美国学生世界地理教材 第176期:狮子和太阳(1)

 HAVE you ever seen a Persian cat? 你见过波斯猫吗？

They are big, beautiful animals with soft thick hair. They come from Persia. 体型较大，非常漂亮，长着又柔又厚的毛，产自波斯。

Persia is one of those "once-was" or "used-to-be" countries too. 波斯也是那些“有过昔日辉煌”的国家之一，

It used to be the greatest country, yet many people now do not even know exactly where Persia is and can't even find it when they look for it on a map 它过去是世界上最伟大的城市。然而现在很多人甚至都不知道它确切的位置，他们就是在地图上也找不到它，

for the Persian name for Persia is Iran and most maps now say Iran instead of Persia. 因为“波斯”的波斯语名字是伊朗，现在大多数地图上标的是“伊朗”，而不是“波斯”。

As I look around me in my home where I'm writing this, 在家里写到这儿的时候，我环顾四周，

I find, to my surprise, I can count nearly a dozen things that have come from Persia or are connected with Persia, 惊讶地发现我竟能数出差不多十几样来自波斯或者与波斯有关的东西，

though before I began to count I should have said not a single thing Persian did I own. 不过，不数一数的话，会说我没有一件东西是来自波斯的。

The rug at my feet was made in Persia, entirely¹ by hand. 我脚下的地毯是波斯制造的，

It was woven of woolen² threads in beautiful colored designs and must have taken some Persian many months, perhaps a year or more, to make. 用羊毛线纯手工编织而成，上面有漂亮的彩色图案，某个波斯人一定编织了好几个月甚至一年多的时间才完成。

Some Persian rugs are said to have taken one person the whole of his lifetime to make. 据说，有些波斯地毯需要一个人一生的时间才能织完。

My wife has a silken shawl also woven by hand in Persia. 我妻子有一条丝质的披肩，也产自波斯，纯手工做的。

The silkworms were raised there, the cocoons³ unwound, the silk spun⁴ into thread, dyed in many colors, and then woven into this shawl. 波斯人养蚕，抽茧出丝，再纺成线，染成各种颜色，最后织成披肩。

She has a ring set with greenish blue stones, called Turquoises⁶. 她有一个戒指，上面镶有青绿色宝石，叫做“绿松石”。

A turquoise⁵ is the birth-stone of December, and they also come from Persia. 绿松石是象征十二月份的诞生石，也产自波斯。

In some countries of the East people wear turquoises to keep away what is called the "evil eye." 在东方的一些国家，人们佩带绿松石是为了远离所谓的“邪恶的目光”，

They believe that some persons can do them harm by looking at them, and the turquoise prevents this "evil eye" harming them. 他们认为有些人看他们时会给自己带来伤害，而绿松石可以防止这些“恶目”伤害自己。

1 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

2 woolen   

adj.羊毛(制)的；毛纺的

参考例句：

• She likes to wear woolen socks in winter.冬天她喜欢穿羊毛袜。
• There is one bar of woolen blanket on that bed.那张床上有一条毛毯。

3 cocoons   

n.茧，蚕茧( cocoon的名词复数 )v.茧，蚕茧( cocoon的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The silkworms have gone into the bushes to spin their cocoons. 蚕上山了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• In two more days the " little darlings" would spin their cocoons. 再得两天，“宝宝”可以上山。 来自汉英文学 - 春蚕

4 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

5 turquoise   

n.绿宝石；adj.蓝绿色的

参考例句：

• She wore a string of turquoise round her neck.她脖子上戴着一串绿宝石。
• The women have elaborate necklaces of turquoise.那些女人戴着由绿松石制成的精美项链。

6 turquoises   

n.绿松石( turquoise的名词复数 )；青绿色

参考例句：