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January: The Gateway to a New Year 一月的故事

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Romulus, the mythological founder of Rome, had a problem: there were not enough women in the city. The Roman ruler appealed to the neighboring Sabines for wives, but they refused to give up their daughters. The king was undeterred. He threw a great feast and invited the Sabines.

传说中建造罗马的罗米拉斯国王遇到一个问题：城里的女性不够。这位罗马统治者于是向邻国萨宾要求出让一些女性，但萨宾人拒绝让出女儿。然而，国王并未因此气馁，他举办了一场盛宴邀请萨宾人前往参加。

The Sabines suspected nothing as they sat down to eat. The king signaled for his troops to make their move. At once, the troops rushed through the crowd, seized the young women and dragged them out. The maidens screamed and fought against their captors, but it was no use. Their parents fled the city, vowing revenge on Rome.

萨宾人不疑有他，随即就座享用食物。罗马国王便向他的军队示意开始行动。军队立刻穿过人群，捉住年轻女性并带离现场。少女们尖叫不已、不停反抗，却一点用也没有。她们的父母逃离了罗马城并誓言报仇。

What the Sabine people didn’t know was that Rome was being watched over by a god named Janus, whose temple was near the gate to the city. One night, the Sabines climbed the hill where Rome sat and gave chase to Romulus’ men who were outside the city. The men ran inside and tried to shut the city gate behind them. Alas, the gate would not close. Just as the Sabines reached the open gate, Janus shot a stream of hot water out of his temple which swept the Sabines away. After that, the door to Janus’ temple was always left open in times of war so he could protect Rome.

而萨宾人不知道的是，罗马是由一位叫杰纳斯的神守护着，他的庙址就在罗马城门附近。某晚，萨宾人爬上罗马城所在的山丘，并追捕在城外的罗米拉斯子民。那些子民们跑进城内并试着关上身后的城门。哎呀! 城门关不起来。就在萨宾人快抵达敞开的城门口时，杰纳斯从庙里喷出一道热水柱，把萨宾人一扫而去。从此，每当战争发生时，通往杰纳斯庙宇的门便会一直开着，以便利于杰纳斯能保护罗马。

The symbol of Janus is a door that swings both ways. This indicates that he can see both the past and the future. Janus is considered the god beginnings and the keeper of the gate. For this reason, the Romans named the first months of the year after Janus. Today, we call it January.

代表杰纳斯的符号是一道两面摆动的门，意指他可以看见过去及未来。杰纳斯被视为开端之神及守门神。因此，罗马人便以杰纳斯之名来命名一年的第一个月。也就是我们今日所称的January。

−By Trudy Barnes

Vocabulary

captor [ˋkæptɚ] n. 捉拿者﹐捕捉者

revenge [rɪˋvɛndʒ] n. 报仇；报复

swing [swɪŋ] v. 摇摆，摆动

More Information

mythological [͵mɪθəˋlɑdʒɪk!] adj. 神话的

undeterred [͵ʌndɪˋtɝd] adj. 未受阻的

throw [θro] v.【口】举行（宴会等）

troop [trup] n. 军队，部队

at once: 立刻, 马上, 立即 immediately; right now

maiden [ˋmedn] n. 少女，处女

watch over: 照看, 保护 to protect and feel responsible for the care of

give chase to 追赶,追击…to chase someone or something

alas [əˋlæs] int.感叹词（表示悲痛、怜悯、遗憾、关切等）哎呀，唉