英语读物《神奇树屋》 第十五册 Viking Ships at Sunrise 10 Sunrise

　　"Boy, I'm glad to be back in my jeans," said Annie.

Jack¹ opened his eyes. He still felt damp. But he wasglad to be wearing his jeans again, too.

"Welcome home," said Morgan. She was standing² inthe shadows. "Are you all right?""Of course!" piped Annie.

"And we brought back the lost book," said Jack.

He reached in his backpack and took out thejeweled book of Brother Michael. He handed it toMorgan.

The enchantress sighed. She ran her hand over thesparkling cover.

"A great work of art," she said.

Morgan then put the book next to the scroll³ fromRoman times and the bamboo book from ancientChina.

"I'm afraid the story you wanted is not all there,"said Jack. "Brother Michael didn't get the chance tofinish it."Morgan nodded.

"I know," she said. "Sadly, we have only bits andpieces of many wonderful old stories.""What's the story about?" asked Annie.

"It's an ancient Irish tale about a great serpentnamed Sarph," said Morgan.

"He saved us by pushing our ship over the stormywaves!" Annie said.

"Sarph was a huge, ugly monster," said Jack.

Morgan smiled.

"Sometimes monsters can be heroes," she said.

"What about Vikings?" asked Jack.

"Oh, most definitely, Vikings could be heroes, too,"she said. "In fact, once the Vikings settled down, theybecame more than just a warrior⁴ people. Theyactually added a lot to civilization.""We found civilization on our trip," said Annie.

"Yeah," said Jack, "in the library of the monastery⁵."Morgan smiled again.

"Their library was a light in the Dark Ages, wasn'tit?" she said.

Jack nodded. He thought of Brother Michael andthe other monks⁶ making their beautiful books bycandlelight.

"Thank you also for your great courage," Morgansaid. "You are both heroes, too."Jack smiled shyly.

"Go home now and rest," said Morgan.

"Bye," Jack and Annie said together.

They started down the tree house ladder. The skywas turning pink and gold.

When they reached the ground, Morgan called outto them, "Come back in two weeks. I need you to findone more lost book.""Where is it?" said Jack.

"Ancient Greece," said Morgan. "A place with thehighest civilization--and the first Olympic games.""Oh, wow!" said Annie.

Jack was thrilled. He had always wanted to go toancient Greece.

Jack and Annie took off through the woods.

The sun was rising when they got to their frontporch.

Annie opened the front door. She stuck her headinside and listened.

"Everything's quiet," she whispered. "I think Momand Dad are still sleeping."She moved quietly inside.

Jack turned back to watch the red sun rise througha clear blue sky.

He thought about how it was the same sun that hadrisen in Ireland--over a thousand years ago.

"Shine, 0 light of the sun," Jack whispered, "on thisday filled with wonder."Then he slipped inside his quiet house.

MORE FACTS FOR YOU AND JACK have onlyfragments of many old Celtic stories.

1) In the fifth century, St. Patrick converted⁷ Irelandto Christianity. Scholars and crafts-men from all overEurope studied with the Irish monks in theirmonasteries.

2) Monks in the monasteries⁸ made beautifulmanuscripts to reflect the glory of God. Most of theirmanuscripts were religious in nature.

3) The first recorded people of Ireland were theCelts. Before the Irish became Christians⁹, theypracticed the Celtic religion and developed a Celticmythology.

4) The great sea serpent Sarph was a Celtic creaturewho was identified with the Milky¹⁰ Way. Just as Jackand Annie were not able to rescue the complete storyof Sarph, today we have only fragments of many oldCeltic stories.

5) The word Vikings means "fighting men." Vikingsincluded Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes.

6) In the ninth century, Viking raiders attacked thecoastal villages of England, Scotland, and Ireland,stealing treasure and carrying people off to be slaves.

7) The Vikings were the greatest shipbuilders oftheir time. The shallowness of their war-shipsallowed them to land on most beaches.

8) The Vikings were "settling men" as well as"fighting men." Eventually they settled down inEurope and became traders, exchanging goods ratherthan stealing them. They were also expert craftsmen¹¹.

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 scroll   

n.卷轴，纸卷；(石刻上的)漩涡

参考例句：

• As I opened the scroll,a panorama of the Yellow River unfolded.我打开卷轴时，黄河的景象展现在眼前。
• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements.他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。

4 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

5 monastery   

n.修道院，僧院，寺院

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• She was appointed the superior of the monastery two years ago.两年前她被任命为这个修道院的院长。

6 monks   

n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。
• He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 converted   

adj.更换信仰的，修改的v.（使）转变( convert的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）转化；皈依；改变（信仰）

参考例句：

• The hotel is going to be converted into a nursing home. 那家旅馆将被改建成私人疗养院。
• He's living in a converted loft in lower Manhattan. 他住在下曼哈顿的一间改建的阁楼里。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 monasteries   

修道院( monastery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• In ancient China, there were lots of monasteries. 在古时候，中国有许多寺院。
• The Negev became a religious center with many monasteries and churches. 内格夫成为许多庙宇和教堂的宗教中心。

9 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。

10 milky   

adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的

参考例句：

• Alexander always has milky coffee at lunchtime.亚历山大总是在午餐时喝掺奶的咖啡。
• I like a hot milky drink at bedtime.我喜欢睡前喝杯热奶饮料。

11 craftsmen   

n. 技工

参考例句：

• rugs handmade by local craftsmen 由当地工艺师手工制作的小地毯
• The craftsmen have ensured faithful reproduction of the original painting. 工匠保证要复制一幅最接近原作的画。