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Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real 龙之千年神话

課文朗讀

課文中英文講解

繁體中文譯本

Dragons have loomed large in the imaginative life of eastern and western people for thousands of years. They adorn a million vases, and feature in a thousand myths. Though a westerner can easily recognize a Chinese dragon at the first sight (and vice versa), the two types neither look alike nor mean the same thing to their respective cultures.

几千年来，龙在东方人及西方人的想象世界里各占有一席之地。龙装饰了上百万个花瓶，也有千百种神话故事以龙为主角。虽然西方人第一眼就可轻易认出东方龙的模样(反之亦是)，但这两种龙看起来既不相同，对各自的文化所代表的意义也不一样。

The eastern dragon, for example, is a benevolent creature that controls bodies of water and represents good fortune: as such, people born in the Year of the Dragon are said to be healthy, wealthy, and wise. The European dragon, on the other hand, is a malevolent monster and the enemy of mankind. It is greedy, covetous, and often portrayed sitting atop a lair of stolen gold. In mythology, it is often hunted by a hero in a test of courage that represents the struggle between good and evil.

举例来说，东方的龙是吉祥的动物，能召唤雨水，代表好运。正因如此，龙年出生的人被认为具有福禄及智慧。而另一方面，欧洲的龙却是存敌意的怪物，是人类的敌人。牠既贪婪又擅妒，常被描写成盘踞在一窝偷来的金银财宝上。在神话故事中，龙常是代表着正邪挣扎的勇气测试中英雄所猎杀的对象。

As for appearances, the eastern dragon has a long, wiry, snake-like body, while its western counterpart looks something like a T-Rex with large functional wings. Both dragon types can fly, but as the eastern dragon has tiny wings (if at all), its flight capabilities are more the result of magic than aeronautics.

至于外表，东方的龙有着又长又结实，像蛇一般的身躯；而西方的龙看起来则像有着翅膀可供飞行的暴龙。两者皆会飞行，不过东方龙的翅膀极小(如果还有的话)，其飞行能力多半是因为神力而非动力飞行。

In the end, the way a dragon looks, or what it does, matters very little. It’s simply a creature of folklore and mythology. Or, is it?

到最后，不论龙的长相为何或是牠能做什么其实都不重要了。牠不过是民间传说及神话当中的生物而已，难道不是吗?

Vocabulary

imaginative [ɪˋmædʒə͵netɪv] adj. 有想象力的；富于想象的; 虚构的；幻想的

adorn [əˋdɔrn] v. 装饰；使生色

represent [͵rɛprɪˋzɛnt] v. 象征；表示

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

functional [ˋfʌŋkʃən!] adj. 为实用而设计的﹐实用的

capability [͵kepəˋbɪlətɪ] n. 能力，才能

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loom [lum] v. 隐约地出现

vase [ves] n. 花瓶

vice versa adv. 【拉】反之亦然

benevolent [bəˋnɛvələnt] adj. 仁慈的; 善意的

malevolent [məˋlɛvələnt] adj. 有恶意的；坏心肠的

covetous [ˋkʌvɪtəs] adj. 垂涎的；贪图的

portray [porˋtre] v. 描写﹐描述

atop [əˋtɑp] prep. 在……顶上

lair [lɛr] n.（野兽的）窝，穴

wiry [ˋwaɪrɪ] adj. （人等）瘦而结实的，筋骨强壮的

aeronautics [͵ɛrəˋnɔtɪks] n.（用作单）航空学；飞行术

folklore [ˋfok͵lor] n. 民间传说，民俗

課文中英文講解

In modern times, no one except perhaps children and fantasy writers, seriously believed in the existence of dragons. Until Dr. Jack Tanner came along, that is.

在现代，或许除了小说和奇幻文学作家之外，没有人真的相信龙的存在。直到杰克坦纳博士出现，才开始有人相信。

Tanner is a brilliant young paleontologist who argues that dragons are real – as he should, for in a remote cave in Romania, he found two. The dragons, a mother and a juvenile, were perfectly preserved in ice and dated back to around the fifteenth century.

坦纳是一位年轻又优秀的古生物学家，他主张龙是存在的；坦纳是该如此相信，因为他在罗马尼亚一处偏远的洞穴中发现了两只。那是一只母龙和一只幼龙，牠们完好地被保存在冰层中，而年代可回溯至十五世纪。

This was find of the century, but it started a landslide of questions: how did these creatures exist, and how did they live? After DNA tests and various autopsies, Tanner concluded that dragons were a species of dinosaur that had managed to survive the giant asteroid collision 65 million years ago. Remains in the cave showed that the animals were predators, hatched their young from eggs, and hibernated during the winter months.

这可是世纪大发现，但一大堆问题接踵而来：这些生物是如何存在?又是如何生存?经过DNA测试及多项解剖，坦纳总结说这两只龙是恐龙的一种，在六千五百万年前行星撞击中得以存活下来。洞穴中的遗迹显示牠们是掠食性动物、会孵卵育子，且会在冬季的月份冬眠。

But what did they look like? For the most part, they conformed to the stereotypical western dragon. They dad a leathery hide covered in scales. They had a thick serpent-like body, and large wings. Tanner was particularly excited by the wings. After all, what makes a dragon such a fascinating beast is partly its ability to fly. But the body weight was too heavy for the wings to provide lift. It was a bitter disappointment for Tanner.

但是牠们长什么样子呢?大致来说，牠们符合传统西方龙的长相，有着布满鳞片的硬皮。牠们还有粗壮的蛇形躯及巨型的翅膀。坦纳对其翅膀特别感到兴奋。毕竟龙之所以成为如此迷人的动物有一部份就是因为牠的飞行能力，但过重的身体却使翅膀无法负荷升空，这倒是让坦纳极为失望。

Vocabulary

fantasy [ˋfæntəsɪ] n. 幻想；梦想

preserve [prɪˋzɝv] v. 保存

collision [kəˋlɪʒən] n. 碰撞；相撞

remains [rɪˋmenz] n. 遗迹

predator [ˋprɛdətɚ] n. 食肉动物；掠夺者

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come along: 出现 to show up; appear

paleontologist [͵pelɪɑnˋtɑlədʒɪst] n. 古生物学者

juvenile [ˋdʒuvən!] n.【生】幼苗；幼体

landslide [ˋlænd͵slaɪd] n. 山崩﹐滑坡﹐塌方

autopsy [ˋɔtɑpsɪ] n. 验尸

asteroid [ˋæstə͵rɔɪd] n. 小行星

hibernate [ˋhaɪbɚ͵net] n.（动物）过冬，冬眠

conform [kənˋfɔrm] v. 符合，相一致

hide [haɪd] n. 兽皮；皮革

scale [skel] n. 鳞片

serpent [ˋsɝpənt] n. 蛇（尤指大蛇、毒蛇）

bitter [ˋbɪtɚ] adj. 痛苦的；难堪的

課文中英文講解

But following his initial disappointment, Tanner made a startling discovery. The dragons had two large empty sacs in their chest filled with hydrogen and methane, the waste products of digestion. Completely filled, the sacs could, like a balloon, lift a dragon into the air. What’s more, the gases could be used to – yes, you guessed it – breathe fire. Tanner speculates that to provide ignition, dragons chews a platinum-rich stone (which causes hydrogen to ignite upon contact with air). He found such stones in the mouth of the mother dragon.

但就在一开始的失望之余，坦纳有了一项惊人的发现。龙的胸腔里有两个大空囊，装着氢气与甲皖这两种因消化作用而产生的废气。这些气囊完全充满时能像气球一样，使龙升到空中。甚至，这些气体可以用来—是的，你猜对了—喷火。坦纳推测，龙为了点火会咀嚼富含白金的矿石(他能让氢气跟空气接触时起火燃烧)。在母龙的口中就发现了这样的矿石。

Did dragons and people ever co-exist? They must have, as Tanner’s find dates from the fifteenth century. Evidence in the cave also shows that armed men had fought with the beasts. They came to kill but only succeeded in slaughtering the juvenile before the mother turned them into charcoal. Later, during the winter, professional soldiers came and finished the hibernating mother off.

龙与人类是否曾经共存呢?一定有的，因为坦纳的发现可回溯到十五世纪。洞里的证据显示曾有人携带武器与龙进行打斗。他们前来屠龙，但在母龙将这些人烧成黑炭之前，他们只成功地杀死了小龙。随后在冬季期间，训练有素的士兵才又回来解决了冬眠中的母龙。

After such a once-in-a-lifetime discovery, Dr. Tanner should be in seventh heaven. But one fact stands in his way: none of the above is true. In fact, Dr. Jack Tanner himself is just a made-up character. For the whole tall tale, check out Discovery Channel’s Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real.

在经历毕生难得一件的发现之后，坦纳博士应该要高兴得飞上天。但是有件事却阻止了他：以上说得没一项是真的。事实上，连坦纳博士本身也只是一个虚构的角色。想要了解这整个虚构故事，看看探索频道的《真实猛龙》吧!

−By Robert Kelly

Vocabulary

digestion [dəˋdʒɛstʃən] n. 消化

ignition [ɪgˋnɪʃən] n. 着火；燃烧

evidence [ˋɛvədəns]n. 证据

slaughter [ˋslɔtɚ] n.（大）屠杀

charcoal [ˋtʃɑr͵kol] n. 木炭

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startling [ˋstɑrt!ɪŋ] adj. 令人吃惊的

sac [sæk] n.囊; 液囊

hydrogen [ˋhaɪdrədʒən] n.【化】氢

methane [ˋmɛθen] n. 甲烷，沼气

platinum [ˋplætnəm] n. 铂，白金

date from: 自…存在至今﹐追溯到…年代 to have an existence that extends from a particular time

finish someone or something off: 毁灭; 杀死 to destroy or completely defeat someone or something

seventh heaven: 【口】极乐; 欢天喜地 a state of great joy and satisfaction

made-up [ˋmedˋʌp] adj. 捏造的；虚构的