自已的影子罢了。众神非常怜悯他那优美的躯体,将之变成了一朵花,和青年同名,这朵花就是第一朵水仙花,当它们生长在池塘或溪流旁时,仍然低下它们美丽的头看着水里自已的影子。
The intoxicated Echo saw all this. Slowly she became weak, until at last nothing remained of her except her voice.
那位陶醉于爱河的回声亲眼日睹了这一切她日斩憔悴,最后,除了声音之外,她化为了乌有。
课堂笔记:
1."Narcissus”在这个神话中为人名,该词在英语中又有“水仙花”的含义。因为这个故事,"Narcissus”成为“孤芳自赏者’.“自我陶醉者”的代名词。
2."so much as”与“as much as”意思相同,前者常用于否定句中。此处的“without so much as a glance at her”表示“连看都不看她一眼”搭配“without so much as/with no so much as”表示“甚至连……都没……”。
3."as soon as”用作连词,表示“一……就……”,在句子中的位置比较灵活,而且可以用于各种时态。
4.英语中的否定副词(如“never, rarely, seldom, barely, scarcely”等)或具有否定作用的副词(如“little, on no account, by no means”等)置于句首时,句子部分倒装。
太急燥了,要平心静气
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