欧美人文风情第372篇: 后羿与嫦娥的故事

 Once upon a time, 10 suns rose in the sky, scorching¹ many crops and people to death. 很久很久以前，天空中有十颗太阳，土地上许多农作物和人民都被热死了。

A brave man called Hou Yi came to rescue them. He excelled at archery and shot down nine of the suns. 一个勇敢的男人前来拯救大家，他名叫后羿。后羿精通箭术，将其中九颗太阳射了下来。

Only one sun was left in the sky to give people light and warmth. 只留了一颗太阳留在天上给人们光线与温暖。

On hearing of his amazing feat², people came from far and wide to admire Yi. 听见了他的伟大事迹后，人人纷纷从四面八方慕名而来。

Among his admirers was Peng Meng, whom Yi accepted as his apprentice³. 在这些仰慕者之中，有一个人叫蓬蒙，后羿将他收为徒弟。

Even the Immortals⁵ noticed Hou Yi. One day, the Queen of Heaven came down to Earth. 连众神都注意到了后羿。有一天，王母娘娘来到凡间。

She told Yi that as a reward for his bravery, the gods would give him an elixir⁶ of immortality⁷ so that he could drink it and join them in heaven. 她告诉后羿，为了表扬他的英勇，众神要给他一剂长生不老药，后羿喝下后就能加入众神的行列。

But Yi was married to a beautiful and kind woman, Chang'e, who he loved dearly. 但后羿已和一个美丽善良的女子成亲，她名叫嫦娥，后羿深爱她。

He wanted to be immortal⁴, but he wanted to spend his life with her more. So he gave the elixir to his wife and asked her to hide it away. 他想要长生不老，但他更想要和太太度过余生。因此他将长生不老药交给嫦娥，要她好好藏起来。

But Peng Meng broke into Yi's house while he was away and demanded the elixir. 但蓬蒙趁后羿不在时闯进他家，想要走长生不老药。

Chang'e couldn't fight him, but she wouldn't allow such a man to have the elixir. She drank it herself and immediately ascended⁸ into the skies. 嫦娥斗不过他，但她不会让这种人拿到长生不老药。于是嫦娥自己喝下长生不老药，却在喝下之后立刻飘到天上。

When Hou Yi didn't find his wife at home, he went looking for her. The night was bright with the full moon rising high above him. 后羿回家后看不到嫦娥，便到处寻找她。当晚的夜空很明亮，因为他头上高高挂着满月。

Yi looked up and was amazed to see a figure which looked like his wife appear in the moon. 后羿抬头一看，惊讶地发现月亮上竟然出现一个和他老婆相似的形体。

Chang'e's love for Hou Yi drew her towards the moon, which was the nearest place to Earth in the heavens. 嫦娥对后羿的爱让她留在月亮上，因为月亮是天上离地球最近的地方。

Upon realizing what had happened, Hou Yi brought her favorite foods, cakes, and fruit out in the moonlight to share with his wife. 了解事情经过后，后羿带了嫦娥最爱的食物、糕点和水果到月光下和嫦娥分享。

On hearing this story, many people participated in bringing their offerings to the moon. 听到这个故事后，很多人加入这个行列，供奉食物给月亮。

This is one of the origin myths of the Moon Festival. 这就是其中一个中秋节的起源神话故事。

 

1 scorching   

adj. 灼热的

参考例句：

• a scorching, pitiless sun 灼热的骄阳
• a scorching critique of the government's economic policy 对政府经济政策的严厉批评

2 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

3 apprentice   

n.学徒，徒弟

参考例句：

• My son is an apprentice in a furniture maker's workshop.我的儿子在一家家具厂做学徒。
• The apprentice is not yet out of his time.这徒工还没有出徒。

4 immortal   

adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的

参考例句：

• The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。
• The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽！

5 immortals   

不朽的人物( immortal的名词复数 )； 永生不朽者

参考例句：

• Nobody believes in the myth about human beings becoming immortals. 谁也不相信人能成仙的神话。
• Shakespeare is one of the immortals. 莎士比亚是不朽的人物之一。

6 elixir   

n.长生不老药，万能药

参考例句：

• There is no elixir of life in the world.世界上没有长生不老药。
• Keep your mind awake and active;that's the only youth elixir.保持头脑清醒和灵活便是保持年轻的唯一灵丹妙药。

7 immortality   

n.不死，不朽

参考例句：

• belief in the immortality of the soul 灵魂不灭的信念
• It was like having immortality while you were still alive. 仿佛是当你仍然活着的时候就得到了永生。

8 ascended   

v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He has ascended into heaven. 他已经升入了天堂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The climbers slowly ascended the mountain. 爬山运动员慢慢地登上了这座山。 来自《简明英汉词典》