How Prometheus Made Mankind普罗米修斯如何造人

by Olivia Wycech

There is more to the name Prometheus than a blockbuster movie. 全世界其中一起最《普罗米修斯》不光是一部卖座电影，这个名字大有来头。

We may never truly know how man was created, but there are certainly many theories to be explored. One story that has recently gained popularity with a movie released under the same name is the legend of Prometheus, who in Greek mythology is credited with having created man from clay.
Prometheus, which means forethought as he was forever thinking of the future, was the son of a Titan. After engaging in a war with the Olympians, all of the Titans were sent to prison except for Prometheus and his brother Epimetheus, which means afterthought since he was always dwelling on the past. The brothers were instead assigned the task of creating man and animals.
According to the myth, Prometheus molded man from clay, and the goddess Athena breathed life into the clay figure. Zeus, the king of the Olympian gods, felt threatened by mankind and took fire away from them. Man suffered greatly, so Prometheus stole fire back from Zeus and returned it to mankind. As punishment for this act, Prometheus was banished to a mountain, where he was chained to a rock to live out eternity. Every day, an enormous eagle was sent to feed on his liver, and since Prometheus was immortal, his liver would grow back before the eagle returned to feast the following day. Some stories say Prometheus spent 30 years there, while others say it was 1,000, but even more discrepancies exist between the stories of how Prometheus was freed. The most popular version is that Hercules, the son of Zeus, freed Prometheus by slaying the eagle and unbinding him.


1. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
(A) The movie Prometheus is about the Greek god with the same name.
(B) Greek mythologies are best suited for children.
(C) The story of Prometheus aims to teach people about the consequences of stealing.
(D) Greek mythology offers alternate explanations for the creation of the world.
2. Which quality would NOT be used to describe Prometheus?
(A) Courageous.
(B) Bold.
(C) Greedy.
(D) Kind.
3. Which of the following is true about Zeus?
(A) He was worried that man would become too powerful.
(B) His children were angry and turned against him.
(C) He was concerned that Prometheus would replace him as king.
(D) He hated mankind.
4. Why was Prometheus chained to a rock on a mountain?
(A) He was punished for being greedy and stealing.
(B) Zeus wanted to punish the Titans, so he banished him.
(C) Zeus was angry that mankind had been given fire.
(D) Zeus' malnourished eagle was hungry.

1. mankind n. 人类（集合名词，不可数）
2. a blockbuster movie卖座电影
3. theory n. 理论
4. explore vt. 研究，探索
5. release vt. 放映
6. mythology n. 神话（集合名词，不可数）
7. clay n. 黏土
8. forethought n. 事先的考虑
9. afterthought n. 事後的想法
10. eternity n. 永恒；不朽
11. enormous a. 巨大的
12. immortal a. 不死的；不朽的
13. feast vi. 大快朵颐，尽情地吃（与介词 on 并用）
14. slay vt. 残杀，屠杀
15. alternate a. 供选择的
16. courageous a. 勇敢的
17. bold a. 大胆的
18. greedy a. 贪婪的
19. replace vt. 取代

1. think of...想到……；考虑……
2. be sent to prison关进监狱，入狱
3. be chained to...被拴在……
4. be inferred from...从……推断
5. aim to...旨在……，目的在於……

"关系代名词 who, which 非限定修饰" 的用法

注意
专有名词（如∶Tom、Taipei）及独一性名词，
如 father、mother（爸爸、妈妈只有一个），
之後若接关系代名词所引导的形容词子句时，该关系代名词之前一定要置逗点。此时该形容词子句就称为非限定修饰语。换言之，专有名词或独一性名词本身就具有特殊性，不必再用形容词子句加以限定。翻译成中文时，按照顺序译出来。
You should talk with my father, who is an English teacher.
你该和我父亲谈谈，他是个英文老师。
My friend just came back from New Orleans, which is a big city in the US.
我的朋友刚从纽奥良回来，那是美国的一座大城市。

1. gain popularity赢得喜爱；受欢迎
   = increase in popularity
   The TV show failed to gain popularity and was canceled.
   该电视节目因没能受观众喜爱而被中止了。
2. be credited with...把……归功於
   Paul is credited with turning the company around and making it the most successful in the industry.
   保罗被认为对改造公司成为业界龙头有功。
3. engage in...从事……；参加……
   = take part in...
   The survey shows that only 32 percent of American adults engage in regular exercise.
   这项调查显示只有百分之三十二的美国人有规律运动。
4. dwell on...老是想著……
   Jill dwells on the negative aspects of her life instead of focusing on the positives.
   吉儿老是想著生活的消极面，却不去想积极的一面。
5. assign vt. 指派
   assign sb a task指派某人一项任务
   The troop leader assigned each of the scouts a different task.
   该部队指挥官指派给每个侦察兵不同的任务。
6. mold vt. 用模子做；塑造 & n. 模具，模子
   （= mould）
   mold A into B把 A 塑造成 B 的形状
   We molded the wax into different shapes in art class.
   我们在美术课将蜡塑造成各种不同形状。
7. breathe life into sth
   为某事物注入生命　活力
   The artist hopes his new paintings will breathe life into his diminishing career.
   该艺术家希望他的新画作能为岌岌可危的生涯注入一股新的生命。
   ＊diminishing a. 渐渐缩小的
8. threaten vt. 威胁
   threaten to V威胁从事……
   My sister threatened that she would tell our parents what I had done.
   我姐威胁我要把我所做的一切告诉老爸老妈。
   The terrorists threatened to kill one hostage every hour if their demands were not met.
   假如没有满足恐怖份子的要求，他们威胁每隔一小时就要杀死一个人质。
9. banish vt. 放逐
   After the scandal, Thomas was banished from politics.
   在丑闻爆发後，汤玛士就被逐出了政界。
10. live out...以（某种方式）度过馀生
    The old man lived out his days alone.
    那位老人独自度过馀生。
11. feed on...（动物）靠吃……过活
    live on...（人）以……为食
    There is plenty of grass for the cattle to feed on in the field.
    野外有一大片的青草供牛群食用。
    Most people in Asia live mostly on rice.
    大多数住在亚洲的人主要以吃米饭为生。
12. discrepancy n. 差异之处，矛盾
    The police found discrepancies between the two men's statements.
    警方发现两名男子的说法有矛盾。
13. unbind vt. 解放；解开（三态为∶
    unbind, unbound, unbound）
    Cynthia unbound the stack of books and started putting them on the shelves.
    辛西亚解开这一叠书，并开始将它们放到书架上。
14. be suited for...适合於……
    Miranda is well suited for law because of her personality.
    由於个性的缘故，米兰达很适合从事司法工作。
15. turn against...敌视……；反对……
    People who once supported Stan began to turn against him.
    那些原来支持史丹的人也开始与他反目成仇。
16. malnourished a. 营养不良的
    nourish vt. 滋养；养育
    The stunted growth of these children shows that they are malnourished.
    这些孩童发育不良，表示他们营养不良。
    ＊stunted a. 发育不良的
    Your baby is healthy and well nourished.
    您的宝宝很健康且营养很好。

普罗米修斯如何造人
《普罗米修斯》不光是一部卖座电影，这个名字大有来头。
我们可能永远无法确切知道人类是如何被创造出来的，但肯定还有许多理论值得去探索。普罗米修斯的传说最近随著同名电影上映变成了一个很受欢迎的故事，他在希腊神话中被归功为那位从泥土创造出人类的神明。
普罗米修斯是泰坦之子，普罗米修斯这个名字的意思是指深谋远虑，因为他一直考虑著未来。参与了奥林匹斯山众神战役之後，所有泰坦家族的人除了普罗米修斯及他的兄弟厄庇米修斯以外都被关进了监狱，厄庇米修斯指的是事後的想法，因为他老是惦记著过去。他们兄弟俩没被关入牢中，反而被指派了创造人类及动物的工作。
根据神话，普罗米修斯将黏土塑造成人形，而女神雅典娜为泥人注入生命。众神之王──宙斯，对人类倍感威胁而将火从人类手中夺走。人类遭受极大的痛苦，所以普罗米修斯从宙斯那里把火偷回来，还给人类。为了惩戒普罗米修斯这样的举动，他被放逐到山中，被拴在一颗岩石上并永远待在那里。一苹巨鹰每天都被派去吃普罗米修斯的肝脏，因为普罗米修斯是不死的，他的肝脏会在翌日巨鹰去享用前就重新长回来。有些故事说普罗米修斯在那里待了 30 年，也有人说是 1 千年，但是他是如何获得释放的，有关这点的说法莫衷一是。最普遍的解释就是宙斯的儿子海克力士将巨鹰杀死才得以松开普罗米修斯身上的锁链。
1. 从这篇文章可以推断出下列哪一项叙述？
(A) 电影《普罗米修斯》是讲述有著相同名字的希腊天神。本文未提及
(B) 古希腊神话最适合小朋友阅读。本文未提及
(C) 普罗米修斯的故事旨在教导人偷窃所造成的後果。请见文章第 3 段
(D) 希腊神话为世界的创造提供了其他的解释。
题解∶根据本文，应选 (D) 选项。
2. 哪一项特质不能用来形容普罗米修斯？
(A) 勇猛的。请见文章第 3 段
(B) 大胆的。请见文章第 3 段
(C) 贪婪的。本文未提及
(D) 仁慈的。请见文章第 3 段
题解∶根据本文第 3 段的故事内容，普罗米修斯为他所
创造的人，向众神之王──宙斯夺回火还给人类，因此可知答案应选 (C)。
3. 对於宙斯的描述哪一项是正确的？
(A) 宙斯担心人类会变得过於强大。
(B) 宙斯的子女很生气，转而对抗他。本文未提及
(C) 宙斯担心普罗米修斯会取代　成为众神之王。本文未提及
(D) 宙斯讨厌人类。本文未提及。
题解∶根据本文第 3 段，宙斯对人类倍感威胁而将火从人类手中夺走。因此，可知 (A) 应为正选。
4. 为什麽普罗米修斯被拴在山上的一块岩石上？
(A) 他因贪婪及偷窃而受到惩罚。
(B) 宙斯想要惩戒泰坦族人，所以他驱逐了普罗米修斯。
(C) 宙斯对於人类获得火这件事感到很生气。
(D) 宙斯营养不良的老鹰饿了。
题解∶根据本文第 3 段，普罗米修斯从宙斯那里把火偷回来，还给人类。而宙斯为了惩戒普罗米修斯这样的举动，将他放逐到山中，因此可知答案应选 (C)。

答案∶1. D2. C3. A4. C