Deucalion， son of Prometheus， had been warned beforehand by his father of the coming floodand made himself a huge chest. When the roaring flood came， the couple hid themselves in it and floated for nine days until it touched land again on Mt Parnassus.
When the deluge was over， the world was deserted. There were no plants， no animals and no sounds， either. Deucalion consulted an oracle of Themis about how to repopulate the earth. He was told to throw the bones of his mother behind his shoulder. Deucalion and Pyrrha understood the mother to be Gaia， the mother of all living things， and the bones to be rocks. Then， they threw the rocks behind their shoulders and the rocks formed people. Pyrrha’s became women， and Deucalion’s became men.
23. 大洪水
到了青铜期末代，人类世界变得非常残忍。人变得贪婪、粗鲁且不虔诚。
宙斯装扮成凡人的样子查看了阿卡迪亚和色萨利两地。阿卡迪亚的国王吕卡翁不仅待客冷淡，而且对人们非常残暴。宙斯展示神的神力，表明自己是个神，吕卡翁不相信，并嘲笑人们对宙斯虔诚的祈祷。“让我们考证一下，”他说，“看看他到底是凡人还是神。”他杀了一个奴隶，剁下四肢，扔进水里煮，其余部分放在火上烤，拿来招待宙斯。宙斯把这一切都看在眼里，他念咒召唤一团复仇的怒火，把国王变成了一只恶狼。
此次经历后，宙斯决定用洪灾终结青铜时期来报复人类。丢卡利翁和他的妻子皮拉是唯一的幸存者。
普罗米修斯的儿子——丢卡利翁事先就得到父亲的警告，得知洪水会爆发，他做了个巨大的箱子，当咆哮的洪水涌来时，夫妻俩就躲藏在箱中，这样漂泊了九天，最终漂到了帕那萨斯山。
当洪水退去后，世上没有人，也没有植
物﹑动物和声音。丢卡利翁就如何让人重回地球生活请示忒弥斯的神谕。他被告知把母亲的遗骨往身后扔。丢卡利翁和皮拉理解到“母亲”是指盖亚——万物之母，“遗骨”是指岩石。然后他们把岩石扔向身后，岩石就形成了人。皮拉扔的变成了女人，而丢卡利翁扔的变成了男人。
单词短语透视
1.
ungodly [，n‘gdl] adj. 不敬上帝的；邪恶的例句
He is an ungodly man.
他这个人不信神。
2.
religious [r’lds] adj.（指人）笃信宗教的，虔诚的例句
She is very religious and goes to church three times a week.
她非常虔诚，每周去教堂三次。
3.
slave [slev] n. 奴隶
例句
Sarah is the wife of Abraham， not his slave. 赛拉是亚伯拉罕的妻子，不是他的奴隶。
4.
toast [tust] v. 烘，烤；祝酒
例句
They toast their feet in front of the fire.他们在火前烘脚。
5.
conjure [‘knd（r）] v. 念咒召唤；用魔法驱赶例句
The witch could conjure up the spirits of the dead .
那位巫婆能念咒召死者的魂灵。
6.
revenge [r’vend] n. 复仇；报复
例句
She said she would take her revenge on Tom.她说她要向汤姆报仇。
7.
atrocious [‘trus] adj. 恶毒的；残忍的；残暴的例句
Murder is an atrocious crime.
谋杀是残暴的罪行。
8.
survivor [s’vav] n. 幸存者；生还者例句
This soldier was the only survivor of the battle.
这名士兵是这场战斗唯一的生还者。
9.
beforehand [b‘fhadv. 预先；有准备地；较早例句
I had made preparations beforehand.
我预先作了准备。
10.
chest [test] n. 大箱子
例句
Please help me lift the chest up on the table.请帮我把这个箱子搭到桌子上。
11.
roaring [’rr] adj. 吼叫的；喧闹的，咆哮的例句
The roaring sea gradually calmed down.
咆哮的大海逐渐平静下来。
12.
float [flut] v. 漂流；飘动
例句
The raft was floating gently down the river.筏子顺河水缓缓漂流。
13.
deluge [‘deljud] n. 洪水；大水流
例句
When the snow melts， the mountain stream becomes a deluge.
雪融化时，山间溪流变成山洪暴发。
14.
deserted [d’ztd] adj. 无人的
例句
The office was quite deserted.
这个办公室里没有人。
15.
consult [kn‘slt] v.（为获取资料﹑得到指点等）请教（别人）例句
I will consult my lawyer about it.
我将就此事请教律师。
16.
repopulate [，r：’ppjulet] v. 使人重新入住例句
The nature has left you a Garden of Eden to repopulate.
大自然让你去伊甸园重新生活。
24. Lotus Eaters
The Lotus Eaters lived on an island off the coast of North Africa. The people only took lotus fruit and flowers as their food which was a powerful narcotic-type plant. This plant had such a magic effect on its eaters that it could make them forget their past and produce a dreamy laziness over them. A storm sent by Zeus swept Odysseus and his men along for nine days before bringing them to the land of the Lotus-eaters. The island was so beautiful that Odysseus wanted to stay there for a while and rest up.
Three men were sent off to learn about the island’s residents. The residents were friendly and offered the men some of their food， the lotus. The men enjoyed the delicious fruit. As soon as they ate this fruit， they lost all thoughts of home. They forgot all about Odysseus， their mission， the eager to get back to Greece. They didn’t want to leave the island. All they wanted to do was hanging out and eating Lotus fruit. Odysseus waited and waited， but the three scouts never returned.
Luckily， Odysseus came and dragged them， kicking and screaming back to the ship. He tied them to their seats and ordered the crew to row like hell， in case anyone else might eat the Lotus and forget the way home. Then， they sailed off successfully.
24. 吃忘忧树的人
吃忘忧树的人们居住在离北非海岸线不远的岛上，岛上的居民只以忘忧树的果实和花为食物。这是一种具有催眠和麻醉作用的植物。这种神奇的植物，魔力极大，只要吃了它，就会忘记往事而陷入恍恍惚惚的昏睡状态。在到达这个地方前，宙斯操纵的暴风雨已经让奥德修斯和他的士兵们漂了九天。这座岛环境非常漂亮，奥德修斯打算在这里呆上一段时间，好好休整一下。
他派了三名士兵去了解一下岛上的居民。居民们非常友好，用他们的食物——忘忧果款待了那三个人。士兵们非常喜欢吃这些美味的果实，他们一吃这果子，就忘记了他们回家的念头。他们忘记了所有的事情——奥德修斯、他们的任务、回希腊的欲望。他们不想离开岛上，唯一想做的就是闲逛，然后吃忘忧果。奥德修斯等啊等，但是那三位侦察兵就是不见回来。
幸运的是，奥德修斯来了，连打带骂地把他们三个人拽回了船上，并把他们捆在座位上，命令船员们拼命地划船，以防其他人再迷恋上忘忧树而不想回家。最后，他们成功地离开了。
单词短语透视
1.
off [f] adv. 离，距，离海岸
例句
The town is still five miles off.
那小城尚在五英里以外。
2.
narcotic [nɑ‘ktk] n. 催眠的或麻醉的物质例句
The juice of this fruit is a mild narcotic.
这种果汁有轻度催眠作用。
3.
sweep [swip] v. 借推力﹑流动力等强劲而不停地带动或移走例句
The current swept the logs down the river.水流冲着原木沿河而下。
4.rest up充分休息，彻底休息
例句
I’ll rest up for an hour or two before starting work again.我要好好休息一两个小时后再开始工作。
5.
resident [‘rezdnt] n. 居民
例句
Are you a resident in this area
你是这个地方的居民吗
6.
mission [’mn] n. 使命，任务
例句
They have accomplished their mission successfully.他们成功地完成了任务。
7.
scout [‘skaut] n. 侦察员
例句
The scout was searching through the woods.侦察员正在树林中搜索。
8.
drag [drv. 拖，拉，扯，拽
例句
The cat was dragging its broken leg.
那只猫拖着断腿吃力地走着。
9.
scream [skrim] v.（因恐惧﹑痛苦或兴奋）尖声喊叫；喊出例句
The fans screamed with excitement when they saw him.
球迷一看见他都激动得大喊大叫。
10.
row [ru] v. 划（船）
例句
They rowed the boat across the river.他们划船过了河。
25. Daphne
Daphne， the daughter of the river god Peneus， was a lovely blooming fairy maiden， while Apollo was a great warrior and a proud god. One day， with his manly figure and handsomeness and intelligence， and with his victory over the great serpent-Python， Apollo came to the god of love-Eros， who was playing with his weapons.