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The Trojan War 特洛伊战争：神人交手，英雄齐聚

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

The story of the Trojan War is one of the most familiar myths in the world. It’s mostly remembered for its cause – Helen, the world’s most beautiful woman – and for the rage of Achilles, the greatest of the Greek warriors.

特洛伊战争是人们最耳熟能详的神话之一。战争的起因绝世美女海伦，和希腊第一勇士阿基利斯的愤怒都是故事被广为流传的原因。

Helen had been promised to Paris, a prince of Troy, by the goddess of love, Aphrodite, in exchange for his honoring her as the most beautiful goddess. However, Helen was already married to Menelaus, a Greek king. Nonetheless, she ran away with Paris, which understandably upset her husband. Menelaus and his brother, Agamemnon, the greatest king in Greece, assembled an alliance of other Greek lords to declare war on Troy and retrieve Helen.

爱与美的女神爱芙萝黛蒂答应将海伦许配给特洛伊城的王子帕里斯，交换条件是帕里斯要将她奉为最美的女神。然而海伦早已嫁给了希腊国王米奈劳斯。尽管如此，海伦还是和帕里斯私奔，想当然尔也激怒了米奈劳斯。为了夺回海伦，米奈劳斯和他的兄长，希腊诸王中最强大的国王阿伽门侬召集了希腊众王，联合向特洛伊城宣战。

The best warrior of all the Greek heroes was Achilles. His mother, the sea nymph Thetis, had rendered him invulnerable by dipping him as a baby in the Styx, the river of the Underworld. His only weak point was his heel, where his mother had held on to him. When Agamemnon took one of Achilles’ slave-girls, Achilles, furious, refused to fight. Without their best fighter, the Greeks suffered, and it seemed they might lose. Only when Achilles’ best friend, Patroclus, was killed by a Trojan prince named Hector did Achilles rejoin the fight.

希腊战士中最骁勇善战的英雄是阿基利斯。他的母亲海洋女神西蒂丝在他还是婴儿的时候，将他浸泡在冥河之中，使阿基利斯全身刀枪不入。他唯一的弱点是西蒂丝当时紧握着而未浸泡到的脚踝。在阿伽门侬带走阿基利斯一名婢女之后，阿基利斯愤而拒战。少了第一战士阿基利斯，希腊军陷入苦战，眼看就要输了。直到阿基利斯的挚友帕特洛克罗斯被特洛伊王子赫克托杀死，阿基利斯才重返战场。

Hector was Achilles’ counterpart, the best warrior among the Trojans. After Patroclus’ death, Achilles sought out Hector, finally trapping and killing him outside the city walls of Troy. Achilles himself was ultimately killed when an arrow shot by Paris struck him in his vulnerable heel. We still use the phrase “Achilles’ heel” to describe a weakness in an otherwise strong person.

赫克托是特洛伊最强的斗士，足以与阿基利斯匹敌。帕特洛克罗斯死后，阿基利斯一路追杀赫克托，最后在特洛伊城外困住赫克托，了结他的性命。阿基利斯最后则被帕里斯射出的箭命中脚踝，遭到杀害。直到今日，人们依旧会用「阿基利斯的脚踝」形容一位近乎完美的人唯一的弱点。

Vocabulary

单词发音

rage [redʒ] n.（一阵）狂怒，盛怒

warrior [ˋwɔrɪɚ] n. 战士，勇士

in exchange for 作为...的交换

assemble [əˋsɛmb!] v. 集合，召集

declare [dɪˋklɛr] v. 宣布，宣告

retrieve [rɪˋtriv] v. 重新得到，收回

render [ˋrɛndɚ] v. 使得，使成为

suffer [ˋsʌfɚ] v. 受损害，受损失；变糟

counterpart [ˋkaʊntɚ͵pɑrt] n. 对应的人（或物）

ultimately [ˋʌltəmɪtlɪ] adv. 最后；终极地

vulnerable [ˋvʌlnərəb!] adj. 易受伤的

otherwise [ˋʌðɚ͵waɪz] adv. 在其他方面；除此以外

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单词发音

alliance [əˋlaɪəns] n. 结盟；联盟

nymph [nɪmf] n.〔希腊和罗马神话中居于山林水泽中的〕仙女

invulnerable [ɪnˋvʌlnərəb!] adj. 不会受伤害的；刀枪不入的

underworld [ˋʌndɚ͵wɝld] n.（大写）阴间，地狱

heel [hil] n. 脚后跟，踵

furious [ˋfjʊərɪəs] adj. 狂怒的

seek out 找到, 找来

课文朗读

课文讲解

The Trojan War lasted for ten years. One of the reasons for this, as well as the reason that the war started in the first place, was the meddling of the gods. Because Paris chose Aphrodite as the most beautiful of the goddesses, she naturally supported the Trojans, as did Apollo, Artemis, and Ares. Hera, Athena, and Poseidon favored the Greeks. Though Zeus’ sympathies were with the Trojans, he remained neutral. The gods constantly interfered in battles, helping their favorite warriors or rescuing them from certain death. Paris wasn’t a great fighter, and he was only able to kill the mighty Achilles because Apollo guided his arrow to the Greek hero’s weak point.

特洛伊战争持续了10年之久。神祇的干涉是战事不断拖长的原因，也是引发战火的根源。帕里斯选择爱芙萝黛蒂作为最美的女神，爱芙萝黛蒂自然而然会帮助他。太阳神阿波罗、狩猎女神阿尔特弥丝及战神阿瑞斯也站在帕里斯这一边。而婚姻女神赫拉、智慧女神阿西娜和海神波赛顿则偏爱希腊。宙斯虽然内心支持特洛伊人，行为上还是维持中立。众神不断干扰战局，帮助自己喜爱的战士，协助他们逃出死劫。帕里斯并不是个多精锐的战士，而他能杀死伟大的阿基利斯，纯粹是因为阿波罗将箭引导至阿基利斯的弱点上。

Despite their success on the battlefield, the Greeks could not get over or through Troy’s great walls. Then Odysseus, the most cunning of the Greek leaders, suggested a trick. He had the Greeks construct a huge wooden horse, and they sailed their ships out of sight. The Trojans, thinking the horse was a peace offering, brought it inside the city walls. After they had finished celebrating and were asleep, Odysseus and a few other Greeks climbed out of the horse, where they had been hiding, unlocked the gates, and let in the Greek army. Taken by surprise, the Trojans were finally defeated.

虽然希腊军不断得胜，他们却一直无法攻破特洛伊城墙。后来，希腊统帅中最足智多谋的奥德修斯提出了一个计策。他命令希腊军建造一座巨大木马，并令船队驶离战场。特洛伊人以为巨型木马是希腊军求和的贡品，便把木马拉进城中。就在他们欢庆胜利、纷纷入睡之后，奥德修斯和几名希腊士兵从藏身的木马中爬出来，打开特洛伊城门，让希腊军长驱直入。措手不及的特洛伊人最后终于被击败。

Even after the war, the gods continued to meddle in the lives of the Greek army. Because of the Greeks’ acts of cruelty and sacrilege in the defeated city, some of them did not have a happy homecoming. Agamemnon was murdered by his queen when he returned home. More famously, Odysseus, as told in Odyssey, spent ten years trying to get home to his native island, Ithaca.

就连战争结束后众神仍持续干预希腊军队的命运。希腊军在战败城中残暴、亵渎的行为让他们凯旋归乡的路艰跛难行。阿伽门侬返国后被自己的皇后谋杀，而更有名的是《奥德赛》的故事，其描述了奥德修斯花了10年才回到出生的岛屿伊萨卡。

−by Barry Hall

Vocabulary

单词发音

favor [ˋfevɚ] v. 偏爱；偏袒; 支持

sympathy [ˋsɪmpəθɪ] n. 同情，同情心

neutral [ˋnjutrəl] adj. 中立的

rescue [ˋrɛskju] v. 援救；营救；挽救[（+from）]

mighty [ˋmaɪtɪ] adj. 强大的；强有力的

despite [dɪˋspaɪt] prep. 尽管

cunning [ˋkʌnɪŋ] adj. 狡猾的，奸诈的

out of sight 超出视野

offering [ˋɔfərɪŋ] n. 供物，祭品

unlock [ʌnˋlɑk] v. 打开(锁等)，解开

cruelty [ˋkruəltɪ] n. 残酷，残忍

murder [ˋmɝdɚ] v. 谋杀，凶杀

native [ˋnetɪv] adj. 出生地的，祖国的，家乡的

More Information

单词发音

meddle [ˋmɛd!] v. 干预; 干涉; 管闲事

interfere [͵ɪntɚˋfɪr] v. 介入；干涉，干预

get over (使)越过 to get across

sacrilege [ˈsækrəlɪdʒ] n. 亵渎神明

homecoming [ˋhom͵kʌmɪŋ] n. 返乡; 回家

Reading Questions

1. Why was Achilles considered the greatest of all the Greek warriors?

A. Because it was almost impossible to destroy him.

B. Because he had inherited the powers of his sea nymph mother.

C. Because he was the angriest of all the Greek heroes.

D. Because he was born in the Underworld.

2. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A. The gods’ interference caused the war to last a decade.

B. The gods were responsible for starting the war.

C. The gods stayed out of the war, refusing to get involved.

D. The gods influenced the warriors’ lives, even after the war.

3. How might you describe Zeus’ position regarding the war?

A. He could not decide which side he favored.

B. He did not support one side over the other.

C. He was enthusiastically on the side of the Trojans.

D. He originally backed the Greeks and then changed sides.

4. What does the article aim to do?

A. Inspired a debate about the merits of war.

B. Evaluate the actions of gods in Greek mythology.

C. Provide a brief history of ancient Greece.

D. Summarize a well-known tale about a decade-long war.

The truth of Troy (2004 BBC Horizon)

Troy trailer

Troy- Achilles Vs Hector

Answer