Unit 2 And in the Same Vein... 另一則寓言笑話

The Ndele tribesmen of Africa were a poor but proud people. Living as they did in the savannah regions south of the Sahara, they had only grass with which to build their houses, but these were nonetheless beautifully designed and spacious.
非洲的恩德拉部落是個(gè)貧窮但驕傲的民族，由于位在撒哈拉沙漠南部的大草原地區(qū)，他們只能用草來(lái)造房子，但他們的房屋仍然設(shè)計(jì)美觀，內(nèi)部寬敞。

In fact, the king’s palace was all of three stories tall—until the tragic events which I will now relate:
實(shí)際上，在我所要敘及的不幸事件之前，國(guó)王的皇宮都是三層樓的建筑。事情是這樣的：

The Ndele had always believed that as long as the king sat on the traditional golden throne, no harm could come to the tribe. In recent times, however, the kings had taken to sending their heirs to Europe to be educated.
恩德拉族人自古以來(lái)都相信，只要國(guó)王坐在那張傳統(tǒng)黃金打造的王座上，老天就不會(huì)降災(zāi)害于他們。可是最近非洲國(guó)王們都熱衷于把他們的繼承人送到歐洲深造。

One particular crown prince came back from Oxford with nothing but contempt for the ancient beliefs of his people. No sooner had he been crowned king than he had the golden throne removed to the palace attic and replaced with a comfortable steel-framed easy-chair.
其中一位王儲(chǔ)由牛津大學(xué)歸國(guó)，他除了鄙視該族人的古老迷信外，什么也沒(méi)學(xué)回來(lái)。他一登上王位就立刻把那張寶座搬到皇宮閣樓收藏，并換上一張鋼框的舒適安樂(lè)椅。

Sure enough, as soon as the young king settled his posterior into the new royal seat, an earthquake struck the entire territory of the Ndele, hundreds of homes were destroyed, and the golden throne came crashing through the two intervening floors directly onto the foolish monarch, squashing him like a bug.
果然，那位年輕的國(guó)王剛坐下不久，地震就襲擊了恩德拉族境內(nèi)，好幾百棟的房子損毀，而原來(lái)那張黃金寶座也一路撞穿兩個(gè)夾層樓正中那名愚蠢的統(tǒng)治者，他就像一只小蟲(chóng)般被壓得扁扁的。

And the moral of the story is: Those who live in grass houses should not stow thrones.
這則故事的真義就是：“住在茅草房子的人們不可把國(guó)王的御座收藏起來(lái)！”

英語(yǔ)知識(shí)點(diǎn)解說(shuō)：

1.vein n.靜脈
但標(biāo) 題中的 vein則指 style（形態(tài)）
be in the same vein屬同一類型
例：如The two jokes are in the same vein.
（這兩則笑話屬同一類型。）

2.tribesman n.部落的一員

3.living as they did in the... 由于他們住在……
=As they lived in the...

4.savannah n.（非洲）大草原

5.the Sahara n.撒哈拉沙漠

6.nonetheless ad. 然 而（=nevertheless）

7.spacious a. 廣闊的
space n. 空間
例：Their home is so spacious I got lost looking for a bathroom.
（他們家是那么寬闊，我連上個(gè)廁所都會(huì)迷路。）

8.palace n. 宮殿

9.tragic a. 悲劇的
tragedy n. 悲劇
例：It's tragic that my little dog was run over last week.
（我的小狗上星期被車壓死了，真令人悲傷。）

10.relate vt. 敘述；使關(guān)聯(lián)
例：Thomas can relate the most hilarious story in the most matter-of-fact tone of voice.
（湯瑪士能夠以最正經(jīng)八百的語(yǔ)調(diào)講出最令人捧腹的故事。）

11.as long as... 既然；只要...
=so long as
例：As long as you're up, would you mind getting me a drink out of the fridge.
（既然你起床了，麻煩你從冰箱拿一杯飲料給我好嗎?

12.throne n. 御座；王位
come to the throne 登上王位
=come to power
例：The king came to the throne at the age of 13 only.
（國(guó)王才十三歲就登基了。）

13.take to+V-ing 熱衷于……
take to +  V 熱衷于……
例：Little Johnny took to beer like a fish to water.
（小強(qiáng)尼迷上啤酒就像魚(yú)離不開(kāi)水一樣。）

14.heir n. 嗣子；法定繼承人
be heir... 為……的繼承人
例：The Prince of Wales is heir to the British crown.
（威爾斯王子是英國(guó)王位的繼承人。）

15.crown prince王儲(chǔ)
crown n. 皇冠；王位

16.contempt n. 輕視；蔑視
例：I have nothing but contempt for cowards.
（我最瞧不起膽小鬼了。）

17.No sooner had he been crowned king than he had...
=As soon as he was crowned king, he had...
他一被加冕為王，就……

18.replace A for B 以A取代B
例：I wish I could replace Mark with a more competent employee.
（但愿我可以找另一位較稱職的員工來(lái)替換馬克。）
Maybe you should substitute artificial sweetener for sugar.
（或許你應(yīng)當(dāng)用人工甘料代替砂糖。）

19.posterior n.后部；臀部（=hips)
例：Your posterior is the part of your body you sit on.
（你的臀部就是你坐下時(shí)的部位。）

20.territory n. 領(lǐng)土；領(lǐng)域
例：The victorious army pushed on into the enemy territory.
（勝利的部隊(duì)向敵人領(lǐng)土挺進(jìn)。）

21.come crashing through... 一路撞穿……
crash vi. 猛撞
例：The car crashed into a tree. Fortunately, no one was injured.
（車子撞到樹(shù)。所幸無(wú)人受傷。）

22.intervene vi.干擾（ 與介詞 in 并用）
two intervening floor 兩個(gè)夾層樓（指三樓及二樓地板）
例：It's wise not to intervene in his business.
（不要干涉他的事乃明智之舉。）

23.monarch n. 君主；統(tǒng)治者

24.squash vt. 壓扁

25.bug n. 小蟲(chóng)

26.stow vt. 將…… 收藏好
例：Stow away all your toys in the box, Tommy.
（湯米，把你所有的玩具全收拾到箱子里。）

27.Those who live in grass houses should not stow thrones.
（住在茅草屋的人不可以把國(guó)王的御座收藏起來(lái)。）
乃由下句諺語(yǔ)轉(zhuǎn)變而成：
Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
（住在玻璃屋的人不能扔石塊——喻自己有錯(cuò)，不能批評(píng)別人。）

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