3、Word Knowledge词汇知识：土生人、金属的神话

Autochthony（土生人）

Just as there were several theories concerning（关于） the creation of the world, so were there various accounts on the origin of man.

如同世界的起源有不同版本一样，关于人类的起源也说法不一。

One account attributed the primitive human beings as having sprung（突然弹起） from the earth, like wild plants forcing their way through the ground in the early spring of the year.

有一种说法是原始人是从地里钻出来的，就像早春时节野草破土而出一般。

Such a theory is referred to as Autochthony, which consists of two parts：auto- , meaning “self”, and chthon, “earth”. The prefix（前缀） auto- is so powerful that there are many words beginning with it, such as automatic, autograph, autobiography, autonomy, automobileetc.

这种“土生人”的说法被称为Autochthony，这个词包括两部分：auto-的意思是“自己”，chthon的意思是“土地”。词缀auto-非常强大，由此开头的词汇很多，如automatic（自动的）、autograph（亲笔签名）、autobiography（自传）、autonomy（自治）、automobile（汽车）等。

Myth of the Metals（金属的神话）

Myth of the metals was an interesting piece recorded by Plato in his famous book The Republic, a Socratic dialogue.

金属的神话出自柏拉图的名著《理想国》，记录的是苏格拉底的一段有趣对话。

According to the myth supposedly told by Socrates, people were framed differently, with different metals mixed into their soul：gold for the rulers, silver for the auxiliaries（领导者）, and brass（黄铜） or iron for the husbandmen（农夫） and craftsmen.

根据这则神话，不同的人类灵魂被赋予了不同的金属：金子给了统治者、银子给了领导者、铜铁给了农民和手艺人。

Children were usually made of the same metal as their parents, but if this was not the case the child must either descend or ascend（上升） in the social order. If ever a child made of brass or iron was to become a guardian, the State would be destroyed.

通常来说，孩子身上的金属属性与他们的父母是一致的，假如出现偏差的话，那么这个孩子的社会阶层必定会出现上升或者下降。一旦某个铜铁性质的孩子成了领导者，那么整个国家都会遭殃。

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