the tree of language

　　a world with out language

　　it may be that when the world was young, no one knew how to talk. people had to learn to speak just like babies do. when no one knew how to tell, how did anyone learn? that is a mystery that remains unsolved even today.

　　the stories behind words

　　lunch lunch perhaps comes from an old spanish word lonje , a slab of1 ham. we may get our word from a lump of bread, but whether lunch comes from ham or bread, it meant a hunk of something to eat.

　　atlas an atlas is a strong man, and also a book of maps. the story of this word begins a long time ago in greece. the ancient greeks believed that their gods had once been a race of giants2 called titans. the titans fought with another group of gods called olympians, and the olympians won. atlas was a titan. he was punished for fighting be having to stand at the western end of the world, holding the sky on his head and hands, so that it would not fall on the world and smash everything.

　　after the ancient greek religion died out, the idea of atlas changed. from holding up the sky with his head and hands, he came to be thought of as holding the world on his shoulders. mercator3, a map maker of the sixteenth century, used a picture of atlas on the cover of a book of maps, so a book of maps came to be called an atlas.

　　the word has still another meaning. the top bone of the neck is called atlas because it supports the head.

　　good-bye or good-by good-bye is a blessing; originally it was god be with ye, and in the course of time it became one word. many of our greetings are good wishes, but we say them with so little thought that we forget this. when we say good morning, good evening, good night, and so on, what we are really saying is,“ i hope you will have a good morning ( or evening, or night) . ”

　　daisy the daisy has a little golden eye , like a tiny sun . perhaps this is the reason the english people named it day’s eye, or perhaps they chose the name because the english daisy closes at night. the english loved their daisies, which were pink and red, as well as 028 white. six hundred years or so ago, the english poet chaucer4 said:

　　the daisy, or else the eye of the day, / / the queen, and prettiest flower of all

　　閱讀自測

　�、�. according to the passage , find the correct meanings of the words under lined :

　　1. with an atlas, tom can find the place he wants to go easily.

　　a. a strong man b. the top bone of the neck c. a book of maps d. a name of god

　　2. when you say good-bye to your friend, what do you really mean?

　　a. never see him / her again b. a good wish to express that god be with him / her c. good luck d. break up with him / her

　　3. after a long vacation, he looks as fresh as a daisy like before.

　　a. look like the flower b. a kind of drink c. a first-class man d. vigorous and lively

　�、�. question :

　　after reading this passage, what can you infer from the stories of the words?

　　參考答案

　�、�. 1. c 2 . b 3 . d

　�、�. ( 略)

　　參考譯文

　　語言趣話

　　沒有語言的世界 世界形成之初, 可能沒人知道怎么說話。人們不得不像嬰兒一樣學(xué)著開口講話。既然 無人知曉如何訴說, 人們又怎么學(xué)習(xí)呢? 這個謎團至今尚待解決。

　　詞語背后的故事 lunch ——— lunch ( 午餐) 可能來源于古西班牙語lonje 一詞, 意思是一塊火腿。也許這個 詞源指一塊面包。但是, 無論lunch 一詞源指火腿還是面包, 它的意思都是一塊可以吃的東西。

　　atlas ——— atlas ( 阿特拉斯) 既可以指身強體壯的人也可以指地圖冊。這個詞的故事起 源于很久以前的希臘。古希臘人相信他們信奉的神靈曾是被稱為提坦的一種巨人。提坦 巨神與另一支號稱奧林匹斯的神靈作戰(zhàn), 奧林匹斯神獲勝了。阿特拉斯是提坦巨神之一。 他被罰站在西天用頭和雙手支撐起蒼天, 不讓天塌下來砸碎萬事萬物。

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