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Son of Zeus and Leto, Apollo was the god of light, and hence of
the intellect. He was also the god of healing and of the arts. At
[解說]
1. “Son of Zeus and Leto, Apollo was the god of light, and hence of the intellect”： Zeus 和 Leto 的兒子，Apollo 是光明之神，而因此也是智慧之神。 “son of ...”= “Being son of ...” = “As he was son of ...”：因為 (由於、既然) 他是 ... 的兒子。 “intellect” = wisdom。
2. “He was also the god of healing and of the arts”：他也是治療之神與藝術之神。 “healing”指「醫藥治療」。 “arts” 指「各種藝術」。
3. “At Delphi he had a shrine with the famous oracle”：在 Delphi 地方，他有個神廟，有那有名的神諭。 “shrine”：神廟、神龕。 “oracle”：神諭、問神的龕位或神桌。
4. “which originally had belonged to and had been guarded by the Python”：那龕位原來屬於 Python，也被 Python 守衛著。
5. “a female dragon, which he slew with his unerring arrows”：(Python 是) ㄧ隻母龍，被他用不會失誤的箭給屠殺了。Slay, slew, slain：屠殺。
據說：此 Python 如龍 (dragon) 又如蟒 (serpent)，很難對付，阿波羅如無 “unerring arrows” (不失誤的箭)，不可能取勝。 今日， “python”即指「巨蟒」之類的蛇。
6. “His first love was Daphne”：他第一個所愛的人是 Daphne (達福妮)。 “lover”是「愛人者」， “love” 是「被愛者」。
7. “the huntress who at last turned into a laurel after his endless long pursuit”：那位女獵人，她最後變成月桂樹，在被他不停地追逐很久以後。Daphne 喜獵而怕結婚。阿波羅見她後，窮追不捨，逼得她求神協助而變成桂樹。此後阿波羅便以桂樹葉所做的桂冠來給予勝利者 (victor)。今日所謂的「桂冠詩人」(poet laureate) 與「諾貝爾獎得主」(Nobel laureate) 都是由此而得名。 pursue, pursuit：追逐。
8. “He gave Cassandra the gift of prophecy”：他給 Cassandra 預言的天份。 “gift”：天份、禮物。 prophesy, prophecy：預言。
9. “but, when she denied him her love”：可是，當她拒絕給他她的愛時。
注意：deny sb. sth. 的句型。 他例：He denied me the right. (他拒絕給我那權利)。
10. “he nullified it by decreeing that...” ：他取消它的效力，藉由頒令...。 “nullify”：使失效、取消。 “decree”：訓令、頒布。
11. “no one would ever believe her”：沒有人會相信她的話。Cassandra 能預言但沒人聽，也是沒用。
12. “He also granted the Cumaean Sibyl longevity”：他也賜給 Cumae 的 Sibyl 長壽。 Sibyl 是女預言家 (prophetess) 或女魔術師 (sorceress)。 “longevity”：長壽。
13. “enabling her to live as long as she could hold grains of sand in her hands”：使她能活多久就活多久，只要她手裡能抓住沙粒。在此 “enabling” = and enabled (而使能夠)。 as long as：如 ... ㄧ樣久長，只要。 grains：粒。
14. “But, likewise, when she denied him her favors”：可是，ㄧ樣的，當她拒絕給他她的喜愛時。 “likewise”：同樣的。 “favors”指「喜愛」。
15. “he refused to attach eternal youth and lasting beauty to her eternal years”：他拒絕附加永恆的年輕與持久的美麗到永恆的歲月上頭。attach A to B：附加 A 到 B。 “eternal”：永恆的。 “lasting”：持久的。
16. “Thus, she grew incredibly uglier and uglier”：因此，她變得無可置信的越來越醜。 “incredibly”：無可置信的。
17. “and finally longed for death”：而最後渴望死亡。long to do sth. 或 long for sth.：渴望某事物。
18. 這段充分刻畫 Apollo 的性格。他是智慧光明之神，但自己似乎也不太光明：他沒有贏取芳心的智慧，卻又忌恨別人不領情、不鍾愛他。
[複習填充]
Son of Zeus and Leto, Apollo was the god of light, and h
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