最新15篇文章贯通英语四级词汇MP3 Unit7-Part2

 

[00:00.00]St. Nicholas was an

[00:02.62]early Christian¹ Bishop² of Patara

[00:04.91]of the Lycian seaport³

[00:06.88](in present day Turkey)

[00:09.40]in the 4th century A.D.

[00:11.26]The Roman Emperor Diocletian,

[00:14.43]who persecuted⁴ Christians⁵,

[00:16.73]imprisoned him because the practice

[00:18.70]of Christianity was illegal.

[00:21.54]The first Christian Emperor of Rome,

[00:24.71]Constantine, later released him.

[00:27.77]Nicholas’reputation for generosity⁶,

[00:31.06]kindness and miracles earned him

[00:34.45]a widespread reputation

[00:35.98]and eventually sainthood.

[00:37.73]He is said to have brought back

[00:41.23]life to the children

[00:42.87]who had been chopped into

[00:44.30]pieces by their butcher father.

[00:46.05]He is reputed to

[00:49.00]have placed some gold coins 

[00:50.75]in stockings, hung by a fire 

[00:53.16]to dry by three poor girls.

[00:54.91]He had hoped that the girls 

[00:58.52]would be able to use

[01:00.06]the money to marry to

[01:01.26]avoid living on prostitution,

[01:03.45]the common destiny of such girls

[01:05.63]at that time. From this gesture 

[01:09.46]came the tradition of empty oversize

[01:11.10]stockings hanging on fireplaces

[01:14.38]at Christmas time for Santa 

[01:16.24]to fill with little gifts. 

[01:18.43]From these roots, the presentday 

[01:21.06]Santa Claus seems to have emerged.

[01:23.36]In some European countries, 

[01:27.19]the image of Father Christmas 

[01:29.15]is identified more closely 

[01:31.45]with Saint Nicholas than 

[01:33.53]with Santa Claus. The red and white suit

[01:36.16]Santa wears, is said 

[01:37.91]to have come from 

[01:39.87]the traditional colour of 

[01:41.40]early Christian Bishops’ robes. 

[01:42.94]Santa, flying in a sleigh

[01:45.57]pulled by reindeer⁷, and 

[01:48.52]going down chimneys, originated 

[01:50.60]from an American poem 

[01:52.57]written in the 1820’s 

[01:54.20]by Clement⁸ Moore entitled 

[01:56.06]“The Night before Christmas”. 

[01:59.35]In the 1860’s, another American

[02:03.40] made an engraving⁹ called 

[02:04.82]“Santa’s Workshop” in which Santa, 

[02:07.00]is portrayed¹⁰ in a lovely sunset, 

[02:09.20]scratching his chin, reading letters

[02:12.37]and checking a list activities 

[02:14.55]which was revived every year 

[02:16.53]in music and  stories 

[02:18.27]told to children 

[02:19.81]during the yuletide(Christmas) season.

[02:21.99] Every year children write letters 

[02:25.72]to Santa Claus before Christmas, 

[02:28.12]asking him to bring favourite toys.

[02:30.86]Santa traditionally navigates¹¹

[02:35.78]the frosty night skies December 24th

[02:38.74]without using a compass 

[02:41.36]or a chart to plot his course.

[02:43.76]He, in his sleigh pulled

[02:46.61]by nine reindeer, usually lands 

[02:49.02]on slippery sloped roofs. Clumsily, 

[02:52.74]with his big bag heaped 

[02:55.04]with toys and slung¹² over his shoulder, 

[02:57.55]he jumps down chimneys and

[02:59.85]dumps toys under Christmas trees.

[03:01.60]Gifts often include a doll 

[03:04.77]for a little girl or 

[03:06.63]a train for a little boy. 

[03:08.93]He does all of this 

[03:10.90]without disturbing the inhabitants.  

[03:12.76]Santa then crawls vertically 

[03:16.48]back up the chimney and, 

[03:18.34]without a trace, flies off, 

[03:21.07]exclaiming the resounding¹³ phrase,  

[03:23.37]“Merry Christmas to all, good night”. 

[03:26.98]He is back at his home 

[03:30.26]at the North Pole 

[03:31.57]before dawn on Christmas morning, 

[03:33.44]tired but very happy 

[03:35.63]after his very speedy sweep 

[03:37.81]around the world. After a

[03:40.33]big yawn, Santa falls asleep.

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

3 seaport   

n.海港，港口，港市

参考例句：

• Ostend is the most important seaport in Belgium.奥斯坦德是比利时最重要的海港。
• A seaport where ships can take on supplies of coal.轮船能够补充煤炭的海港。

4 persecuted   

（尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人

参考例句：

• Throughout history, people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. 人们因宗教信仰而受迫害的情况贯穿了整个历史。
• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。

5 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

6 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

7 reindeer   

n.驯鹿

参考例句：

• The herd of reindeer was being trailed by a pack of wolves.那群驯鹿被一只狼群寻踪追赶上来。
• The life of the Reindeer men was a frontier life.驯鹿时代人的生活是一种边区生活。

8 clement   

adj.仁慈的；温和的

参考例句：

• A clement judge reduced his sentence.一位仁慈的法官为他减了刑。
• The planet's history contains many less stable and clement eras than the holocene.地球的历史包含着许多不如全新世稳定与温和的地质时期。

9 engraving   

n.版画；雕刻（作品）；雕刻艺术；镌版术v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的现在分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中）

参考例句：

• He collected an old engraving of London Bridge. 他收藏了一张古老的伦敦桥版画。 来自辞典例句
• Some writing has the precision of a steel engraving. 有的字体严谨如同钢刻。 来自辞典例句

10 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 navigates   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的第三人称单数 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• Dolpins also navigates by some kind of echo system. 原来海豚也是借助某种回声系统寻向的。 来自辞典例句
• Navigates in menus, lists, choice screens and into edited texts. 可以操纵菜单、列表、屏幕选项和进入编辑文本。 来自互联网

12 slung   

抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往

参考例句：

• He slung the bag over his shoulder. 他把包一甩，挎在肩上。
• He stood up and slung his gun over his shoulder. 他站起来把枪往肩上一背。

13 resounding   

adj. 响亮的

参考例句：

• The astronaut was welcomed with joyous,resounding acclaim. 人们欢声雷动地迎接那位宇航员。
• He hit the water with a resounding slap. 他啪的一声拍了一下水。