英语听力：Prophet Muhammad 先知穆罕默德 - 3
时间：2019-02-05 作者：英语课 分类：英语听力：文化博览2008年
英语课
Muhammad’s clan 1, like Arabs all across the Arabian Peninsula, would share the stories that had been told and retold for generations.
Pre-Islamic-Arabian civilization was largely an oral culture, and with tremendous respect for and admiration 2 for people who could express themselves orally and especially those who could recite poetry almost at the drop of a hat. Some of the most important people in the tribe were the poets. As they sang of the glory of the tribe, they told the story of the tribe.
To the Bedouin, the word had a mystical importance. Poets linked the tribe to its ancestors and celebrated 3 values older than memory. Poetry was the sinew that bound the Bedouin together, celebrating their victories, lamenting 4 their defeats.
The poems themselves like the poems of Homer, both celebrate this great heroic ethos, and yet intimate in the deepest way, the tragedy that this war, this ethos of constant tribal 5 warfare 6, brings to people.
Warfare and conflict were the grim realities of a dangerous time. Muhammad's uncle taught him the skills he’d need to survive in a world where even a prophet would wield 7 a bow and arrow.
In a wilderness 8 punished by the elements and bereft 9 of water, rivalry 10 over a single well could provoke a blood feud 11 for generations.
A real rivalry, real battle, even sometimes quite bloody 12, so the allegiance of individuals was to the family, immediately and at a larger extent to the tribe.
Without the tribe's protection, no one could endure. Scattered 13 across the peninsula were countless 14 factions 15, all embroiled 16 in bitter struggles, each defending its precious grazing lands, trade routes, and most importantly its wells.
Well, you have to understand that most of the lands are dry and so water is something that everyone always considers precious.
For those of us in climates that are more heavily watered, it's difficult to understand the depth and the centrality of the symbol of water in societies that are desert and in which it only rains once or twice a year and in which a little water makes a difference between life and death.
n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派
- She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
- The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。
n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕
- He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
- We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。
adj.有名的，声誉卓著的
- He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
- The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。
adj.悲伤的，悲哀的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的现在分词 )
- Katydids were lamenting fall's approach. 蝈蝈儿正为秋天临近而哀鸣。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- Lamenting because the papers hadn't been destroyed and the money kept. 她正在吃后悔药呢，后悔自己没有毁了那张字条，把钱昧下来！ 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡
adj.部族的，种族的
- He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
- The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。
n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突
- He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
- Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。
vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等)
- They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。
- People may wield the power in a democracy.在民主国家里，人民可以行使权力。
n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠
- She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
- Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。
adj.被剥夺的
- The place seemed to be utterly bereft of human life.这个地方似乎根本没有人烟。
- She was bereft of happiness.她失去了幸福。
n.竞争，竞赛，对抗
- The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
- He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。
n.长期不和；世仇；v.长期争斗；世代结仇
- How did he start his feud with his neighbor?他是怎样和邻居开始争吵起来的？
- The two tribes were long at feud with each other.这两个部族长期不和。
adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染
- He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
- He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。
adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的
- Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。
adj.无数的，多得不计其数的
- In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
- I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。
组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )
- The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
- rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别