世界小史 第23章:奥西里斯神

 　　Perhaps you're wondering why the pharaoh should want to build such a gigantic tomb?

　　你也许要问：为什么法老想建造这么一座巨大的坟墓呢？

　　It was all part of his religion.

　　这跟他的宗教有关。

　　The Egyptians believed in many gods.

　　埃及人信仰许多神。

　　Some had ruled over them as kings long ago - or at least, that's what they thought - and among these were Osiris and his consort¹, Isis.

　　过去一些神像国王一样统治他们很长时间--至少他们是这么认为的，在诸神中有奥西里斯神和他的妻子伊希斯。

　　The sun god, Amon, was a special god.

　　太阳神阿蒙，是一个特殊的神。

　　The Kingdom of the Dead had its own god, Anubis, and he had a jackal's head.

　　一个神主宰着冥府，他长着一颗胡狼脑袋，名叫阿努比斯。

　　Each pharaoh, they believed, was a son of the sun god, which explains why they feared him so much and obeyed all his commands.

　　他们认为每一个法老都是太阳神的儿子，这就解释了他们为什么这么惧怕他并服从他所有的命令。

　　In honor of their gods they chiselled² majestic³ stone statues, as tall as a five-storey house, and built temples as big as towns.

　　为了向他们的神表达敬意，他们凿了巨大、庄严的石像，像五层楼房一样高，还建了像城镇那样大的庙宇。

　　In front of the temples they set tall pointed⁴ stones, cut from a single block of granite⁵.

　　他们在庙宇前耸立着从整块的花岗石分割出来的高而尖的石头。

　　These are called 'obelisks⁶', a Greek word meaning something like 'little spear'.

　　它们被称为方尖石碑，这是希腊语，是"小矛"的意思。

　　In some of our own cities you can still see obelisks that people brought back from Egypt.

　　今天你还能在某些城市见到这样的方尖石碑，它们是从埃及运来的。

　　There's one in London by the Thames.

　　在泰晤士河畔的伦敦也有一座（方尖石碑）。

1 consort   

v.相伴；结交

参考例句：

• They went in consort two or three together.他们三三两两结伴前往。
• The nurses are instructed not to consort with their patients.护士得到指示不得与病人交往。

2 chiselled   

adj.凿过的，凿光的； （文章等）精心雕琢的v.凿，雕，镌( chisel的过去式 )

参考例句：

• A name was chiselled into the stone. 石头上刻着一个人名。
• He chiselled a hole in the door to fit a new lock. 他在门上凿了一个孔，以便装一把新锁。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 majestic   

adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的

参考例句：

• In the distance rose the majestic Alps.远处耸立着雄伟的阿尔卑斯山。
• He looks majestic in uniform.他穿上军装显得很威风。

4 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

5 granite   

adj.花岗岩，花岗石

参考例句：

• They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。
• The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。

6 obelisks   

n.方尖石塔，短剑号，疑问记号( obelisk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One passes under pyramids and obelisks, all on a heroic scale. 试译：一个人经过规模宏大的金字塔和方尖石塔。 来自互联网
• He told me to seek them through secret obelisks. 它告诉我可以通过隐匿的方尖塔找到它们。 来自互联网