英语童话故事：诺亚方舟 Noah's Ark

Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time. Now the earth was corrupt¹ in God's sight and full of violence. So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy
all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish². But with you I will make a covenant³. Make yourself an ark of cypress⁴ wood, make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. You shall go into the ark,you and your sons, your wife and your sons' wives with you. And you shall bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female. to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. You are to take and store every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.'

诺亚是一个正直的人，在当时所有人中无可挑剔。上帝看见整个世界腐朽了，到处充斥着暴力。于是上帝对诺亚说：“我要毁灭所有的人类，世上因为他们而充满着暴力。我一定要毁掉他们以及这个世界。我要让洪水在全世界泛滥，消灭天下所有活着的生命，以及地上有气息的万物。世上的一切都将消亡。但我要与你立约，你要用柏木为自己造一艘方舟，分一间一间地造，再把船的里里外外涂上松脂。你到时带着你的儿子们、妻子和儿媳一起进入方舟。你还要带上各种生物上船，每种两只，一雌一雄，在船上把它们喂养好。每种飞禽两只、每种走兽两只、每种爬虫两只。你还要带上各种吃的东西，储存在船上，作为你们和动物的食粮。”

Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

诺亚遵照上帝的话，一一照办了。

Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth. Noah went into the ark with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives. And into the ark with Noah went one pair, male and female, of all beasts, clean and unclean, of birds and of everything that crawls on the ground, two by two, as God had commanded.Towards the end of seven days the waters of the flood came upon the earth.

当洪水袭击地面时，诺亚已经六百岁了。诺亚和他的儿子们、妻子和儿媳们都上了方舟。和他一起登上方舟的还有每种一对的动物，所有的走兽，洁净的和不洁净的，都是一雌一雄；所有的鸟类和地上的爬虫，也是一对一对的。按照上帝的吩咐它们都上了船。第七天结束的时候，洪水降临到大地。

On the seventeenth day of the second month, all the springs of the great deep burst forth⁵, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. find rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights. The flood kept coming on the earth for forty days, and as the waters increased they lifted up the ark high above the ground.The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet. Every living thing that moved on the earth perished-birds, livestock⁶, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm⁷ over the earth, and all mankind. Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.

第二个月的十七日那天，大深渊的所有泉源一齐喷发，天穹扩开， 大雨倾盆，不停地下了四十个昼夜。洪水泛滥了四十天，大水涨起来，把方舟托起；高高地升离地面。地面的水越涨越高，方舟在水面上漂流。水涨得淹没了天下所有的高山，一直涨到浸没高山二十英尺之深。陆地上一切有气息的生物都消亡了——鸟类、家禽、野兽、地面上的所有爬虫、所有人类。地面上每一个有生气的事物都被清除干净，唯独诺亚和在方舟上的妻儿、鸟兽爬虫活了下来。

The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.

洪水泛滥达一百五十天之久。

课堂笔记：
1.英语中“be+to do sth.”有多种语法意义，可以表示“按计划或安排要做的事”，表示“应该”，表示“必须”，表示“打算做某事”等等此句中的第一个“be+不定式”结构“are to take and store ... and store it away”表示命令，作“必须”解，第二个结构"is to be eaten”表示“按计划将要做的事。”句中的“that”从句“that is to be eaten"用作“food”的定语。
2.英语搭配“keep doing sth.”表示“不断地做某事”。
3.water作“水”讲时为不可数名词，复数形式“waters”表示“某地或某国等的水域”。

1 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

2 perish   

vi.丧生，毁灭，消亡，失去弹性，老化

参考例句：

• Crowns and thrones may perish.王权不会永存。
• Steam will fill the atmosphere and all life will perish.水蒸汽将充满大气层，所有的生命都将毁灭。

3 covenant   

n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约

参考例句：

• They refused to covenant with my father for the property.他们不愿与我父亲订立财产契约。
• The money was given to us by deed of covenant.这笔钱是根据契约书付给我们的。

4 cypress   

n.柏树

参考例句：

• The towering pine and cypress trees defy frost and snow.松柏参天傲霜雪。
• The pine and the cypress remain green all the year round.苍松翠柏，常绿不凋。

5 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

6 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

7 swarm   

n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入

参考例句：

• There is a swarm of bees in the tree.这树上有一窝蜜蜂。
• A swarm of ants are moving busily.一群蚂蚁正在忙碌地搬家。