The Lost Continent 遗失的大陆-2

In the holy shrine¹ of the ancient Egyptian capital, Solon was shown records of unsurpassed antiquity², the secrets of a long lost age when a civilization of incomparable power and prestige had dominated the world 9, 000 years before— the Empire of Atlantis. The description the Egyptian priest gave to Solon of this mighty³ vanished civilization is the starting point for every search, ever undertaken to find Atlantis. A description which Plato says, has the great advantage of being a fact and not a fiction . Atlantis was said to lie beyond the pillars of Hercules, outside the Mediterranean⁴ sea in an ocean we now call the Atlantic.

Plato was very very specific about where Atlantis was and what size it was, and he described it as being larger than the continents of Africa and Asia put together and he located it very carefully outside the pillars of Hercules. The pillars of Hercules are what we know now as the straits of Gibraltar and when you locate something outside the pillars of Hercules, you are locating it in the Atlantic Ocean just to the west of Spain and North Africa.

Atlantis was dominated by vast, almost perfectly⁵ rectangular plain, surrounded on three sides by high very beautiful mountains, possessed⁶ of abundant natural resources, rare plants and precious flowers of every description, even elephants and other exotic animals. Atlantis was a land like no other where the people wanted for nothing. That sacred island which then beheld⁷ the light of the sun brought forth⁸ infinite abundance and blessings⁹ of the earth.

unsurpassed: a. 卓越的
exotic: a 异国情调的， 奇异的

1 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

2 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。

3 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

4 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

5 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

6 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

7 beheld   

v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟

参考例句：

• His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

8 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。

9 blessings   

n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福

参考例句：

• Afflictions are sometimes blessings in disguise. 塞翁失马，焉知非福。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We don't rely on blessings from Heaven. 我们不靠老天保佑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》