English Original
Mother Earth and Tara Plantation
In contrast to the Eastern myth of Pangu separating chaos to create the world, Western deities also emerged. According to Hesiod's Theogony, before all things came into being, the universe was a formless void, with only Chaos existing. In English, "chaos" means "a state of complete disorder and confusion"; chaotic means "in a state of chaos."
After countless years, the ancient god Chaos inexplicably gave birth to several children through asexual reproduction. Among them, the most important was the Earth Goddess, Gaia. Gaia, in turn, created a host of children, even giving birth to the sky, Uranus, who became her husband. This remarkable Earth Mother is known as Terra in Roman mythology. In English, the root terr- means "earth" or "land." Related words include:
- terra: land, earth (e.g., The Terracotta Army)
- terrace: a leveled area on a hillside (e.g., rice terraces)
- terrain: the physical features of an area of land
- terrestrial: relating to the earth or land
- territorial: relating to territory
- Mediterranean: (literally) the sea in the middle of the land
- territory: an area of land under the jurisdiction of a ruler or state
Those who have seen Gone with the Wind will remember the indomitable spirit of Scarlett O'Hara and her optimism that "tomorrow is another day." While the fall of Atlanta didn't faze her, the fate of her family's plantation, Tara, made her understand the true meaning of war. The impending destruction of Tara made Scarlett realize what was truly indispensable in her life. At that moment, she felt the profound value of the land. She remembered her father's words: "Land is the only thing in the world that amounts to anything." Interestingly, "tara" in English slang means "goodbye!" Its pronunciation is similar to terra (land). The author's longing for Tara represents a love for the land and a reluctant farewell to the plantation lifestyle and the institution of slavery. This connection can help us remember that the root terr- relates to "land."
Interesting Fruits
While some believe names are just labels, a novel and appealing name can add value. For instance, "strawberries" sold in supermarkets often command a higher price than roadside "berries." The Chinese "kiwifruit," after a journey abroad, returned as a "sea turtle" (returnee) under names like "奇异果" or "Chinese gooseberry," seeing its value multiply. Similarly, "grapes" marketed as "提子" often sell for more.
Speaking of grape, it is related to strawberry, blueberry, and blackberry. In Old English, grape was winberige: win meaning "vine" and berige meaning "berry" – literally "vine berry." However, after the Norman Conquest in the 11th century, many French words entered English. While farmers continued to use winberige, their Norman lords used grappe, from an Old French word meaning "a bunch of fruits," originally from a Germanic word for a hook used in harvesting grapes. Grape evolved from grappe.
中文翻译
大地之母与塔拉庄园
相对于东方盘古开天辟地的神话，西方的神祇也相继出现。根据赫西俄德的《神谱》记载，万物诞生前，宇宙本是一片混沌，唯有卡俄斯（Chaos）存在。英语中，"chaos"意为“混乱，无秩序”；chaotic意为“混乱无章的”。
不知过了多少年，古老的混沌神卡俄斯以无性生殖的方式诞生了几个孩子，其中最重要的是大地女神盖亚。盖亚又创造了一批孩子，甚至生出了天空——她的丈夫乌拉诺斯。这位地母在罗马神话中被称为泰拉（Terra）。英语中，词根terr-表示“土地”。相关词汇包括：
- terra: 土地，地球（如：兵马俑 The Terracotta Army）
- terrace: 梯田，露台
- terrain: 地形
- terrestrial: 陆地的，地球的
- territorial: 领土的
- Mediterranean: 地中海（字面意为“陆地中间的海”）
- territory: 领土，领域
看过《飘》的人都会记得斯嘉丽·奥哈拉那自强不息的精神和“明天又是新的一天”的乐观。亚特兰大的陷落并未让她惊慌，但家园塔拉庄园（plantation Tara）的安危让她明白了战争的真正含义。塔拉即将被毁，让斯嘉丽意识到什么才是生命中不可或缺的。此刻，她深切感受到了土地的价值，想起了父亲的话：“世界上唯有土地是与日月同在的。”有趣的是，英语口语中“tara”意为“再见！”，发音与terra（土地）相似。作者对塔拉的思念代表着对土地的热爱，也是对奴隶制和庄园生活无奈的“告别”。这可以帮助我们记住词根terr-与“土地”相关。
有趣的水果
尽管名字只是代号，但一个好名字能带来附加值。例如，超市里的“士多啤梨（strawberry）”往往比路边的“草莓”贵。原产中国的“猕猴桃”出国一趟，以“奇异果”或“Chinese gooseberry”之名“海归”，身价倍增。同样，“提子”也比“葡萄”卖得贵。
说到葡萄（grape），它其实和草莓（strawberry）、蓝莓（blueberry）、黑莓（blackberry）是“亲戚”。在古英语中，葡萄写作winberige：win即“藤蔓”，berige即“浆果”，合起来是“藤蔓浆果”。然而，11世纪诺曼征服后，大量法语词进入英语。农民仍用winberige，而他们的诺曼领主则用grappe（源自古法语，意为“一串果实”，最初源自日耳曼语，指摘葡萄用的钩子）。Grape就是从grappe演变而来的。