Atlantis: The Antedeluvian World — Page 4
I will tell an old-world story which I heard from an aged man;
我将讲述一个我从一位老人那里听来的古老故事；
for Critias was, as he said, at that time nearly ninety years of age, and I was about ten years of age.
因为克里底亚斯，正如他所说，当时年近九十岁，而我大约十岁。
Now the day was that day of the Apaturia which is called the registration of youth;
那一天正是阿帕图里亚节中称为青年登记的那一天；
at which, according to custom, our parents gave prizes for recitations, and the poems of several poets were recited by us boys, and many of us sung the poems of Solon, which were new at the time.
按照惯例，在那一天，我们的父母为朗诵颁发奖品，几位诗人的诗篇由我们这些男孩朗诵，我们中的许多人吟唱了梭伦的诗篇，那些诗篇在当时是新作。
One of our tribe, either because this was his real opinion, or because he thought that he would please Critias, said that, in his judgment, Solon was not only the wisest of men but the noblest of poets.
我们族中的一个人，或许是出于真实的看法，或许是因为他认为这样会取悦克里底亚斯，说在他看来，梭伦不仅是最有智慧的人，也是最高贵的诗人。
The old man, I well remember, brightened up at this, and said, smiling: "Yes, Amynander, if Solon had only, like other poets, made poetry the business of his life, and had completed the tale which he brought with him from Egypt, and had not been compelled, by reason of the factions and troubles which he found stirring in this country when he came home, to attend to other matters, in my opinion he would have been as famous as Homer, or Hesiod, or any poet."
我清楚地记得，老人听了精神一振，微笑着说："是的，阿敏安德，如果梭伦像其他诗人一样，以诗歌作为毕生事业，并完成了他从埃及带回来的那个故事，而没有因为他回国时发现国内派系纷争和动乱不断而被迫去处理其他事务，依我看，他将会像荷马、赫西俄德或任何诗人一样著名。"
"And what was that poem about, Critias?" said the person who addressed him.
"那首诗是关于什么的，克里底亚斯？"那个与他交谈的人问道。
Vocabulary
- 我
- wǒ — I, me; first-person singular pronoun
- 将
- jiāng — Will, shall; indicates future action
- 讲述
- jiǎngshù — To narrate, tell, or recount a story
- 一个
- yī gè — One; a single (general measure word)
- 从
- cóng — From; indicating origin or starting point
- 一位
- yī wèi — One (person); respectful measure word for people
- 老人
- lǎorén — Old person, elderly man or woman
- 那里
- nàlǐ — There; at that place
- 听来
- tīng lái — Heard from; obtained by listening
- 的
- de — Structural particle indicating possession or modification
- 古老
- gǔlǎo — Ancient, very old, dating far back
- 故事
- gùshi — Story, tale, narrative account
- 因为
- yīnwèi — Because, since; introduces a reason
- 正如
- zhèngrú — Just as, exactly as; used for comparison
- 他
- tā — He, him; third-person masculine pronoun
- 所说
- suǒ shuō — What (he/she) said; stated content
- 当时
- dāngshí — At that time, back then
- 年近
- nián jìn — Approaching the age of; nearly years old
- 九十岁
- jiǔshí suì — Ninety years old
- 而
- ér — And, while; connecting contrasting clauses
- 大约
- dàyuē — Approximately, about, roughly
- 十岁
- shí suì — Ten years old
- 那
- nà — That; demonstrative pronoun for distant objects
- 一天
- yī tiān — One day; a particular day
- 正是
- zhèngshì — Precisely is; exactly; it was indeed
- 中
- zhōng — In, within, among; inside something
- 称为
- chēngwéi — Called, known as, referred to as
- 青年
- qīngnián — Youth, young people, young adult
- 登记
- dēngjì — To register, enroll, record officially
- 按照
- ànzhào — According to, in accordance with
- 惯例
- guànlì — Convention, customary practice, usual precedent
- 在
- zài — At, in, on; indicates location or ongoing action
- 我们
- wǒmen — We, us; first-person plural pronoun
- 父母
- fùmǔ — Parents; father and mother
- 为
- wèi — For; on behalf of; indicating purpose
- 朗诵
- lǎngsòng — To recite aloud, read expressively in public
- 颁发
- bānfā — To award, issue, confer prizes officially
- 奖品
- jiǎngpǐn — Prize, award, trophy given for achievement
- 几位
- jǐ wèi — Several (people); a few persons
- 诗人
- shīrén — Poet; person who writes poetry
- 诗篇
- shīpiān — Poem, poetic composition, verse
- 由
- yóu — By; performed or done by someone
- 这些
- zhèxiē — These; referring to nearby plural items
- 男孩
- nánhái — Boy, male child
- 许多人
- xǔduō rén — Many people, a large number of persons
- 吟唱
- yínchàng — To chant, sing or recite poetry melodically
- 了
- le — Particle indicating completed action or change
- 那些
- nàxiē — Those; plural demonstrative for distant items
- 是
- shì — Is, are, am; the verb to be
- 新作
- xīnzuò — New work, newly composed piece or writing
- 人
- rén — Person, people, human being
- 或许
- huòxǔ — Perhaps, maybe, possibly
- 出于
- chūyú — Out of, stemming from a motive or reason
- 真实
- zhēnshí — True, genuine, real, authentic
- 看法
- kànfǎ — Opinion, view, perspective on something
- 认为
- rènwéi — To think, believe, consider, hold the opinion
- 这样
- zhèyàng — Like this, in this way, such
- 会
- huì — Will; can; able to; likely to happen
- 取悦
- qǔyuè — To please, gratify, win favor of someone
- 说
- shuō — To say, speak, tell, express verbally
- 看来
- kànlái — It seems, it appears, judging by appearances
- 不仅
- bùjǐn — Not only; used in correlative constructions
- 最有
- zuì yǒu — Most having; possessing the greatest degree
- 智慧
- zhìhuì — Wisdom, intelligence, insight
- 也是
- yě shì — Also is; additionally, likewise
- 最
- zuì — Most; superlative degree marker
- 高贵
- gāoguì — Noble, distinguished, of high moral quality
- 清楚地
- qīngchǔ de — Clearly, distinctly, in a clear manner
- 记得
- jìde — To remember, recall, recollect something
- 听了
- tīng le — Having heard; upon listening to something
- 精神
- jīngshén — Spirit, energy, vitality; mental state
- 微笑着
- wēixiào zhe — Smiling, with a smile on one's face
- 是的
- shì de — Yes, that's right, affirmative response
- 如果
- rúguǒ — If, supposing that; introduces a condition
- 像
- xiàng — Like, similar to; resembling
- 其他
- qítā — Other, the rest, remaining ones
- 一样
- yīyàng — The same, alike, equally
- 以
- yǐ — Using, with, by means of
- 诗歌
- shīgē — Poetry, verse, poetic literature
- 作为
- zuòwéi — As, in the capacity of; to regard as
- 毕生
- bìshēng — Lifelong, throughout one's entire life
- 事业
- shìyè — Career, cause, lifework, undertaking
- 并
- bìng — And, furthermore; used to join actions
- 完成
- wánchéng — To complete, finish, accomplish a task
- 埃及
- Āijí — Egypt; country in northeastern Africa
- 带回来
- dài huí lái — To bring back, carry something back here
- 那个
- nàge — That one; referring to a specific thing
- 没有
- méiyǒu — Don't have; there is not; did not
- 回国
- huíguó — To return to one's homeland or country
- 时
- shí — Time, when; at the moment of
- 发现
- fāxiàn — To discover, find out, realize
- 国内
- guónèi — Domestic, within the country, internal
- 派系
- pàixì — Faction, clique, political grouping
- 纷争
- fēnzhēng — Disputes, conflicts, strife, quarrels
- 和
- hé — And; connecting nouns or clauses
- 动乱
- dòngluàn — Turmoil, unrest, social disorder, upheaval
- 不断
- bùduàn — Continuously, unceasingly, without interruption
- 被迫
- bèipò — To be forced, compelled against one's will
- 去
- qù — To go; to do (preceding another verb)
- 处理
- chǔlǐ — To handle, deal with, manage affairs
- 事务
- shìwù — Affairs, matters, business to attend to
- 依我看
- yī wǒ kàn — In my opinion, as I see it
- 将会
- jiāng huì — Will, shall; indicates future certainty
- 或
- huò — Or; either...or; alternatively
- 任何
- rènhé — Any, whatever, whichever
- 著名
- zhùmíng — Famous, well-known, renowned
- 那首
- nà shǒu — That (song/poem); measure word for poems
- 诗
- shī — Poem, poetry, verse
- 关于
- guānyú — About, concerning, regarding a topic
- 什么
- shénme — What; interrogative pronoun
- 与
- yǔ — With, and; together with someone
- 交谈
- jiāotán — To converse, chat, have a conversation
- 问道
- wèndào — To ask, inquire; said while questioning
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