The Lost Continent 遗失的大陆-11
Here in his study in Minnesota, Ignatius Donnelly, a failed politician, wrote one of the greatest best-sellers of his age, making him the founding father of the modern hunt for a real Atlantis. His ideas launched a wave of Atlantis mania 1 that has been with us ever since. A former congressman 2 and lieutenant 3 governor of Minnesota, Donnelly had railed against the tycoon 4s of big business who controlled the politics of the day, choosing to champion the cause of the common man. His idealism, unfortunately, brought only political and financial disaster.
He started a commune in Minnesota with a man called Nininger, the commune was called Nininger City, it didn't seem to work very well as an idealistic commune. And by the time it was over, there was exactly one resident there, and that was Ignatius Donnelly.
By 1880 Donnelly was out of office and down on his luck. And so he retired 6 to his study to begin the work for which he is now most famous, a book entitled Atlantis--the Antediluvian 7 World. Donnelly had studied Plato as a boy and the story of Atlantis had always intrigue 8d him. With time on his hands, he decided 10 to read everything and anything he could to find out once and for all, the truth about Atlantis. Donnelly had been galvanized in his quest to find the location of the sunken continent, by an archeological find that had thrown all preconceived ideas about the myth of the ancient world into chaos 11. Ten years earlier, a German businessman-turned-archeologist Heinrich Schliemann uncovered on the coast of Turkey the ruins of the city of Troy and many of the treasures from the mythical 12 war between the Greeks and Trojans.
When Schliemann discovered Troy, it completely changed the way people looked at mythology 13 and archeology. Before Schliemann, people had thought that what Homer had written was fiction. He made this up, there wasn't really a city of Troy. But what Schliemann did was he read Homer carefully and he figured out correctly where Troy would be located if you performed a literal translation of Homer.
It was this astonishing find that persuaded Donnelly that if Schliemann could discover Troy by carefully rereading Homer, then he too might discover Atlantis by rereading Plato. Obsessed 14 in his quest, Donnelly tirelessly searched for Atlantis in everything around him until a thesis slowly began to emerge. Donnelly found evidence of Atlantis having existed in the similarity of plants, animals and ancient cultures on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
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mania: n. 狂热
rail: v. 责备，漫骂
tycoon: n. 企业大亨
champion: v. 支持，拥护
idealistic: adj. 唯心主义的，空想主义的
antediluvian: adj. 大洪水之前的，上古的
intrigue: v. 激起兴趣
once and for all: adj. 坚决地，果断地
galvanize: v. 激励，刺激
preconceived ideas: n. 成见，先入为主的观点
- Football mania is sweeping the country.足球热正风靡全国。
- Collecting small items can easily become a mania.收藏零星物品往往容易变成一种癖好。
- He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
- The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。
- He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
- He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。
- The tycoon is on the verge of bankruptcy.那名大亨濒临破产的边缘。
- The tycoon has many servants to minister to his needs.那位大亨有很多人服侍他。
- The great tycoons were fierce competitors, single-minded in their pursuit of financial success and power. 企业巨头都是激烈的竞争者，他们一心追求钱财和权势。
- Tycoons and their conglomerates are even raising money again on international markets. 企业大亨们以及他们的企业甚至正再次从国际市场上筹集资金。
- The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
- Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
- His ideas are positively antediluvian!他的思想是纯粹的老古董。
- This antediluvian monetary system has now been replaced by the up-to-date monetary system of Japan.这种旧式的金融体系也已经被现代化的日本系统所取代。
- Court officials will intrigue against the royal family.法院官员将密谋反对皇室。
- The royal palace was filled with intrigue.皇宫中充满了勾心斗角。
- You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧！
- He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。
- This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
- There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
- After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
- The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。
- Undeniably,he is a man of mythical status.不可否认，他是一个神话般的人物。
- Their wealth is merely mythical.他们的财富完全是虚构的。
- In Greek mythology,Zeus was the ruler of Gods and men.在希腊神话中，宙斯是众神和人类的统治者。
- He is the hero of Greek mythology.他是希腊民间传说中的英雄。