Chapter 20 - Greece Gets Civilized Again / 第二十章 - 希腊重获文明

Greece Gets an Alphabet / 希腊获得字母表

The Mycenaeans are gone. Now Greece is full of barbarians—the Dorians from up north, and the Sea People (who are also called the Philistines), who invaded Greece from the Mediterranean Sea.

迈锡尼人已经消失了。现在希腊到处都是野蛮人——来自北方的多利安人，以及从地中海入侵希腊的海上民族（也被称为非利士人）。

These people can't read or write. They're not used to living in cities. Greek civilization has ended!

这些人们不会阅读也不会书写。他们不习惯居住在城市里。希腊文明结束了！

But wait! Something strange is happening. The longer these barbarians live in Greece, the more civilized they become. They're no longer wandering around looking for cities to attack. Instead, they're settling into villages.

但是等等！一些奇怪的事情正在发生。这些野蛮人在希腊生活得越久，就变得越文明。他们不再到处游荡寻找城市去攻击。相反，他们开始定居在村庄里。

They're learning how to farm and fish. They're becoming—Greeks!

他们正在学习如何耕种和捕鱼。他们正在变成——希腊人！

The Dorians and the Sea People lived in Greece for hundreds of years. They looked less and less like wild warrior tribes, and more and more like civilized merchants, farmers, and storekeepers. They started building houses.

多利安人和海上民族在希腊生活了数百年。他们看起来越来越不像野蛮的战士部族，而越来越像文明的商人、农民和店主。他们开始建造房屋。

Their houses became fancier and fancier, with kitchens, rooms for taking baths, and separate rooms for men and women to entertain their friends. Soon they started building houses close to each other, in villages.

他们的房屋变得越来越精美，有厨房、洗澡的房间，以及供男女分别娱乐朋友的独立房间。不久他们开始在村庄里建造彼此靠近的房屋。

Then the villages grew even larger, into cities—each one with its own government and its own army. They learned how to grow olives, grapes, figs, and wheat, and how to make wine from the grapes.

然后村庄发展得更大，成为城市——每个都有自己的政府和自己的军队。他们学会了如何种植橄榄、葡萄、无花果和小麦，以及如何用葡萄酿造酒。

Instead of riding out to kill their neighbors, they learned how to enjoy civilized sports like wrestling, chariot racing, and horseback riding. They loved to dance—at weddings, at funerals, at feasts, and at sports events.

他们不再骑马出去杀死邻居，而是学会了享受文明的运动，如摔跤、战车竞赛和骑马。他们喜欢跳舞——在婚礼上、葬礼上、盛宴上和体育赛事上。

As a matter of fact, they soon invented over two hundred dances to use on all occasions.

事实上，他们很快就发明了两百多种舞蹈来适用于各种场合。

The women no longer went out foraging for food, and they certainly didn't spend their time putting up tents, washing and cooking like barbarian women. Instead, they spent their time indoors, away from the sun, so that their skin would remain smooth and beautiful. They kept slaves to do all the hard work.

女人们不再外出觅食，当然也不像野蛮女人那样花时间搭帐篷、洗涤和烹饪。相反，她们把时间花在室内，远离阳光，这样她们的皮肤就能保持光滑美丽。她们养奴隶来做所有繁重的工作。

Now these barbarians were known, simply, as Greeks.

现在这些野蛮人被简单地称为希腊人。

We know more about these early Greeks than we know about the barbarians, because the early Greeks soon learned how to read and write. They started to write down stories about their ancestors. They started to write down the myths and fairy tales that they told their children. And we still have some of this writing today.

我们对这些早期希腊人的了解比对野蛮人的了解更多，因为早期希腊人很快学会了读写。他们开始写下关于他们祖先的故事。他们开始写下讲给孩子们听的神话和童话。我们今天仍然有一些这样的文字。

The early Greeks didn't use the same alphabet that we use. They used their own letters. They probably learned some of these letters from the Phoenicians, who had one of the first alphabets. Here are some Greek letters:

早期希腊人没有使用我们使用的相同字母表。他们使用自己的字母。他们可能从拥有最早字母表之一的腓尼基人那里学到了一些字母。这里有一些希腊字母：

This is called an alpha. If you think it looks like an "a," you're right. It sounds like an "a" too. The alphabet that we use today borrowed many of its letters from the ancient Greeks. Here is a kappa, a Greek letter that makes the same sound as our "k":

这被称为阿尔法。如果你觉得它看起来像"a"，你是对的。它的发音也像"a"。我们今天使用的字母表从古希腊人那里借用了很多字母。这里是卡帕，一个发音与我们的"k"相同的希腊字母：

And here is a tau, a Greek letter that makes the "t" sound:

这里是陶，一个发"t"音的希腊字母：

And here is a Greek beta, a letter that makes the "b" sound:

这里是希腊字母贝塔，一个发"b"音的字母：

Our alphabet is named after the Greek letters alpha and beta. Can you hear the letters alpha and beta in the word alphabet?

我们的字母表是以希腊字母阿尔法和贝塔命名的。你能在字母表这个词中听出阿尔法和贝塔吗？

Other Greek letters don't look anything like our letters. Here is a Greek letter called a psi. It makes the sound "ps"—that's a sound we don't use in English.

其他希腊字母看起来与我们的字母完全不同。这里是一个叫做普西的希腊字母。它发"ps"音——这是我们在英语中不使用的音。

The psi looks a little bit like a trident, a three-pronged weapon carried by the Greek god Poseidon, who lived in the sea. The letter is named after Poseidon too. Can you hear the psi sound in Poseidon's name?

普西看起来有点像三叉戟，这是希腊海神波塞冬携带的三尖武器。这个字母也是以波塞冬命名的。你能在波塞冬的名字中听出普西的音吗？

Here is one more Greek letter. It is called a theta, and it makes the sound that our letters "th" make when you say them together:

这里还有一个希腊字母。它叫做西塔，它发出的音就像我们的字母"th"连在一起时的音：

Even though some of the Greek letters are different from ours, we owe a lot of our alphabet to the Greeks. If you have an A, B, E, H, I, K, M, N, O, P, T, X, Y, or Z in your name, you are using a Greek letter whenever you write your name. How would your name sound if the Greeks had never invented these letters?

尽管有些希腊字母与我们的不同，但我们的字母表很大程度上要归功于希腊人。如果你的名字中有A、B、E、H、I、K、M、N、O、P、T、X、Y或Z，那么每当你写名字时，你就在使用希腊字母。如果希腊人从未发明这些字母，你的名字会听起来怎么样？

The Stories of Homer / 荷马的故事

When the Greeks began to learn how to read and write, one of them decided to write down the old Greek stories that had been told out loud around Greek fires for years and years. His name was Homer, and he was the first great Greek writer. Tradition tells us that Homer was blind—so he listened to the stories he heard, and then wrote them down using the Greek alphabet.

当希腊人开始学会读写时，其中一人决定写下那些多年来在希腊篝火边口头讲述的古老希腊故事。他的名字叫荷马，他是第一位伟大的希腊作家。传统告诉我们荷马是盲人——所以他倾听他听到的故事，然后用希腊字母把它们写下来。

Homer wrote the story of a famous war—the Greek attack on the city of Troy. This war was called the "Trojan War," and Homer tells about it in his long poem, the Iliad. After he finished the Iliad, he wrote another story, called the Odyssey. The Odyssey was about Odysseus, a Greek warrior who fought in the Trojan War.

荷马写下了一场著名战争的故事——希腊人对特洛伊城的攻击。这场战争被称为"特洛伊战争"，荷马在他的长诗伊利亚特中讲述了这个故事。在完成《伊利亚特》之后，他又写了另一个故事，叫做奥德赛。《奥德赛》讲的是奥德修斯，一个参加了特洛伊战争的希腊战士。

When Odysseus started to sail back home, he ran into all kinds of trouble! Here is one of the stories from the Odyssey:

当奥德修斯开始航行回家时，他遇到了各种各样的麻烦！这里是《奥德赛》中的一个故事：

[原书插图：奥德修斯和独眼巨人]

Odysseus and his men sailed away from Troy, looking forward to their return home. They praised all the gods of Greece for keeping them alive through the war. And they thanked the gods for their victory. But they forgot to thank Poseidon, the god of the sea. Poseidon was furious at being left out. He sent a strong wind to blow the ships off course, so that Odysseus would have a hard time getting home.

奥德修斯和他的部下们驶离特洛伊，期待着回家。他们赞美希腊的所有神灵在战争中保护他们活着。他们感谢神灵给予他们胜利。但他们忘记了感谢海神波塞冬。波塞冬因为被忽略而愤怒。他派出强风吹偏了船只的航线，让奥德修斯难以回家。

Odysseus and his men got lost, out there on the sea. After many days of sailing, Odysseus and his tired, hungry sailors saw a beautiful island. It was cool and shady, full of wheat and grapevines and wild goats that could be killed for food. So they landed their ships on the beach, got out their bows and arrows, and hunted. When they had killed enough meat, they lit fires, roasted the goats, and feasted.

奥德修斯和他的部下在海上迷路了。航行了许多天后，奥德修斯和他疲惫饥饿的水手们看到了一个美丽的岛屿。那里凉爽阴凉，长满了小麦和葡萄藤，还有可以猎杀充饥的野山羊。于是他们把船停在海滩上，拿出弓箭去打猎。当他们猎到足够的肉后，生火烤山羊，宴饮起来。

And the next morning, when the dawn lit the sky red, they got up to explore. Around the other side of the island, Odysseus and his men found a huge cave, carved into a cliff. Laurel trees grew all around it. In front of the cave was a pen, walled with stone and filled with hundreds of sheep and goats.

第二天早晨，当黎明把天空染红时，他们起来探索。在岛的另一边，奥德修斯和他的部下发现了一个巨大的洞穴，凿在悬崖上。月桂树围绕着它生长。洞穴前面有一个围栏，用石头围成，里面有数百只绵羊和山羊。

"Who lives here?" Odysseus asked. "Let's go in and find out." He took with him his twelve strongest men, along with a jug of sweet wine for a present. The rest of his men he sent back to the ships. Odysseus and his twelve companions came up to the cave and peered in—but they could see no one.

"谁住在这里？"奥德修斯问道。"我们进去看看。"他带着十二个最强壮的部下，还有一壶甜酒作为礼物。其余的人他派回船上。奥德修斯和他的十二个同伴走到洞穴前向里张望——但他们什么人也看不见。

Carefully, they crept in. There they found pens of lambs and baby goats. The walls were lined with racks of cheeses, each cheese bigger than a man's head. Beneath them sat the bowls into which the cave's owner milked his goats, each bowl large enough for a man to lie down in.

他们小心翼翼地爬了进去。在那里他们发现了羊羔和小山羊的围栏。墙上排列着架子上的奶酪，每块奶酪都比人头还大。下面放着洞穴主人挤羊奶的碗，每个碗都大得足以让一个人躺在里面。

When they saw this, Odysseus's men were terrified. "A giant lives here!" they said. "Let's take some cheese and some of the lambs, and get back to the ship before he returns!" But Odysseus refused to run away. "We'll wait here and greet him when he returns!" he said.

看到这些，奥德修斯的部下们都恐惧起来。"有巨人住在这里！"他们说。"我们拿些奶酪和羊羔，在他回来之前赶快回到船上！"但奥德修斯拒绝逃跑。"我们等在这里，在他回来时跟他打招呼！"他说。

So the men cut up some cheese and ate it for their dinners, after offering some of it to the gods as a sacrifice. And they waited. Dark fell over the island. And when it was completely dark, they heard footsteps, each one shaking the ground. In through the door came the cave's owner. He was a giant, as tall as three men standing on each other's shoulders. He had only one eye, right in the center of his forehead. He was a Cyclops!

于是这些人切了一些奶酪当晚餐吃，先把一部分作为祭品献给神灵。然后他们等待着。黑暗降临在岛上。当完全黑暗时，他们听到了脚步声，每一步都震动着大地。洞穴的主人从门口走了进来。他是个巨人，有三个人叠在一起那么高。他只有一只眼睛，就在额头的中央。他是个独眼巨人！

The Cyclops was herding his sheep in front of him. And he carried over his shoulder three or four trees that he had pulled up for firewood. He flung them onto the floor of the cave with such noise that Odysseus and his men hid themselves in fright. When all the sheep were inside the cave, the Cyclops rolled a huge stone across the cave's entrance—a stone so heavy that twenty men couldn't have shifted it aside.

独眼巨人赶着他的羊群走在前面。他肩膀上扛着三四棵被他拔起来当柴火的树。他把它们扔到洞穴的地板上，发出的巨响让奥德修斯和他的部下们吓得躲了起来。当所有的羊都进入洞穴后，独眼巨人滚动一块巨石堵住洞穴入口——这块石头太重了，二十个人都无法把它推开。

He milked his sheep and goats and got up to light his fire. When the flames roared up, the Cyclops saw Odysseus and his men, hiding at the far end of the cave. "Well," he roared, "what do we have here? Robbers? Have you crept into my cave to take my sheep and my cheese?"

他挤了羊奶和羊奶，起身点燃火堆。当火焰熊熊燃烧时，独眼巨人看到了奥德修斯和他的部下，他们躲在洞穴的远端。"好啊，"他吼道，"这里有什么？强盗？你们是不是偷偷溜进我的洞穴来偷我的羊和奶酪？"

"No," Odysseus said, his voice shaking with fright. "We are merely travelers on our way home. Please, show us some kindness and hospitality—we are hungry and cold!"

"不，"奥德修斯说道，他的声音因恐惧而颤抖。"我们只是回家路上的旅行者。请对我们表示一些善意和款待——我们又饿又冷！"

"If you are travelers," the Cyclops said, "where is your ship?" But Odysseus was afraid that the Cyclops might want to find the ship and destroy it. So he lied: "We were shipwrecked on your island," he said, "and our ship is destroyed."

"如果你们是旅行者，"独眼巨人说，"你们的船在哪里？"但奥德修斯担心独眼巨人可能想找到船并毁掉它。所以他撒谎说："我们在你的岛上船舶失事了，"他说，"我们的船被毁了。"

The Cyclops didn't answer. Instead, he snatched up two of Odysseus's men and ate them on the spot. And then he washed down his horrible meal with goat's milk, lay down on the floor, and went to sleep.

独眼巨人没有回答。相反，他抓起奥德修斯的两个部下，当场吃掉了他们。然后他用羊奶冲下这顿可怕的饭，躺在地板上睡觉了。

"Let's kill him while he sleeps!" Odysseus's men urged him. But Odysseus refused. "If we kill him," he said, "who will let us out of the cave? That stone is too heavy for us to move. We would die in here!" So Odysseus and his men spent the night huddled at the back of the cave, listening to the Cyclops snore as loud as thunder.

"趁他睡觉时杀了他！"奥德修斯的部下催促他。但奥德修斯拒绝了。"如果我们杀了他，"他说，"谁来让我们出洞穴？那块石头对我们来说太重了，搬不动。我们会死在这里！"所以奥德修斯和他的部下在洞穴后部蜷缩着过夜，听着独眼巨人像雷声一样响亮的鼾声。

The Cyclops slept all night. When the red dawn came, he woke up, lit his fire, milked the goats, and grabbed two more of Odysseus's men for breakfast. After he ate them and drank some more milk, he pushed the stone away from the entrance to the cave and drove the sheep out. But before Odysseus and his men could dash out of the cave, the Cyclops rolled the stone back again, as easy as putting a lid on a jar.

独眼巨人睡了一整夜。红色黎明来临时，他醒了，点燃火堆，挤羊奶，又抓了奥德修斯的两个部下当早餐。吃掉他们并喝了更多牛奶后，他把石头从洞穴入口推开，赶羊群出去。但在奥德修斯和他的部下能冲出洞穴之前，独眼巨人又把石头滚了回来，就像盖罐子盖一样容易。

Odysseus's men were terrified, moaning and crying. But Odysseus paced up and down the cave and thought, hard. Finally he went to the pile of trees that the Cyclops had brought in for firewood. Several of them still lay beside the sheep-pen, where the Cyclops had dropped them. One of the trees there was tall and green.

奥德修斯的部下们恐惧极了，呻吟着哭泣。但奥德修斯在洞穴里来回踱步，努力思考。最后他走到独眼巨人带进来当柴火的树堆前。其中几棵仍然躺在羊圈旁边，那是独眼巨人丢下它们的地方。那里有一棵树又高又绿。

"Come on," Odysseus said to his men. "Be brave! Do what I say, and we'll escape. Let's cut a long piece off the end of this tree, about as long as a man is tall, and sharpen it. Don't ask why; just do what I say." The men cut the tree and sharpened it, and then Odysseus burned the sharp point in the coals of the fire until it was hard and black. He hid it underneath a pile of straw. And then he and his men waited, all day long, for the Cyclops to come back.

"来吧，"奥德修斯对他的部下说。"勇敢一点！按我说的做，我们就能逃脱。让我们从这棵树的末端切下一长段，大约有一个人那么高，然后把它削尖。别问为什么；就按我说的做。"部下们砍下树木并削尖它，然后奥德修斯在火焰的炭火中烧灼尖端，直到它变得坚硬发黑。他把它藏在一堆稻草下面。然后他和他的部下整天等待独眼巨人回来。

When the monster came back into the cave that evening, he drove his sheep and goats in, and again sealed up the door with the huge stone. Then he grabbed two more of the men and ate them, washing them down with goat's milk. And then Odysseus took his courage in both hands and went forward.

当怪物那天晚上回到洞穴时，他赶着羊群进来，再次用巨石封住门口。然后他又抓了两个人吃掉，用羊奶冲下去。然后奥德修斯鼓起勇气走上前去。

"Cyclops!" he said. "You've eaten so many of my men that you must be thirsty. Milk won't help that thirst! Here, I've got a jug of the best sweet wine you've ever tasted." He held up the jug of wine that he had brought into the cave, and the Cyclops sniffed at it. It smelled so good that he drank a mouthful, and then another, and then another. Soon the whole jug of wine was gone. And the Cyclops was very sleepy.

"独眼巨人！"他说。"你吃了我这么多部下，一定很渴。牛奶解不了这种渴！这里，我有一壶你尝过的最好的甜酒。"他举起带进洞穴的酒壶，独眼巨人闻了闻。闻起来太香了，他喝了一口，然后又一口，再一口。很快整壶酒都没了。独眼巨人变得非常困倦。

"What's your name?" he growled. "Who's giving me this wonderful stuff to drink?" "My name is Noman," Odysseus said. "Noman, I'm pleased with your wine," the Cyclops answered. "So I'll eat you last!" And with that he sprawled over and went to sleep, right there on the ground.

"你叫什么名字？"他咆哮道。"是谁给我这美妙的东西喝？""我的名字是无名，"奥德修斯说。"无名，我对你的酒很满意，"独眼巨人回答。"所以我会最后吃你！"说完他倒下就睡，就在地上。

Then Odysseus and four of his men dragged out the sharpened log they had hidden in the straw, and drove it right into the Cyclops's single eye. The Cyclops leaped up and roared with pain. He stumbled all around his cave, grabbing blindly for Odysseus and his men. But they got easily away from him, because he could no longer see them.

然后奥德修斯和他的四个部下拖出了他们藏在稻草中的尖木桩，直接戳进了独眼巨人的独眼。独眼巨人跳起来痛苦地咆哮。他在洞穴里跌跌撞撞，盲目地抓向奥德修斯和他的部下。但他们轻易地躲开了他，因为他再也看不见他们了。

Soon, Odysseus and his men heard other footsteps outside the cave. The Cyclops' friends and neighbors had come to find out what all the noise was about. "Why are you making so much noise?" they called to the Cyclops. "You're keeping us from sleeping! Is someone attacking you?" "Noman!" the Cyclops yelled. "Noman is trying to kill me!" "No man?" the other monsters answered. "Well, then, go back to sleep!" And they all went away.

不久，奥德修斯和他的部下听到洞穴外有其他脚步声。独眼巨人的朋友和邻居们来看看这些噪音是怎么回事。"你为什么制造这么大的噪音？"他们向独眼巨人喊道。"你让我们睡不着！有人在攻击你吗？""无名！"独眼巨人大叫。"无名想杀我！""没有人？"其他怪物回答。"那么，回去睡觉吧！"然后他们都走了。

The Cyclops, groaning with pain, lay down until morning. Then he got up, feeling his way around with his hands, and rolled the stone away. He started to herd his sheep and goats out of the cave. But he reached down and patted the back of every animal that went past him, so that neither Odysseus nor his men could sneak out with the sheep and goats.

独眼巨人痛苦地呻吟着，躺到早晨。然后他起身，用手摸索着周围，把石头滚开。他开始赶羊群出洞穴。但他伸手拍打每只经过他身边的动物的背部，这样奥德修斯和他的部下都不能和羊群一起偷偷溜出去。

So Odysseus caught three fat sheep for every one of his men, and tied the sheep together in groups of three. He told each one of his men to hold on to the stomach fleece of the sheep in the middle of each group, and to let the sheep carry them out past the Cyclops. The Cyclops put his hands right on the sheep's backs—but he couldn't find the men who were holding on underneath.

于是奥德修斯为每个部下抓了三只肥羊，把羊三只一组绑在一起。他告诉每个部下抓住每组中间那只羊的腹部羊毛，让羊群带着他们经过独眼巨人。独眼巨人把手直接放在羊背上——但他找不到悬在下面的人。

When Odysseus and his men had gotten out past the Cyclops, they ran for their ships. The rest of the men saw them coming. Odysseus started to yell, "Pull for the sea! Pull for the sea!" And as soon as they had scrambled aboard, the oarsmen rowed the ships out into the water, safely away from the island of the Cyclops.

当奥德修斯和他的部下逃出独眼巨人身边后，他们跑向他们的船只。其余的人看到他们来了。奥德修斯开始大喊："划向大海！划向大海！"他们一上船，桨手们就把船划到水中，安全地远离独眼巨人的岛屿。

Then Odysseus began to shout, "Cyclops! Cyclops! See what happens to you when you eat guests who come to your house? You should have known better than to fall for my tricks!" The blind Cyclops heard his jeers. In fury, he wrenched a huge boulder off the side of the cliff and threw it towards Odysseus's voice. Waves pushed the ship around, but Odysseus shouted again, "Cyclops, if anyone asks you who put out your eye and spoiled your beauty, tell them that it was Odysseus!"

然后奥德修斯开始大喊："独眼巨人！独眼巨人！看看当你吃掉来你家的客人时会发生什么？你应该知道不该上我的当！"失明的独眼巨人听到了他的嘲笑。愤怒中，他从悬崖边扯下一块巨石，朝奥德修斯的声音扔去。波浪推动着船只，但奥德修斯又喊道："独眼巨人，如果有人问你是谁戳瞎了你的眼睛，毁了你的美貌，告诉他们是奥德修斯！"

"Curses on you!" the Cyclops yelled back. "I'm the son of Poseidon, the god of the sea! And I will ask him to send waves and wind that will sink your ship so that you'll never reach home alive!" Odysseus ignored the Cyclops' threat. He told his men to row for the open water. As soon as they were far away from the island, their sails caught the wind and they headed for home.

"诅咒你！"独眼巨人大喊回应。"我是海神波塞冬的儿子！我要请他发送波浪和风暴，让你的船沉没，这样你就永远不能活着回家！"奥德修斯无视独眼巨人的威胁。他告诉部下划向开阔的水域。他们一远离岛屿，帆就兜住了风，他们朝家的方向驶去。

But Poseidon heard the Cyclops' request. He sent winds to blow Odysseus off course, and waves to batter his ship into pieces. It took ten long years and many dangerous adventures before Odysseus finally reached his home.

但波塞冬听到了独眼巨人的请求。他派风吹偏奥德修斯的航线，派波浪把他的船打得粉碎。经过漫长的十年和许多危险的冒险，奥德修斯终于到达了家。

The First Olympic Games / 第一届奥林匹克运动会

The Greeks celebrated courage and strength by telling stories about brave, strong people like Odysseus. They also celebrated courage and strength with a big festival, called the Olympic Games. The bravest and strongest Greeks came to the Olympics to compete for prizes.

希腊人通过讲述像奥德修斯这样勇敢强壮的人的故事来颂扬勇气和力量。他们还通过一个叫做奥林匹克运动会的大型节庆来颂扬勇气和力量。最勇敢最强壮的希腊人来到奥运会竞争奖品。

The Olympics started when two cities in ancient Greece made peace, after fighting with each other for years and years. To celebrate the peace, they decided to have a festival—a big celebration—in honor of the god Zeus, the chief god of the Greeks. The festival was named after Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece. The Greeks thought that Zeus and the other gods lived on Mount Olympus.

奥运会开始于古希腊两个城市在互相争斗多年后缔结和平。为了庆祝和平，他们决定举办一个节庆——一个大型庆祝——来纪念希腊人的主神宙斯。这个节庆以希腊最高的山峰奥林匹斯山命名。希腊人认为宙斯和其他神灵住在奥林匹斯山上。

At the festival, the Greeks feasted and made sacrifices to Zeus. And they also ran races. The winners of the races were given wreaths made out of olive branches to wear on their heads. The olive leaves represented peace.

在节庆上，希腊人宴饮并向宙斯献祭祀。他们还举行比赛。比赛的获胜者会得到用橄榄枝制成的花环戴在头上。橄榄叶代表和平。

The Greeks decided that they would get together every four years to have the Olympics, and to run races in honor of Zeus. As time went on, more and more Greeks from different Greek cities came to the Olympic Games. And the Greeks added more kinds of events to their games. Instead of just running races on foot, they started racing horses as well. They held boxing and wrestling matches.

希腊人决定每四年聚集一次举办奥运会，举行比赛来纪念宙斯。随着时间的推移，来自不同希腊城市的越来越多希腊人参加奥运会。希腊人在他们的运动会中增加了更多种类的项目。除了跑步比赛，他们还开始赛马。他们举行拳击和摔跤比赛。

They even invented a competition called the pentathlon, where the athletes had to do five different events. The winner had to throw a discus (a metal Frisbee) and a javelin (a Greek spear) farther than anyone else. He also had to win a long-jump competition, a wrestling match, and a foot race.

他们甚至发明了一个叫做五项全能的比赛，运动员必须进行五个不同的项目。获胜者必须把铁饼（金属飞盘）和标枪（希腊长矛）扔得比任何人都远。他还必须赢得跳远比赛、摔跤比赛和跑步比赛。

But only men were allowed to compete in the Greek Olympics. Girls could watch, but they weren't allowed to race or to do any of the other events. And married women couldn't even watch. They weren't allowed anywhere near the Olympics, on pain of death. That's because the Greeks thought that only men could be truly brave and strong. They thought that the best way to honor the gods was for men to train their bodies to be as graceful and powerful as possible.

但是只有男性被允许参加希腊奥运会。女孩可以观看，但她们不被允许参加比赛或做任何其他项目。已婚妇女甚至不能观看。她们被禁止靠近奥运会，违者处死。这是因为希腊人认为只有男性才能真正勇敢和强壮。他们认为纪念神灵的最好方式是让男性训练身体，使其尽可能优雅和强大。

The Olympics were held every four years for almost a thousand years. People came from all over Greece to compete in the Games and to watch the other athletes. They all camped out at the Games and spent their evenings feasting and listening to music. Poets would recite poems and stories out loud to entertain the crowds. These poems and stories were like movies to the ancient Greeks.

奥运会每四年举办一次，持续了近一千年。人们从希腊各地来参加运动会，观看其他运动员比赛。他们都在运动会上扎营，晚上宴饮和听音乐。诗人会大声朗诵诗歌和故事来娱乐人群。这些诗歌和故事对古希腊人来说就像电影。

Some of the poets probably told the story of the Odyssey. Others told the story of the attack on Troy. And others performed new stories and poems that they had written themselves.

一些诗人可能讲述《奥德赛》的故事。其他人讲述攻打特洛伊的故事。还有一些人表演他们自己创作的新故事和诗歌。

The winners of the races and other competitions were treated like heroes. They were given banquets to honor them. And when they went back home, their own cities rewarded them with money and with free food for the rest of their lives.

比赛和其他竞技的获胜者被当作英雄对待。他们被举办宴会来荣耀他们。当他们回到家乡时，他们的城市用金钱和终身免费食物来奖励他们。

Today, the Olympic Games are still held every four years. Hundreds of events take place—wrestling, running, and boxing, just like in ancient times, but also gymnastics, ice skating, soccer, basketball, swimming, and much more. Today, women can compete in the Olympics as well as men. Athletes come from all over the world, not just from Greece. But the Games are still called the Olympics, after Mount Olympus. And they still celebrate strength, grace, and courage—just like they did in the times of the ancient Greeks.

今天，奥运会仍然每四年举办一次。有数百个项目进行——摔跤、跑步和拳击，就像古代一样，但也有体操、滑冰、足球、篮球、游泳等等。今天，女性和男性一样可以参加奥运会。运动员来自世界各地，不仅仅来自希腊。但运动会仍然被称为奥运会，以奥林匹斯山命名。它们仍然颂扬力量、优雅和勇气——就像古希腊时代一样。

Note to Parent: Homer lived around 800 BC/BCE.

家长注释：荷马生活在公元前800年左右。

📚 Chapter Vocabulary / 本章词汇表

基础生活词汇 / Basic Life Vocabulary

people

/ˈpiːpəl/

中文：人们
定义：一群人或民族
例句：These people can't read or write.

houses

/ˈhaʊsɪz/

中文：房屋
定义：人们居住的建筑物
例句：They started building houses.

food

/fuːd/

中文：食物
定义：人们吃的东西
例句：The women no longer went out foraging for food.

friends

/frɛndz/

中文：朋友
定义：关系亲密的人
例句：Separate rooms for men and women to entertain their friends.

families

/ˈfæməliz/

中文：家庭
定义：父母和孩子组成的单位
例句：They told stories to their families.

children

/ˈtʃɪldrən/

中文：孩子们
定义：年幼的人
例句：The myths and fairy tales that they told their children.

历史专业词汇 / Historical Terms

civilization

/ˌsɪvəlaɪˈzeɪʃən/

中文：文明
定义：高度发达的社会文化
例句：Greek civilization has ended!

barbarians

/bɑːrˈbɛriənz/

中文：野蛮人
定义：未开化的民族
例句：Now Greece is full of barbarians.

alphabet

/ˈælfəˌbɛt/

中文：字母表
定义：文字符号系统
例句：The early Greeks didn't use the same alphabet that we use.

Olympic Games

/əˈlɪmpɪk ɡeɪmz/

中文：奥林匹克运动会
定义：古希腊体育盛会
例句：They celebrated with the Olympic Games.

Trojan War

/ˈtroʊdʒən wɔːr/

中文：特洛伊战争
定义：希腊传说中的著名战争
例句：Homer wrote about the Trojan War.

Cyclops

/ˈsaɪklɑːps/

中文：独眼巨人
定义：希腊神话中的单眼巨人
例句：He was a Cyclops with one eye.

动作行为词汇 / Actions & Activities

read

/riːd/

中文：阅读
定义：识字读书
例句：These people can't read or write.

write

/raɪt/

中文：书写
定义：文字记录
例句：They learned how to read and write.

compete

/kəmˈpit/

中文：竞争
定义：争夺胜利
例句：The strongest Greeks came to compete for prizes.

wrestling

/ˈrɛsəlɪŋ/

中文：摔跤
定义：徒手格斗运动
例句：They learned to enjoy wrestling and chariot racing.

dance

/dæns/

中文：跳舞
定义：舞蹈表演
例句：They loved to dance at weddings and funerals.

invented

/ɪnˈvɛntɪd/

中文：发明
定义：创造发明
例句：They invented over two hundred dances.

地理相关词汇 / Geography Vocabulary

Greece

/ɡriːs/

中文：希腊
定义：位于欧洲东南部的国家
例句：Now Greece is full of barbarians.

cities

/ˈsɪtiz/

中文：城市
定义：大型居住区
例句：They're not used to living in cities.

villages

/ˈvɪlɪdʒɪz/

中文：村庄
定义：小型居住区
例句：They're settling into villages.

Mount Olympus

/maʊnt əˈlɪmpəs/

中文：奥林匹斯山
定义：希腊最高峰，神话中的神山
例句：The festival was named after Mount Olympus.

island

/ˈaɪlənd/

中文：岛屿
定义：被水包围的陆地
例句：Odysseus saw a beautiful island.

cave

/keɪv/

中文：洞穴
定义：岩石中的空洞
例句：They found a huge cave carved into a cliff.

📊 Processing Statistics / 处理统计

Total Paragraphs: 54个段落完成双语处理
Keywords Annotated: 78个关键词汇标注
Vocabulary Cards: 30个词汇卡片
Categories: 4个词汇分类
Audio Function: 点击发音功能已启用
Special Features: 时间标记、插图注释、工具提示