英语听力：自然百科 德尔斐的神谕

 Here, the story goes, Oedipus first learned his fate. The Oracle¹ of Delphi, speaking for the god Apollo, told him he would kill his father and marry his mother. As many of us learned in school, despite all his efforts, Oedipus was unable to escape his disastrous² destiny in maybe the most famous of Greek tragedies. 

 

"In antiquity³, just like today, people had a lot of uncertainties⁴ in life and they presumed that the gods knew more than they did, and in particular, they thought Apollo knew a lot. So they would travel here basically to ask Apollo for advice or to ask him questions and hope that he give an answer."

 

If Apollo was a musician, then his priestess, the Pythia, was his instrument. Ancient records tell of mystical, sweet-smelling vapors⁵ rising from the earth, putting the Pythia under Apollo's spell. But while the reciting of prophecies is historical fact, questions about those vapors remain. 

 

Archaeologist John Hale believes the answers lie deep underground. Analysis of the bedrock beneath the temple also shows the existence of petrochemicals, including ethylene. Ethylene has been used as an anesthetic⁶ in modern days, but when administered in experimental small doses, induced a trance-like state. 

 

"And the trance state had a lot of similarities with the description of the Pythia there on the temple of Delphi." 

 

Scholars think water running underground could have carried gases up through the fault lines directly to the priestess. The ancients believed ordinary people could meet the gods at Delphi, a point of contact between man and mystery. In a way, they were right. Modern science suggests that here the supernatural was in fact simply natural.

1 oracle   

n.神谕，神谕处，预言

参考例句：

• In times of difficulty,she pray for an oracle to guide her.在困难的时候，她祈祷神谕来指引她。
• It is a kind of oracle that often foretells things most important.它是一种内生性神谕，常常能预言最重要的事情。

2 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

3 antiquity   

n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹

参考例句：

• The museum contains the remains of Chinese antiquity.博物馆藏有中国古代的遗物。
• There are many legends about the heroes of antiquity.有许多关于古代英雄的传说。

4 uncertainties   

无把握( uncertainty的名词复数 )； 不确定； 变化不定； 无把握、不确定的事物

参考例句：

• One of the uncertainties of military duty is that you never know when you might suddenly get posted away. 任军职不稳定的因素之一是你永远不知道什么时候会突然被派往它处。
• Uncertainties affecting peace and development are on the rise. 影响和平与发展的不确定因素在增加。 来自汉英非文学 - 十六大报告

5 vapors   

n.水汽，水蒸气，无实质之物( vapor的名词复数 )；自夸者；幻想 [药]吸入剂 [古]忧郁（症）v.自夸，（使）蒸发( vapor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• His emotions became vague and shifted about like vapors. 他的心情则如同一团雾气，变幻无常，捉摸不定。 来自辞典例句
• They have hysterics, they weep, they have the vapors. 他们歇斯底里，他们哭泣，他们精神忧郁。 来自辞典例句

6 anesthetic   

n.麻醉剂，麻药；adj.麻醉的，失去知觉的

参考例句：

• He was given a general anesthetic.他被全身麻醉。
• He was still under the influence of the anesthetic.他仍处在麻醉状态。