It was the river of woe, which the souls of the dead had to cross on the way to the underworld.  But Charon, the ferryman, would not allow any soul to cross it unless the dead had been buried with proper rites.

 [解說]

1.      “It was the river of woe”：「它是悲哀之河」。“woe”是「悲哀」或「災禍」。其形容詞為“woeful”。

2.      “…which the souls of the dead had to cross”：「此河死者之靈魂必須渡過」。“which”指其先行詞“the river of woe”。“the dead”= “the dead people”或“the dead person”(死者)，可為多數或單為一人。“cross”是「橫過、渡過」。注意：“across”是介系詞，不是動詞，雖然意思與“cross”一樣。

3.      “on the way to the underworld”：「在前往下界的途中」。“on the way to…”是慣用語，另例：“I met him on the way to Taipei”(我在前往台北的路上遇見他)。“the underworld”(下界) = Hades 或 hell (地獄)。

4.      “ferryman”(渡船夫、擺渡者)。“ferry”是「渡船」或「渡口」，“a passenger and automobile ferry”是「裝運旅客與汽車的渡船」。但「渡船」通常明說為“ferryboat”。

5.      “would not allow any soul to cross it”：「不會允許任何靈魂渡過它」。“ allow …  to ….”是慣用的語型，另例：“They do not allow dogs to enter the hall”(他們不允許狗進入此廳堂)。

6.      “unless the dead had been buried with proper rites”：「除非該死者曾被用妥當的儀式加以埋葬」。“with proper rites”是「用妥當的儀式」。「葬儀」即“funeral rites”或 “burial rites”。

7.      整段在談冥河 Acheron 的功能，其實 Styx 也是冥河，而渡船夫 Charon 的職責就是擺渡妥當的死魂。

 [複習填充]

Acheron was the river of w__, which the souls of     dead had to c    on the     to the underworld.  But Charon, the f       , would not allow    soul to cross it       the dead had      buried with proper      .