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Demeter, or Ceres in Roman mythology, was the goddess of vegetation and fruitfulness. Her only daughter Persephone was raped and carried off by Hades. She sought her over the face of the earth, forgetting to care for the land and leaving it icebound and lifeless. To save the world, Zeus bade Hades return Persephone to Demeter. But because Persephone had eaten six pomegranate seeds while in the underworld, she could not return to her mother permanently. The final compromise was: each year Persephone should spend six months in the upper world and the other six in the underworld. That is why we have the vegetative cycle.
[解说] 1. “Demeter, or Ceres in Roman mythology, was the goddess of vegetation and fruitfulness”： Demeter，或罗马神话中的 Ceres (细儿理丝)，是植物生长与丰收之女神。 “vegetation”：植物、植物生长。
2.
“Her
only daughter Persephone was raped and carried off by Hades”：她唯一的女儿Persephone 被 Hades 强暴而带走。Persephone 之罗马名为
Proserpine，她被冥王 Hades (或称 Dis) 强暴而带走为妻。 3. “She sought her over the face of the earth”：她在地表上到处找她。 “seek, sought, sought”：寻找。
4. “forgetting to care for the land”= “and forgot to care for the land”：而忘了照顾大地。 “care for”：照顾。
5. “and leaving it icebound and lifeless”：而留下它 (大地) 冰封而无生机。 “icebound” = bound by ice (冰封)。
6. “To save the world, Zeus bade Hades return Persephone to Demeter”：为了救世人，Zeus 命令 Hades 送回 Persephone 给 Demeter。 “bid, bade, bidden”：吩咐、命令。
注意：在 bid 后之动词省去 to，故 “bade Hades return ...”
7. “But because Persephone had eaten six pomegranate seeds while in the underworld”：可是因为 Persephone 吃过六粒石榴种子，当她在下界时。 “pomegranate”：石榴。 “seeds”：种子。
8. “she could not return to her mother permanently”：她不能永远回到她的母亲。 “permanently”：永远。
9. “The final compromise was”：最后的妥协是…
10. “each year Persephone should spend six months in the upperworld and the other six in the underworld”：每年 Persephone 必须花六个月在上界 (阳间) 而另外六个月在下界 (阴间)。
11. “That is why we have the vegetative cycle”：那就是为什么我们有植物循环的理由。 “vegetative cycle”：植物循环 (春夏兴旺、秋冬枯萎之循环)。
[复习填充] Demeter, or Ceres in Roman , was the goddess of v and fruitfulness. Her only daughter Persephone was r_____ and carried by Hades. She sought her the face of the earth, forgetting to care the land and leaving it ice and life . To save the world, Zeus Hades return Persephone to Demeter. But because Persephone had eaten six p s while in the underworld, she could not return to her mother p . The final com was: each year Persephone should spend six months in the and the other six in the underworld. That is why we have the v c . . |
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