The Lost Continent 遗失的大陆-14

In 1888, Blavatsky wrote a book called the Secret Doctrine¹, in which she attempted to establish the principles of Theosophy or God Wisdom that the cosmic masters had imparted to her. Blavatsky cited most of Donnelly's theories about Atlantis with approval, but she had one major disagreement. In her opinion, Donnelly's belief in Darwin was a grave error. And in one corner of her room sat a stuffed baboon² as a constant reminder³ of how wrong she thought the Theory of Evolution was. Instead Blavatsky proposed that the cosmic masters of Atlantis had been the real progenitors⁵ of the human race.

Occultism rejects the idea that Nature developed man from the ape, tracing the origin of the species to the Third Race man of the early Atlantean period.

Blavatsky argued that while some peoples notably⁶ the Aryan-Hindus had retained the Atlantean purity of their ancient ancestors, others had not.

The Aryan- Hindu belongs to the oldest race now on earth, the Semite-Hebrew to the latest. There was a day when the Israelites had beliefs as pure as the Aryans, but now Judaism has become a religion of hate and malice⁷.

Blavatsky's linking of Atlantis to ideas of racial superiority would later be seized upon by the most sinister⁸ forces of the 20th century. Madam Blavatsky died in 1891, and true to form, the grandmother of the new age refused to go quietly.

Her last years alas⁹ were fraught¹⁰ with endless dramas, because although she had officially retired¹¹ from the Theosophical society, she couldn't stop meddling. And being a hell-raiser, she took every possible opportunity to stir the pot, so she died rather sadly, really, because she was in the middle of a maelstrom¹³ of anger and scandal when she died. But somehow that's entirely¹⁴ appropriate one feels she rather enjoyed it.

Madam Blavatsky's ideas cast a long shadow over the story of Atlantis, providing fertile ground for the myth-makers of new age spirituality. But ironically it would be the propagandists of the Third Reich who would first seize upon her theories of a pure Atlantean race. The year's 1933 and in Central America, one of the forgotten chapters in the story of Altantis is about to unfold. Deep in the Guatemalan jungle, a German archeological expedition believes it's unearthed¹⁵ finds which challenge many of our most cherished ideas about human evolution. Buried deep in the earth are the mortal remains¹⁶ of a people who don't even appear to be human, remains which local people believe to be the forgotten race of Atlantis.

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impart: v. 给予，传授
progenitor⁴: n. 祖先
fraught: adj. 充满...的
meddle¹⁷: v. 干涉，管闲事
maelstrom: n. 大旋涡，一种暴力的或混乱的局势
propagandist: n. 宣传员

1 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

2 baboon   

n.狒狒

参考例句：

• A baboon is a large monkey that lives in Africa.狒狒是一种生活在非洲的大猴子。
• As long as the baboon holds on to what it wants,it's trapped.只要狒狒紧抓住想要的东西不放手，它就会被牢牢困住。

3 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

4 progenitor   

n.祖先，先驱

参考例句：

• He was also a progenitor of seven presidents of Nicaragua.他也是尼加拉瓜7任总统的祖先。
• Schoenberg was a progenitor of modern music.勋伯格是一位现代音乐的先驱。

5 progenitors   

n.祖先( progenitor的名词复数 )；先驱；前辈；原本

参考例句：

• The researchers also showed that the progenitors mature into neurons in Petri dishes. 研究人员还表示，在佩特里培养皿中的脑细胞前体可以发育成神经元。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 大脑与疾病
• Though I am poor and wretched now, my progenitors were famously wealthy. 别看我现在穷困潦倒，我家上世可是有名的富翁。 来自互联网

6 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

7 malice   

n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋

参考例句：

• I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。
• There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。

8 sinister   

adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的

参考例句：

• There is something sinister at the back of that series of crimes.在这一系列罪行背后有险恶的阴谋。
• Their proposals are all worthless and designed out of sinister motives.他们的建议不仅一钱不值，而且包藏祸心。

9 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

10 fraught   

adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的

参考例句：

• The coming months will be fraught with fateful decisions.未来数月将充满重大的决定。
• There's no need to look so fraught!用不着那么愁眉苦脸的！

11 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

12 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句

13 maelstrom   

n.大乱动；大漩涡

参考例句：

• Inside,she was a maelstrom of churning emotions.她心中的情感似波涛汹涌，起伏不定。
• The anxious person has the spirit like a maelstrom.焦虑的人的精神世界就像一个大漩涡。

14 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。

15 unearthed   

出土的（考古）

参考例句：

• Many unearthed cultural relics are set forth in the exhibition hall. 展览馆里陈列着许多出土文物。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

16 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

17 meddle   

v.干预，干涉，插手

参考例句：

• I hope he doesn't try to meddle in my affairs.我希望他不来干预我的事情。
• Do not meddle in things that do not concern you.别参与和自己无关的事。