常春藤生活英語(yǔ)：David and Goliath戴維與歌利亞

Two thousand years ago in the Kingdom of Israel, the Philistine army marched into the valley of Elah and set up camp. At that time, the King of Israel was Saul. He was a great king before, but by this point had become a weak man. King Saul gathered his army, but the Philistines did not attack. Instead, each morning, a giant warrior would march from the Philistine camp and cry out to the soldiers of Israel, "Who dares challenge Goliath?"

Goliath said that if any man of Israel could beat him, then the Philistines would surrender. But if Goliath killed his enemy, then the Kingdom of Israel had to do the same. Goliath was a fearless warrior over three meters tall. For 40 days, no man went out to take up his challenge. On the 41st day, a young man walked up to the giant with nothing but a stick and some rocks. His name was David, and he would go on to become the greatest king ever to rule Israel.

兩千年前于以色列王國(guó)中，腓力斯軍隊(duì)開拔至以拉峽谷中扎營(yíng)。當(dāng)時(shí)的以色列國(guó)王為索爾。他曾是位偉大的國(guó)王，但到了此時(shí)，他已經(jīng)變成一個(gè)軟弱無能的人。索爾國(guó)王集結(jié)了軍隊(duì)，但腓力斯人卻沒有進(jìn)攻。每天早上反而會(huì)有一名魁梧的戰(zhàn)士從腓力斯?fàn)I區(qū)中走出，大聲地向以色列士兵叫陣：『有誰(shuí)敢挑戰(zhàn)歌利亞?』

歌利亞說如果任何以色列人能擊敗他，那么腓力斯人就會(huì)投降。但要是歌利亞殺了他的敵手，以色列王國(guó)也得比照辦理。身高超過三公尺的歌利亞，是一位天不怕地不怕的勇士。接連四十天，沒有人出來接受他的挑戰(zhàn)。到了第四十一天，一位僅拿著棍子和一些石子的年輕人走到了巨人面前。他名叫戴維，而他繼而會(huì)成為有史以來統(tǒng)治以色列最偉大的國(guó)王。

Building Your Vocabulary

1.march　vi. 快速齊步行進(jìn)

The troops marched through the jungle.

軍隊(duì)行軍穿越了叢林。

2.challenge　vt. & n. 挑戰(zhàn)

I challenged my father to a game of tennis.

我向我爸挑戰(zhàn)打網(wǎng)球。

3.surrender　vi. 投降

The terroists finally surrendered to the police.

恐怖份子終于向警方投降。

4.fearless　a. 無畏的，不怕的

To be a soldier, you must be fearless.

想當(dāng)一名軍人，你一定不能有所畏懼。

Phrases for Learning

1.cry out　　大聲喊叫

Kevin cried out in pain when he accidentally cut himself.

凱文不小心割到自己時(shí)，痛得大叫。

2.take up...　　接受……(挑戰(zhàn)、建議等)

You should take up my suggestion and start saving money.

你應(yīng)該接受我的建議，開始存錢。

參考字詞

1.Philistine　a. 腓力斯人(的)

2.warrior　n. 戰(zhàn)士，武士

Tips In Use

...the Philistine army marched into the valley of Elah and set up camp.

(……腓力斯軍隊(duì)開拔至以拉峽谷中扎營(yíng)。)

"set up camp"為一固定用法，表『扎營(yíng);搭帳篷』。以下介紹"set up..."的其它常見用法。

1.表『安排……』

My boss asked me to set up a meeting.

(我老板請(qǐng)我安排了一場(chǎng)會(huì)議。)

2.表『安裝∕設(shè)置……』

He needed help to set up the equipment.

(他需要有人來幫忙他安裝設(shè)備。)

3.表『陷害某人』

The thief claimed he had been set up by the police.

(小偷聲稱他是被警察誣陷的。)