Aphrodite was Adonis’ lover， and she loved him more than she did anybody else. One of Adonis’ greatest passions is hunting.Although Aphrodite is not naturally a hunter， she takes up the sport just so that she can be with him. They spend every waking hour with one another， and Aphrodite is enraptured with him. However， her anxiety begins to grow over her neglected duties， and she is forced to leave him for a short time. Before she leaves， she gives Adonis one warning： do not attack an animal which shows no fear. Adonis agrees to her advice， but， secretly doubting her skills as a huntress， quickly forgets her warning.
Not long after Aphrodite leaves， Adonis comes across an enormous wild boar， much larger than any he has ever seen. It is suggested that the boar is the god Ares， one of Aphrodite’s lovers， made jealous through her constant doting on Adonis. Although boars are dangerous and will charge a hunter if provoked， Adonis disregards Aphrodite’s warning and pursues the giant creature. Soon， however， Adonis is the one being pursued； he is no match for the giant boar.
In the attack， Adonis dies from a loss of blood. Aphrodite rushes back to his side， but she is too late to save him and can only mourn over his body. Wherever Adonis’ blood falls， Aphrodite causes anemones to grow in his memory. She vows that on the anniversary of his death， every year there will be a festival held in his honor.
31. 阿芙洛狄忒和阿多尼斯
阿芙洛狄忒是阿多尼斯的情人，她爱阿多尼斯胜过她其他的任何情人。他最喜爱的运动之一就是狩猎。尽管阿芙洛狄忒不是天生的猎人，但她开始喜欢这项运动，仅仅是为了能跟他在一起。他们每天形影不离，阿芙洛狄忒跟他在一起非常愉快。然而，她开始为自己的玩忽职守而担忧，为此她不得不被迫离开一小段时间。在离开前，她给阿多尼斯一个忠告：不要攻击不惧怕他的动物。阿多尼斯接受了她的建议。但是，心里暗自怀疑她作为女猎手的技能，很快忘记了她的忠告。
阿芙洛狄忒离开后不久，阿多尼斯碰上一头巨大的野猪，比他见过的任何一头都大。据说那头野猪是阿芙洛狄忒老情人之一——阿瑞斯所变，他因阿芙洛狄忒对阿多尼斯的钟情而吃醋。野猪很危险，如果激怒了它就会向猎人冲去，但阿多尼斯忽略了阿芙洛狄忒的忠告而去追赶这庞大的动物。然而，他不是这头大野猪的对手，很快就成为被追赶者。
在野猪的进攻中，阿多尼斯因失血过多而死。阿芙洛狄忒急速回到他的身边，但是她回来晚了，救不了他，只能守着爱人的尸体哀悼。在阿多尼斯血流到的地方，阿芙洛狄忒变出秋牡丹，以此祭奠他。她发誓在他死的周年纪念日，每年都会在这里举行纪念活动来追悼他。
单词短语透视
1.
passion [‘pn] n. 酷爱或热爱的事物
例句
Horse-racing is her passion.
赛马是她最喜爱的运动。
2.
naturally [’nrl] adv. 天生地
例句
She’s naturally musical.
她天生喜爱音乐。
3.take up开始从事，开始学
例句
He left a job in the City to take up farming.
他辞去伦敦商业区的工作，开始务农。
4.
enrapture [n‘r（r）] v. 使（某人）非常喜悦或快乐例句
We were enraptured by the view of the mountains.
我们看到山峦景色，心花怒放。
5.
anxiety [’zat] n. 忧虑；担心；焦虑例句
He caused his parents great anxiety by cycling long distances alone.他独自骑自行车远行， 父母非常担心。
6.
huntress [‘hntrs] n. 女猎人
例句
Young huntress who lives in a land of unending daylight.
一位年轻的女猎人居住在只有永无止境的白昼的地方。
7.come across偶遇；无意中发现
例句
We’ve just come across an old friend.
我们刚碰到了一位老朋友。
8.
enormous [‘nms] adj. 巨大的；极大的例句
The team made an enormous effort .
那支队伍付出了巨大的努力。
9.
doting [’dt] adj. 溺爱的，偏爱的例句
The doting mother may take a toll on her boy’s future independence.母亲的宠爱，会影响到男孩未来的独立自主。
10.
provoke [pr‘vuk] v. 激怒（某人）；惹（某人）气恼例句
If you provoke the dog， it will bite you.
你招惹那条狗，它会咬你的。
11.
disregard [dsr’gɑd] v. 不理会（如警告﹑反对意见）；不重视（某事物）；忽视例句
He completely disregarded my point of view.他完全不理会我的观点。
12.die from死于（某种原因，不包括疾病、过度悲伤等）例句
Why do people still die from cancer
人类为什么还会死于癌症呢
13.
anemone [‘nemn] n. 银莲花，秋牡丹，海葵
例句
Do you want this anemone to sting you你愿意被海葵叮一叮吗
14.
vow [vau] v. 就（某事物）起誓；立誓
例句
She vowed never to speak to him again.
她发誓再也不跟他说话了。
15.
anniversary [’vsr] n. 周年纪念日；周年纪念例句
A golden wedding is the fiftieth anniversary of a marriage.
金婚是结婚五十周年纪念日。
16.in sb’s/sth’s honour为纪念，为庆祝……例句
Every year there will be a ceremony held in the soldiers’ honor who were killed in the battle.每年这里都会为纪念阵亡士兵举行一个仪式。
神话背后的习语
Adonis 阿多尼斯；美男子；美少年
阿多尼斯（Adonis）的母亲是美女密耳拉（Myrrha），因乱伦而被众神变成一棵没药树（所以，“没药”被称为myrrh，“没药”是一种昂贵的香料，据《圣经》记载，耶稣·基督诞生后，得到的三件礼物之一就是“没药”），阿多尼斯就是从这棵没药树里诞生的，他俊美绝伦。在艺术造型中，阿多尼斯的形象是风度翩翩的美少年，常跟阿芙洛狄忒在一起，有时是受伤的姿态，有时是垂死的模样。在西方文化中，阿多尼斯是“美男子；美少年”的代称。
例如
Did you see that Adonis in Tom‘s study group你看见汤姆学习小组里那个帅哥了吗
She apparently takes him as her Adonis.
显然，她把他当作小白脸儿啦。
32. Echo
Echo was a beautiful nymph who was talkative. Zeus loved consorting with beautiful nymphs and visited them on Earth often. Eventually， Zeus’s wife， Hera， became suspicious， and came from Mt. Olympus in an attempt to catch Zeus with the nymphs.
Sometimes the young and beautiful nymph Echo would distract and amuse Hera， with long and entertaining stories while Zeus took advantage of the moment to run away. When Hera discovered the trickery， she was so annoyed that she punished Echo by taking away her voice， except in foolish repetition of another’s shouted words. Thus， all Echo could do was repeat the voice of another.
Narcissus， the son of Cephissus， was extremely handsome， wearing golden hair and sky-blue eyes. Many women fell in love with him， but he turned them away.
One day， Narcissus became separated from his friends， how she longed to be able to say， “I love you.”... But ... she started to cry.
Finally， Narcissus heard something rustle among the leaves. “Who’s here” he shouted aloud.
“Here...” Echo replied.
“Here I am， come.” said him.
“Come...” Echo as said as came out from the trees.
When Narcissus saw a stranger， instead of one of his friends as he had expected， he looked surprised and walked quickly away.
After this， Echo was so upset that she left and hid in a cave， never came out and allowed herself to be seen again.
The goddess of the hunt， Artemis， found out about this， and she was very angry. She made Narcissus fall in love with himself.
One day， Narcissus reached a stream， and leaned over to take a drink， then he saw his beautiful face reflected in the water. He had never seen his reflection before， so he thought that his reflection must be someone who lived in the stream. He fell in love with this beautiful person.