背诵为王 第 二 册 第 60 课

Lesson60 A Laconic¹ Answer
In ancient times there was a race of people called the Spartans² living in the southern part of Greece． They were noted³ for their simple habits and their bravery． The name of their land was Laconia， and so they were sometimes called Lacons． One of the strange rules which the Spartans had was that they should speak briefly⁴， and never use more words than were needed． So a short answer is often spoken of as being Laconic， that is， as being such an answer as a Lacon would be likely to give．
In the northern part of Greece there was a land called Macedon， and this land was at a time ruled over by a warlike king named Philip．Philip of Macedon wanted to become the master of all Greece． So he raised a great army， and made war upon the other states， until nearly all of them were forced to call him their king． Then he sent a letter to the Spartans in Laconia， and said， “If I go down into your country，I will level your great city to the ground．”
In a few days， an answer was brought back to him． When he opened the letter， he found only one word written there． That word was “IF”．It was as much as to say， “We are not afraid of you so long as the little word ‘if’ stands in your way．”

bravery  勇敢
level 使……变成平地
laconic  简洁的

简洁的回答
在古代，有一个生活在希腊南部的种族叫做斯巴达。他们以简朴的习惯和勇敢著称。他们的地方叫做拉哥尼亚。斯巴达人有一个奇怪的规矩就是他们说话必须简洁，从不多用一个不该用的词。所以简单的回答被称作为Laconic（简洁的），也就是拉哥尼亚人可能会给出的答案。
在希腊北部，有一个叫作马其顿的地方，这地方曾一度被一个好战的国王菲利浦所统治。
马其顿王国的菲利浦希望成为整个希腊的统治者。所以他招募军队，向其他国家开战，直到几乎所有的国家都被迫尊他为王。然后他写了封信给拉哥尼亚的斯巴达人说：“如果我打进你们的国家，我会把你们伟大的城邦夷为平地。”
几天后，菲利浦收到了回信。当他打开信，他发现里面只写着一个词“如果”。
这就是说，“只要‘如果’那个小词还在那里，我们就不会被你吓倒。”

1 laconic   

adj.简洁的；精练的

参考例句：

• He sent me a laconic private message.他给我一封简要的私人函件。
• This response was typical of the writer's laconic wit.这个回答反映了这位作家精练简明的特点。

2 spartans   

n.斯巴达（spartan的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The ancient Spartans used to expose babies that they did not want. 古斯巴达人常遗弃他们不要的婴儿。
• But one by one the Spartans fell. 可是斯巴达人一个一个地倒下了。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。