Take Away English-King Arthur 亚瑟王

Did King Arthur really exist?

The story of King Arthur is one that has been told for hundreds of years. There have been poems, books and even films made of his life, all of them telling the story a little differently.

The basic story is this. There was a sword stuck in a stone. The legend said that whoever could remove the sword would become King of England and save the country. Many brave knights¹ tried to pull the sword out, but they all failed. One day, a young boy called Arthur was walking past the stone. He didn't know it, but he was in fact the son of an old king. He pulled the sword out of the stone and became the new King of England.

The stories of Arthur as King are tales of bravery and nobility. His closest advisor² was Merlin, a powerful wizard. Arthur lived in a castle called Camelot with his beautiful wife, Guinevere. In the castle he had a round table, where he sat with his knights. It was round so that there was no one at the head of the table (which is where the most important person would usually sit) and Arthur and his knights were all equal.

Arthur, with his famous magical sword Excalibur, and his closest knights Sir Lancelot and Sir Galahad, fought against the forces of evil³ in England. These were led by Arthur's half-sister, Morgan, who was a witch. After many battles, there was only one left to fight. Arthur and his knights finally won the battle against Morgan's army, and England was safe! However, Arthur had been hurt, and was dying⁴. He threw his sword into a lake, where the magical Lady of the Lake could look after it, and then he died. He was buried in Avalon, in the south-west of England. According to the legend, Arthur will rise again to save England if it is ever in danger in the future.

But did Arthur really exist? Some say he was a Roman, others say a Briton fighting the invading⁵ Saxons, but there is no proof⁶ of his existence. But perhaps this doesn't matter. The story of a great, noble and brave king, who died to save his country, is one that people of all generations find fascinating, even today.

GLOSSARY 词汇表
sword 剑 brave knights 勇敢的骑士 nobility 高贵 wizard 男巫 equal 平等 evil 邪恶的 witch 女巫 army 军队 Roman 罗马人 invading Saxons 侵略撒克逊人	legend 传说，传奇 tales 传说 advisor 顾问 the head of the table 首领 magical 有魔力的 half-sister 同父异母姐妹或同母异父姐妹 battles 战争 exist 存在 Briton 大不列颠人 proof 证明

 

1 knights   

骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马

参考例句：

• stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事
• He wove a fascinating tale of knights in shining armour. 他编了一个穿着明亮盔甲的骑士的迷人故事。

2 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

3 evil   

n.邪恶，不幸，罪恶；adj.邪恶的，不幸的，有害的，诽谤的

参考例句：

• We pray to God to deliver us from evil.我们祈求上帝把我们从罪恶中拯救出来。
• Love of money is the root of all evil.爱钱是邪恶的根源。

4 dying   

adj.垂死的，临终的

参考例句：

• He was put in charge of the group by the dying leader.他被临终的领导人任命为集团负责人。
• She was shown into a small room,where there was a dying man.她被领进了一间小屋子，那里有一个垂死的人。

5 invading   

v.侵入，侵略( invade的现在分词 )；涌入；侵袭；侵犯

参考例句：

• The invading troops were guilty of rape and pillage. 侵略军犯了抢劫和强奸的罪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The invading army desecrated this holy place when they camped here. 侵略军在这块圣地上扎营就是对这块圣地的亵渎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 proof   

adj.防...的，耐...的，能防护；n.校样，证据，证明；vt.检验，给...做防护措施

参考例句：

• He is living proof of the wonders of modern medicine.他是当代医学奇迹的活证明。
• The proof was fished up from some old papers.校样在旧文件中被找到了。