拓展 · 圣树
The Sacred Tree
读懂并复述短故事，说明动作的先后、原因与人物反应。
课文精读整篇课文
点选一句，句末即可听读；连起意思，大声读一遍。
In the nineteenth century, Mugo Kibiru, a famous prophet of the Kikuyu tribe, foretold that a fig tree at Thika, twenty-six miles north of Nairobi, would wither and die on the day that Kenya gained independence. Kibiru also prophesied that Kenya would become a white man's colony, but that one day the white man would return the land to the Africans. He foresaw the coming of the railway which he described as 'an iron snake with many legs, like an earthworm'. Kibiru's prophecies proved to be so accurate that for many years the tree at Thika was regarded as sacred. Even the white men took the prophecy seriously, for they built the tree up with earth and put a concrete wall around it so that it would not fall. These measures were doomed to fail. Shortly before Kenya gained independence, the tree was struck by lightning and it began to wither rapidly. By the day Kenya officially became independent, it had decayed completely, fulfilling the prophecy made over seventy years before by Kibiru.
本课原文与译文
展开完整文本 · 便于查阅与检索
整篇课文
In the nineteenth century, Mugo Kibiru, a famous prophet of the Kikuyu tribe, foretold that a fig tree at Thika, twenty-six miles north of Nairobi, would wither and die on the day that Kenya gained independence. Kibiru also prophesied that Kenya would become a white man's colony, but that one day the white man would return the land to the Africans. He foresaw the coming of the railway which he described as 'an iron snake with many legs, like an earthworm'. Kibiru's prophecies proved to be so accurate that for many years the tree at Thika was regarded as sacred. Even the white men took the prophecy seriously, for they built the tree up with earth and put a concrete wall around it so that it would not fall. These measures were doomed to fail. Shortly before Kenya gained independence, the tree was struck by lightning and it began to wither rapidly. By the day Kenya officially became independent, it had decayed completely, fulfilling the prophecy made over seventy years before by Kibiru.
十九世纪，基库尤部落著名先知穆戈·基比鲁预言：肯尼亚获得独立的那一天，内罗毕以北二十六英里的锡卡镇，有一棵无花果树会枯萎死去。 他还预言，肯尼亚会成为白人的殖民地，但终有一天，白人会把土地还给非洲人。他也预见了铁路的到来，把它形容成“一条长着许多腿、像蚯蚓一样的铁蛇”。 这些预言准确得令人吃惊，多年来，锡卡的那棵树一直被视为神树。连白人也认真对待这个预言，在树周围培土，又筑起混凝土围墙，免得它倒下。 可这些措施注定无济于事。肯尼亚独立前不久，树遭雷击，迅速开始枯萎。 到肯尼亚正式独立那天，它已经彻底枯死，印证了基比鲁七十多年前的预言。
学完这一课
先沿这条线复述《圣树》：预言独立日树会枯死 → 还预见殖民与铁路 → 预言准确，树被奉为神圣 → 保护仍未挡住雷击 → 独立当天预言应验。再借一个结构讲自己的事：把本课一句直接引语转述给第三个人，检查人称和时间是否仍然合理。
译文依据整理稿，由本站按中文表达重新校订；解析据吴应时整理资料及首轮审校稿；词伙与练习提示为本站学习设计。原PDF第238—239页，2022年3月第1版。