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Clive’s Chronicles 克理夫的历代志──纳尼亚魔法王国

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

Fans of The Chronicles of Narnia may be surprised to learn that Clive Staples (C. S.) Lewis had written nothing but serious literary works until well into his middle age. And, in fact, the chronicles may never have been written if it hadn’t been for the bombardment of Britain during the Second World War. The barrage posed a severe threat to the lives of city-dwellers and Lewis agreed to shelter four children at his home in the country. It was these same children who inspired the stores that would become the Narnia books.

《纳尼亚魔法王国》的书迷们在得知克理夫史太普尔刘易斯直到中年时才写了一部严肃的文学作品时，或许会感到惊讶。事实上，如果不是第二次世界大战时的英伦大轰炸，《纳尼亚魔法王国》或许永远不会被创作出来。大轰炸对住在城市的人造成严重的生命威胁，而刘易斯同意四个孩子住进他乡下的家避难。就是这群孩子启发了他写故事的灵感，那些故事后来成为纳尼亚王国故事集。

The inspiration may have come during the war, but Lewis only finished writing his first story, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, in 1948. He went on to write six more books in The Chronicles of Narnia throughout the 1950s. Since that time, sixty-five million copies of Lewis’s books have been sold in thirty languages.

这个灵感或许起源于战争时期，但刘易斯在1948年只写完他的第一篇故事──《狮子、女巫、魔衣橱》。在1950年代，他继续写了六本《纳尼亚魔法王国》故事书。从那时候起，刘易斯的书以三十种语言卖出了六千五百万册。

Although Lewis wrote the books with children in mind, he tried to infuse them with a message that would be equally meaningful to an adult audience. Thus, The Chronicles of Narnia is not just a collection of well-loved children’s stories, but also a vehicle whereby the author could discuss the most popular book of all time: the Bible.

虽然刘易斯是以小孩子为对象写下这些书，但他也试着以对成年读者同样重要的讯息灌输这些孩子们。因此，纳尼亚王国不只是一部深受儿童喜爱的童话故事书，同时也是作者用以讨论另一本长久以来一直都是最普及的书──圣经──的工具。

Vocabulary

单词发音

chronicle [ˋkrɑnɪk!] n. 编年史，年代记

nothing but 只有；只不过

literary [ˋlɪtə͵rɛrɪ] adj. 文学的，文艺的

bombardment [bɑmˋbɑrdmənt] n. 炮击；轰炸

barrage [bəˋrɑʒ] n. 猛烈的攻击

pose [poz] v. 造成，引起

dweller [ˋdwɛlɚ] n. 居民；居住者

shelter [ˋʃɛltɚ] v. 庇护，保护

inspiration [͵ɪnspəˋreʃən] n. 灵感

witch [wɪtʃ] n. 女巫，巫婆

wardrobe [ˋwɔrd͵rob] n. 衣橱，衣柜

with …. in mind  考虑到…

infuse [ɪnˋfjuz] v. 将……注入；（向……）灌输

well-loved 深受.. 喜爱的 loved by many people; very popular

whereby [hwɛrˋbaɪ] adv.【正式】由此; 藉以

of all time  一直，始终；有史以来

Sentence of the Day

You can't judge a book by its cover.

你不能以貌取人。

课文讲解

By chronicling everything that occurred in the imaginary world of Narnia in minute detail, Lewis produced not only an enthralling series of children’s books, but also a fable with theological elements of great moral and spiritual complexity. As Lewis himself explained it: “[I supposed] that there was a land like Narnia and that [Jesus], as he became a man in our world, became a lion there, and then [imagined] what would happen.”

借着对纳尼亚王国幻想世界的每个细节详加叙述，刘易斯创作出的不只是一套扣人心弦的童书，也是一个具备神学元素的寓言，有相当道德和宗教上的深度。就像刘易斯自己解释的：「（我想）应该有一个像纳尼亚这样的地方，而他（耶稣）化身成我们世界中的一个人、化身成一头狮子，然后（想象）会发生什么事。」

What Lewis could not have imagined would happen is that, years after his death, The chronicles of Narnia would become the focus of an ugly battle between its Christian and secular readers. Uproar broke out in 2001 when a leaked memo from the books’ publisher, Harper Colins, suggested that they wanted to avoid any overt links between their forthcoming new edition of the books and “Christian imagery or theology.”

刘易斯没有想象到的是，在他死后多年，《纳尼亚魔法王国》这套书会成为基督徒和非教徒读者之间一场丑陋战争的焦点。这场混战在2001年因出版商哈波柯林斯的备忘录流出而爆发。在备忘录中，他指出他们想要避免让这些书的新版本和「基督的化身或神学理论」有任何明显的关连。

Harper Colins tried to allay Christian fears by declaring their commitment to publishing Lewis’s books in their unaltered form, but the arguments between Christian apologists and secular Narnia fans continue. Whatever your religious convictions, it’s best to remember that The Chronicles of Narnia were written primarily to entertain children – and that’s something they’ve been doing very successfully for more than fifty years.

哈波柯林斯借着声明承诺他们会以刘易斯作品原来的面貌出版，以平息基督徒的恐惧。但是，基督教护教者和纳尼亚的非教徒书迷的争论不断。不管你的宗教信仰为何，最好记得：《纳尼亚魔法王国》原来主要是写来娱乐小孩的──而那就是他们能持续畅销逾五十年的原因。

－by David Needham

Vocabulary

单词发音

chronicle [ˋkrɑnɪk!] v. 记录；记述

minute [məˋnjut] adj. 非常仔细的﹐ 极详细的

enthralling [ɪnˋθrɔlɪŋ] adj. 迷人的；吸引人的

fable [ˋfeb!] n. 寓言; 虚构的故事；传说；神话

theological [͵θiəˋlɑdʒɪk!] adj. 神学（上）的

complexity [kəmˋplɛksətɪ] n. 复杂性﹐ 错综复杂

secular [ˋsɛkjəlɚ] adj. 现世的；世俗的；非宗教的

uproar [ˋʌp͵ror] n. 骚乱；骚动

overt [oˋvɝt] adj.【正式】〔行动〕公开的﹐ 不加隐瞒的

forthcoming [͵forθˋkʌmɪŋ] adj. 即将到来的

theology [θɪˋɑlədʒɪ] n. 宗教理论，宗教体系

allay [əˋle] v. 使缓和，减轻

apologist [əˋpɑlədʒɪst] n. 辩护者﹐ 辩解者

conviction [kənˋvɪkʃən] n. 信念

Sentence of the Day

They should close the book on the subject.

他们应该停止争辩那件事。

close the book on something: to make a final effort regarding (something); bring to a conclusion;  to declare that a matter concerning someone or something is finished

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe (2005) - Trailer