A summary of this summer’s popular classic, The Odyssey.
《奥德赛》是古希腊最有名的故事之一,已经有差不多三千年的历史了。它讲的是一个人回家的故事——但是这个”回家”,用了整整十年。
故事的主人公叫奥德修斯。他是一个小岛的国王,非常聪明。他离开家,去参加一场战争。这场战争打了十年。战争结束以后,别的英雄都回家了,只有他回不去。因为他在路上得罪了海神,海神非常生气,决定不让他回家。
于是,奥德修斯又开始了十年的旅行。他遇到了很多危险的事情。
他遇到过一个只有一只眼睛的巨人。巨人把他和朋友们关起来,要一个一个地吃掉他们。奥德修斯想了一个办法:他告诉巨人,自己的名字叫”没有人”。晚上,他用木头弄瞎了巨人的眼睛。巨人大喊:”没有人打我!没有人打我!”别的巨人听了,都说:”没有人打你,那你喊什么?”就这样,奥德修斯逃走了。
他还遇到过会唱歌的女妖。她们的歌声太美了,听到的人都会跳进海里死去。奥德修斯很想听,但是又不想死。于是他让朋友们把自己绑在船上,让大家用东西堵住耳朵。船开过去的时候,他听到了世界上最美的歌声,也活了下来。
在这十年里,他的朋友们一个一个地死去了。最后,只有他一个人回到了家。
可是家里的情况让他非常吃惊。十年战争,加上十年旅行——他已经二十年没有回家了。大家都以为他死了。一百多个男人住在他的家里,天天吃他的东西,喝他的酒,还要娶他的妻子。
他的妻子叫佩涅罗佩。她一直相信丈夫没有死,所以想了很多办法拒绝这些男人。她说:”等我织完这块布,我就选一个人结婚。”但是她白天织布,晚上又悄悄地把布拆开。这样,那块布永远也织不完。
奥德修斯没有马上说出自己是谁。他穿上旧衣服,装成一个穷老人,先看清楚了家里的情况。最后,他拿起自己的弓——那把只有他一个人拉得开的弓——把那些坏人全部赶走了。
二十年以后,奥德修斯终于回到了妻子的身边。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 故事 | gù shì | story |
| 主人公 | zhǔ rén gōng | protagonist, hero |
| 战争 | zhàn zhēng | war |
| 得罪 | dé zuì | to offend |
| 危险 | wēi xiǎn | dangerous |
| 巨人 | jù rén | giant |
| 逃走 | táo zǒu | to escape, flee |
| 拒绝 | jù jué | to refuse, reject |
| 装成 | zhuāng chéng | to disguise as, pretend to be |
| 吃惊 | chī jīng | shocked, astonished |
| 奥德赛 | Aò dé sài | Homer's Odyssey |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 古 | Gǔ | surname Gu |
| 希 | xī | to hope; to admire; variant of 稀[xi1] |
| 腊 | ||
| 最 | zuì | variant of 最[zui4]; old variant of 最[zui4]; (before an adjective or verb) to the highest degree; (the) most ...; -est; (after 之[zhi1]) best or most extreme example (e.g. 世界之最[shi4 jie4 zhi1 zui4] "the greatest in the world") |
| 有名 | yǒu míng | famous; well-known |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 之一 | zhī yī | one of (sth); one out of a multitude; one (third, quarter, percent etc) |
| 已经 | yǐ jīng | already |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 差不多 | chà bu duō | almost; nearly; more or less; about the same; good enough; not bad |
| 三 | Sān | surname San |
| 千年 | qiān nián | millennium |
| 历 | lì | old variant of 曆|历[li4]; old variant of 歷|历[li4]; calendar; to experience; to undergo; to pass through; all; each; every; history |
| 史 | Shǐ | surname Shi |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 它 | tā | it; it (pronoun for an animal) |
| 讲 | jiǎng | to speak; to explain; to negotiate; to emphasize; to be particular about; as far as sth is concerned; speech; lecture |
| 一个人 | yī gè rén | by oneself (without assistance); alone (without company) |
| 回家 | huí jiā | to return home |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just |
| 这个 | zhè ge | (pronoun) this; (adjective) this |
| 用 | yòng | to use; to make use of; to employ; (coverb) with; using; to need; to have to (usu. used in the negative or in questions); usefulness; utility; (bound form) expense; outlay; (courte… |
| 整 | zhěng | (bound form) whole; complete; entire; (before a measure word) whole; (before or after number + measure word) exactly; (bound form) in good order; tidy; neat; (bound form) to put in… |
| 十 | shí | ten; 10 |
| 年 | Nián | surname Nian; grain; harvest (old); variant of 年[nian2] |
| 叫 | jiào | to shout; to call; to order; to ask; to be called; by (indicates agent in the passive mood); variant of 叫[jiao4] |
| 奥 | Aò | (bound form) Austria (abbr. for 奧地利|奥地利[Ao4 di4 li4]); (bound form) Olympics (abbr. for 奧林匹克|奥林匹克[Ao4 lin2 pi3 ke4]) |
| 德 | Dé | Germany; German; abbr. for 德國|德国[De2 guo2]; variant of 德[de2] |
| 修 | xiu | to repair; to build; to cultivate; to study; surname Xiu |
| 斯 | Sī | Slovakia; Slovak; abbr. for 斯洛伐克[Si1 luo4 fa2 ke4] |
| 他 | tā | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2]) |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 小岛 | Xiǎo dǎo | Kojima (Japanese surname and place name) |
| 国王 | guó wáng | king |
| 非常 | fēi cháng | very; really; unusual; extraordinary |
| 聪明 | cōng ming | intelligent; clever; bright; acute (of sight and hearing) |
| 离开 | lí kāi | to depart; to leave |
| 家 | jiā | used in 傢伙|家伙[jia1 huo5] and 傢俱|家俱[jia1 ju4]; home; family; (polite) my (sister, uncle etc); classifier for families or businesses; refers to the philosophical schools of pre-Han China; noun suffix for a specialist in some act… |
| 去 | qù | to go; to go to (a place); (of a time etc) last; just passed; to send; to remove; to get rid of; to reduce; to be apart from in space or time; to die (euphemism); to play (a part);… |
| 参加 | cān jiā | to participate; to take part; to join |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 场 | cháng | threshing floor; classifier for events and happenings: spell, episode, bout; variant of 場|场[chang2] |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 打 | dá | (loanword) dozen; Taiwan pr. [da3] |
| 结 | jiē | (of a plant) to produce (fruit or seeds); Taiwan pr. [jie2] |
| 束 | Shù | surname Shu |
| 以 | yǐ | old variant of 以[yi3]; abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yi3 se4 lie4] |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 别的 | bié de | else; other |
| 英雄 | yīng xíong | hero; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 只有 | zhǐ yǒu | only have ...; there is only ...; (used in combination with 才[cai2]) it is only if ... (that one can ...) (as in 只有通過治療才能痊愈|只有通过治疗才能痊愈[zhi3 you3 tong1 guo4 zhi4 liao2 cai2 neng2 qu… |
| 回 | Huí | Hui ethnic group (Chinese Muslims); to curve; to return; to revolve; variant of 迴|回[hui2] |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 因为 | yīn wèi | because; owing to; on account of |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 路上 | lù shang | on the road; on the way; en route |
| 海神 | hǎi shén | Emperor of the Sea; Neptune |
| 生气 | shēng qì | to get angry; to be furious; vitality; liveliness |
| 决定 | jué dìng | to decide; to determine; to make up one's mind; decision (CL:個|个[ge4],項|项[xiang4]) |
| 让 | ràng | to yield; to permit; to let sb do sth; to have sb do sth; to make sb (feel sad etc); by (indicates the agent in a passive clause, like 被[bei4]) |
| 于是 | yú shì | thereupon; as a result; consequently; thus; hence |
| 又 | yòu | (once) again; also; both... and...; and yet; (used for emphasis) anyway |
| 开始 | kāi shǐ | to begin; to start; beginning; start |
| 旅行 | lu:3 xíng | to travel; journey; trip; CL:趟[tang4],次[ci4] |
| 遇 | Yù | surname Yu |
| 到了 | dào liǎo | at last; finally; in the end |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 多 | duō | many; much; more; a lot of; too many; in excess; (after a numeral) ... odd; how (to what extent) (Taiwan pr. [duo2]); (bound form) multi-; poly- |
| 事情 | shì qing | affair; matter; thing; business; CL:件[jian4],樁|桩[zhuang1] |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point); (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point); considerate; thoug… |
| 过 | Guō | surname Guo |
| 只 | zhī | variant of 隻|只[zhi1]; variant of 只[zhi3]; grain that has begun to ripen; classifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels etc |
| 眼睛 | yǎn jing | eye; CL:隻|只[zhi1],雙|双[shuang1] |
| 把 | bǎ | to hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate; handlebar; classifier: handful, bundle, bunch; classifier for things with handles; (used to put the ob… |
| 和 | hé | old variant of 和[he2]; surname He; (literary) harmonious (variant of 和[he2]) |
| 朋友 | péng you | friend; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4] |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 关 | Guān | surname Guan |
| 起 | qǐ | to rise; to raise; to get up; to set out; to start; to appear; to launch; to initiate (action); to draft; to establish; to get (from a depot or counter); verb suffix, to start; sta… |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 要 | yāo | (bound form) to demand; to coerce |
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 吃 | chī | to eat; to consume; to eat at (a cafeteria etc); to eradicate; to destroy; to absorb; to suffer (shock, injury, defeat etc); variant of 吃[chi1] |
| 掉 | diào | to fall; to drop; to lag behind; to lose; to go missing; to reduce; fall (in prices); to lose (value, weight etc); to wag; to swing; to turn; to change; to exchange; to swap; to sh… |
| 想 | xiǎng | to think (about); to think of; to devise; to think (that); to believe (that); to desire; to want (to); to miss (feel wistful about the absence of) |
| 办 | bàn | to take care of (a matter); to deal with (a task, procedure etc); to organize (an event); to establish; to set up; to manage; to run (an enterprise); (law) to handle; to investigat… |
| 法 | fǎ | variant of 法[fa3]; France; French; abbr. for 法國|法国[Fa3 guo2]; Taiwan pr. [Fa4]; old variant of 法[fa3]; law |
| 告 | gào | (bound form) to say; to tell; to announce; to report; to denounce; to file a lawsuit; to sue |
| 诉 | sù | variant of 訴|诉[su4]; to complain; to sue; to tell |
| 自己 | zì jǐ | oneself; (attributive) one's own |
| 名字 | míng zi | name (of a person or thing) |
| 没有 | méi yǒu | haven't; hasn't; doesn't exist; to not have; to not be |
| 人 | rén | person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2] |
| 晚上 | wǎn shang | evening; night; CL:個|个[ge4]; in the evening |
| 木 | Mù | surname Mu |
| 头 | tóu | head; hair style; the top; end; beginning or end; a stub; remnant; chief; boss; side; aspect; first; leading; classifier for pigs or livestock; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 弄 | lòng | lane; alley; old variant of 弄[nong4]; variant of 弄[long4] |
| 瞎 | xia | blind; foolishly |
| 大 | dà | big; large; great; older (than another person); eldest (as in 大姐[da4 jie3]); greatly; freely; fully; (dialect) father; (dialect) uncle (father's brother) |
| 喊 | hǎn | to yell; to shout; to call out for (a person) |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 听 | yǐn | smile (archaic); to listen to; to hear; to heed; to obey; a can (loanword from English "tin"); classifier for canned beverages; to let be; to allow (Taiwan pr. [ting4]); (literary) to administer; t… |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 你 | nǐ | you (informal, as opposed to courteous 您[nin2]); you (Note: In Taiwan, 妳 is used to address females, but in mainland China, it is not commonly used. Instead, 你 is used to address both males and females.) |
| 那 | Nā | surname Na |
| 什 | shén | what |
| 么 | má | exclamatory final particle; variant of 麼|么[me5] |
| 就 | jìu | (after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precise… |
| 样 | yàng | manner; pattern; way; appearance; shape; classifier: kind, type |
| 还 | Huán | surname Huan |
| 会 | huì | can; to have the skill; to know how to; to be likely to; to be sure to; to meet; to get together; meeting; gathering; (suffix) union; group; association; (bound form) a moment (Tai… |
| 唱歌 | chàng gē | to sing a song |
| 女 | nu:3 | female; woman; daughter |
| 妖 | ||
| 她 | tā | she |
| 歌声 | gē shēng | singing voice; fig. original voice of a poet |
| 太 | tài | highest; greatest; too (much); very; extremely |
| 美 | Měi | (bound form) the Americas (abbr. for 美洲[Mei3 zhou1]); (bound form) USA (abbr. for 美國|美国[Mei3 guo2]) |
| 听到 | tīng dào | to hear |
| 都会 | dū huì | city; metropolis |
| 跳进 | tiào jìn | to plunge into; to jump into |
| 海里 | hǎi lǐ | nautical mile |
| 死去 | sǐ qù | to die |
| 不想 | bù xiǎng | unexpectedly; to one's surprise |
| 死 | sǐ | to die; impassable; uncrossable; inflexible; rigid; extremely; damned |
| 绑 | báng | to tie; to kidnap |
| 船 | chuán | variant of 船[chuan2]; boat; vessel; ship; CL:條|条[tiao2],艘[sou1],隻|只[zhi1] |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 大家 | dà jiā | everyone; influential family; great expert |
| 东 | Dōng | surname Dong |
| 西 | Xī | the West; abbr. for Spain 西班牙[Xi1 ban1 ya2]; Spanish |
| 堵 | dú | to block up (a road, pipe etc); (fig.) (of a person) choked up with anxiety or stress; (classifier for walls) |
| 住 | zhù | to live; to reside; to stay; to stop; to cease; (result complement indicating firmness or a stable achieved state) |
| 耳 | ěr | ear; handle (archaeology); and that is all (Classical Chinese) |
| 朵 | duó | flower; fig. item on both sides |
| 开 | kāi | to open (transitive or intransitive); (of ships, vehicles, troops etc) to start; to turn on; to put in operation; to operate; to run; to boil; to write out (a prescription, check, … |
| 过去 | guò qù | (in the) past; former; previous; to go over; to pass by |
| 时 | shí | old variant of 時|时[shi2]; surname Shi |
| 候 | hòu | to wait; to inquire after; to watch; season; climate; (old) period of five days |
| 世界 | shì jiè | world |
| 美的 | Měi dí | Midea (brand) |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 活 | huó | to live; alive; living; work; workmanship |
| 下 | xià | down; downwards; below; lower; later; next (week etc); second (of two parts); to decline; to go down; to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc); measure word to show the frequency … |
| 里 | lǐ | variant of 裡|里[li3]; lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏|里[li3]; surname Li |
| 回到 | huí dào | to return to |
| 可是 | kě shì | but; however; (used for emphasis) indeed |
| 家里 | jiā lǐ | home |
| 情况 | qíng kuàng | circumstances; state of affairs; situation; CL:種|种[zhong3] |
| 加上 | jiā shàng | plus; to put in; to add; to add on; to add into; in addition; on top of that |
| 二十 | èr shí | twenty; 20 |
| 以为 | yǐ wéi | to think; to believe (often with the implication that the belief is mistaken – unless referring to one's own current belief) |
| 百 | Bǎi | surname Bai |
| 多个 | duō ge | many; multiple; multi- (faceted, ethnic etc) |
| 男人 | nán rén | a man; a male; men; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 天天 | tiān tiān | every day |
| 喝 | hē | to drink; variant of 嗬[he1] |
| 酒 | jǐu | wine (esp. rice wine); liquor; spirits; alcoholic beverage; CL:杯[bei1],瓶[ping2],罐[guan4],桶[tong3],缸[gang1] |
| 娶 | ||
| 妻子 | qī zǐ | wife and children |
| 佩 | pěi | to respect |
| 涅 | ||
| 罗 | Luó | surname Luo |
| 一直 | yī zhí | straight (in a straight line); continuously; always; all the way through |
| 相 | Xiāng | surname Xiang |
| 信 | xìn | letter; mail; CL:封[feng1]; to trust; to believe; to profess faith in; truthful; confidence; trust; at will; at random |
| 丈 | zhǎng | measure of length, ten Chinese feet (3.3 m); husband |
| 夫 | fū | husband; man; manual worker; conscripted laborer (old) |
| 所以 | suǒ yǐ | therefore; as a result; so; the reason why |
| 这些 | zhè xiē | these |
| 等 | děng | to wait for; to await; by the time; when; till; and so on; etc.; et al.; (bound form) class; rank; grade; (bound form) equal to; same as; (used to end an enumeration); (literary) (… |
| 织 | zhī | to weave; to knit |
| 完 | wán | to finish; to be over; whole; complete; entire |
| 块 | kuài | lump; chunk; piece; classifier for pieces of cloth, cake, soap etc; (coll.) classifier for money and currency units |
| 布 | bù | variant of 布[bu4]; to announce; to spread; cloth; to declare; to announce; to spread; to make known |
| 选 | xuán | to choose; to select |
| 结婚 | jié hūn | to marry; to get married |
| 白天 | bái tiān | daytime; during the day; day; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 织布 | zhī bù | woven cloth; to weave cloth |
| 悄 | qiao | used in 悄悄[qiao1 qiao1] |
| 拆 | ||
| 永远 | yǒng yuǎn | forever; eternal |
| 马上 | mǎ shàng | at once; right away; immediately; on horseback (i.e. by military force) |
| 说出 | shuō chū | to speak out; to declare (one's view) |
| 谁 | shéi | who; also pr. [shui2] |
| 穿上 | chuān shang | to put on (clothes etc) |
| 旧 | jìu | old; opposite: new 新; former; worn (with age) |
| 衣服 | yī fu | clothes; CL:件[jian4],套[tao4] |
| 穷 | qíong | poor; destitute; to use up; to exhaust; thoroughly; extremely; (coll.) persistently and pointlessly |
| 老人 | lǎo rén | old man or woman; the elderly; one's aged parents or grandparents |
| 先 | xiān | beforehand; first; earlier; at first; originally; for the time being; for now; (prefix) my late (in referring to deceased relatives older than oneself) |
| 看清 | kàn qīng | to see clearly |
| 楚 | Chǔ | surname Chu; abbr. for Hubei 湖北省[Hu2 bei3 Sheng3] and Hunan 湖南省[Hu2 nan2 Sheng3] provinces together; Chinese kingdom during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods (722–22… |
| 拿起 | ná qǐ | to pick up |
| 弓 | Gōng | surname Gong |
| 拉 | lā | to pull; to play (a bowed instrument); to drag; to draw; to chat; (coll.) to empty one's bowels |
| 得 | dé | to obtain; to get; to gain; to catch (a disease); proper; suitable; proud; contented; to allow; to permit; ready; finished |
| 那些 | nà xiē | those |
| 坏人 | huài rén | bad person; villain |
| 全部 | quán bù | whole; all |
| 赶走 | gǎn zǒu | to drive out; to turn back |
| 终 | zhong | end |
| 于 | Yú | surname Yu; (of time or place) in; at; on; (indicating any indirect relation) to; toward; vis-à-vis; with regard to; for; (indicating a source) from; out of; (used in comparison) than; (used i… |
| 身边 | shēn biān | at one's side; on hand |
The Odyssey is one of the most famous stories from ancient Greece, with a history of nearly three thousand years. It tells the story of a man going home—but this ‘going home’ took a full ten years.
The hero of the story is named Odysseus. He was the king of a small island, and very clever. He left home to take part in a war. This war lasted ten years. After the war ended, all the other heroes went home, but only he couldn’t get back. Because along the way he had offended the god of the sea, who was very angry and decided not to let him return home.
So, Odysseus began another ten years of travel. He encountered many dangerous things.
He once met a giant with only one eye. The giant locked him and his friends up, planning to eat them one by one. Odysseus thought of a plan: he told the giant that his name was ‘Nobody.’ At night, he used a piece of wood to blind the giant’s eye. The giant shouted loudly: ‘Nobody is hurting me! Nobody is hurting me!’ The other giants heard this and said: ‘If nobody is hurting you, then why are you shouting?’ And so, Odysseus escaped.
He also encountered singing female monsters. Their singing was so beautiful that anyone who heard it would jump into the sea and die. Odysseus really wanted to listen, but he also didn’t want to die. So he had his friends tie him to the ship, and had everyone plug their ears with something. As the ship sailed past, he heard the most beautiful singing in the world, and also survived.
During these ten years, his friends died one by one. In the end, only he alone returned home.
But the situation at home shocked him greatly. Ten years of war, plus ten years of travel—he had not been home for twenty years. Everyone thought he was dead. More than a hundred men were living in his house, eating his food every day, drinking his wine, and even wanting to marry his wife.
His wife was named Penelope. She always believed her husband was not dead, so she thought of many ways to reject these men. She said: ‘When I finish weaving this cloth, I will choose one person to marry.’ But she wove the cloth during the day, and quietly unraveled it at night. This way, the cloth could never be finished.
Odysseus did not immediately reveal who he was. He put on old clothes, disguised himself as a poor old man, and first observed the situation at home clearly. Finally, he picked up his own bow—the bow that only he alone could draw—and drove away all those bad people.
Twenty years later, Odysseus finally returned to his wife’s side.