学习词根---Unit 4.5
昨天的答案：
1. c 2. b 3. b 4. c 5. d 6. b 7. a 8. a
今天又是透过单词了解神话故事~
Words from Mythology
calypso. A folk song or style of singing of West India origin that has a lively rhythm and words that are often made up by the singer.
例句：If you take a Caribbean vacation in December, you end up listening to a lot of Christmas carols played to a calypso beat.
In Homer's Odyssey(荷马史诗《奥德赛》), the nymph(希腊罗马神话中的仙女) Calypso detains Odysseus for seven years on his way home from the Trojan War, using all her wiles to hold him on her lush island. For many people, the calypso music of the West Indian islands, which was eventually brought to America by singers such as the Andrews Sisters and alter Harry Belafonte, has some of the same captivating power as the nymph, though the lyrics that are often improvised to the melodies tend to make fun of local people and happenings. The original name for these songs, however, actually seems to be based on a similar-sounding African word, for which, early in the 20th century, someone began substituting this name from Greek mythology.
odyssey. (1) A long, wandering journey full of trials and adventures. (2) A spiritual journey or quest.
例句：Their six-month camping trip around the country was an odyssey they would always remember.
Odysseus, the hero of Homer's Odyssey, spends 20 years traveling home from the Trojan War. He has astonishing adventures and learns a great deal about himself and the world; he even descends to the underworld to talk to the dead. Thus, an odyssey is any long, complicated journey, often a quest for a goal, and may be a spiritual or psychological journey as well as an actual voyage.
palladium.(钯) A precious, silver-white metal related to platinum(铂) that is used in electrical contacts and as an alloy with gold to form white gold.
例句：Most wedding rings today are simple bands of gold, platinum, or palladium.
Pallas Athena was one of the poetical names given to the Greek goddess Athena (although it's no longer clear what Pallas was supposed to mean), and the original palladium was a status of Athena that was believed to have the power to protect the ancient city of Troy. When an asteroid belt was discovered between Mars and Jupiter, most of the asteroids were named after figures in Greek mythology, and one of the first to be discovered was named Pallas in 1803. In the same year, scientists isolated a new silvery metal element, which they named palladium in honor of the recently discovered asteroid.
Penelope. A modest domestic wife.
例句：Critics of Hillary Rodham Clinton in the 1990s would perhaps have preferred her to be a Penelope, quietly tending the White House and staying out of politics.
In the Odyssey, Penelope waits 20 long years for her husband Odysseus to return from Troy. During that time, she must raise their son and fend off the attentions of numerous rough suitors. She preserves herself for a long time by saying she cannot remarry until she has finished weaving a funeral shroud for her aging father-in-law; however, what she weaves each day she secretly unravels each night. A Penelope thus appears to be the perfect, patient, faithful wife (and may be using her clever intelligence to keep herself that way).
procrustean.(【希腊神话】普罗克拉斯提斯的。〔比喻〕用暴力使人就范的；强求一致的) Ruthlessly disregarding individual differences or special circumstances.
例句：The school's procrustean approach seemed to assume that all children learned in the same way and at the same rate.
In the Greek tale of the hero Theseus, Procrustes was a bandit(尤指没有法纪的地区的强盗) who ambushed travelers and, after robbing them, made them lie on an iron bed. To make sure they "fit" this bed, he would cut off the parts that hung off the ends or stretch the body if it was too short; either way, the unlucky travelers always died. When he made the mistake of confronting Theseus, Procrustes was made of "fit" his own bed. Something procrustean takes no account of individual differences but cruelly and mercilessly makes everything the same
protean. (1) Displaying great versatility or variety. (2) Able to take on many different forms or natures.
例句：A protean athlete, he left college with offers from the professional leagues to play baseball, football, and basketball.
As the story is told in the Odyssey, at the end of the Trojan War the sea god Proteus revealed to King Menelaus of Sparta how to get home from Troy with his unfaithful wife, the beautiful Helen of Troy. Before Proteus would give up the information, though, Menelaus had to capture him--no mean feat, since Proteus had the ability to change into any natural shape he chose. The word protean came to describe this ability to change into many different shapes or to play many different roles in quick succession.
sibyl. A female prophet or fortune-teller.
例句：The villagers told him about an aged woman who lived alone in a hut on a nearby mountain, a sibyl who knew the future and would prophesy under the right conditions.
Ancient writers refer to the existence of various women in such countries as Babylonia, Greece, Italy, and Egypt, through whom the gods regularly spoke. These sibyls were easy to confuse with the oracles, women who were likewise mouthpieces of the gods, at such sites as Apollo's temple at Delphi. The most famous sibyl was the Sibyl of Cumae in Italy, a withered crone who lived in a cave. Her prophecies(预言能力) were collected into twelve books, three of which survived to be consulted by the Romans in times of national emergencies. She is one of the five sibyls memorably depicted by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
siren. A woman who tempts men with bewitching sweetness.
例句：Reporters treated her like a sex symbol, but she lacked the graceful presence and air of mystery of a real siren.
The sirens were a group of partly human female creatures that lured(引诱) sailors onto destructive rocks with their singing. Odysseus and his men encountered(邂逅) the sirens on their long journey home from Troy. The only way to sail by them safely was to make oneself deaf to their enchanting song, so Odysseus packed the men's ears with wax, while he himself, even curious, kept his ears open but had himself tied to the mast to keep from flinging himself into the water or steering his ship toward sure destruction in his desire to see them. A siren today is a sinister(邪恶的，有害的) but almost irresistible woman. A siren song, however, may be any appeal that lures a person to act against his or her better judgement.
Quiz:
Fill in each blank with the correct letter:
a. odyssey b. calypso c. Penelope d. palladium e. sibyl f. procrustean g. siren h. protean
1. They danced and sang to the rhythm of the ______ music long into the night.
2. While he was away on maneuvers, his wife stayed loyally at home like a true _______.
3. Critics condemn modern education as ________, forcing all students into narrow and limited modes of thinking.
4. On their four-month _________ they visited most of the major cities of Asia.
5. The wedding rings were while gold, a mixture of gold and ________.
6. She won her reputation as the office _______ after her third successful prediction of who would get married next.
7. Actors like Robin Williams seem ______ in their ability to assume different characters.
8. She was a ______ of the screen in the 1920s, luring men to their doom in movie after movie.
