Most cultures have some st of hero whepresents the best values of what its people believe in. The unusual thingabout King Arthur is that legends of his heroism have persisted f severalcenturies spread far beyond Engl, the place they began.
The earliest sties of King Arthur represent himas a warri who fought subdued the invading Nsemen in the years aroundA. D. 700. This much of the Arthurian tale is probably based on fact. Whethercalled Arthur not, there is a body of evidence suppting the existence ofsuch a warri. It is the later embellishments of the tale whose authenticityis questionable. Accding to these, Arthur was bn in a castle in Tintagel onthe stmy western coast of Engl because he was the illegitimate son ofKing Uther Pendragon, he was spirited away by the magician Merlin his trueidentity kept from him. He became king after freeing the swd Excalibur fromthe stone into which it was thrust. He married the beautiful Guinevere assembled in his court all the noblest knights of the l, including Lancelot,with whom Guinevere would later be unfaithful to him. He was finally defeatedin battle by his illegitimate son Mdred, his body was spirited away tothe isle of A Valon.
This romantic tale greatly appealed to the English the French in the Middle Ages, when the code of chivalry-ideal qualities ofknighthood-constituted an imptant part of many sties. Tales of the heroismof Galahad, Percival, Gawain, many other of Arthur's knights werecirculated as well.
In Engl today, there are many sites claiming apiece of the Arthurian an legend. There is a mined castle at Tintagel. NearGlastonbury are the remains of an ancient abbey Arthur’s Guinevere'sbodies were supposedly exhumed in the 12th century. Neither of these provesthat the legend is true, but they do keep its mystique alive. 詞匯：
Arthurn.亞瑟(中世紀(jì)傳奇故事中的不列顛國(guó)王，圓桌騎士團(tuán)的首領(lǐng))
authenticityn.可靠性，真實(shí)性
spiritv.偷偷地帶走;拐走;綁架
warrin. 戰(zhàn)士，勇士
chivalryn. 騎士
subduev. 制服，懾服
embellishmentn. 美化，修飾
mystiquen. 神秘氣氛
注釋：
1. This much of theArthurian tale……：許多這類亞瑟王的故事
2. ...was spirited awayby ……被偷偷地帶走……
練習(xí)：
1. King Arthur’s famer was ______
A. Lancelot
B. Avalon
C. Mdred
D. Uther Pendragon
2. The writer seems to feel that the truth aboutArthur is that he ______.
A. existed
B. was married to Guinevere
C. had many knights
D. was bn at Tintagael
3. The infmation in the second paragraph ismostly presented in ______.
A. spatial der
B. der from latest to earliest
C. der from earliest to latest
D. der from least persuasive
4. In the last paragraph the wd “exhumed” means_____
A. dug up from the grave
B. buried
C. quarreled over
D. built a church around
5. Another good title f this passage would be ______
A. Kings in the Seventh Century
B. The Knights of the Round Table
C. Real Legend?
D. Arthur’s Marriage to Guinevere.
The earliest sties of King Arthur represent himas a warri who fought subdued the invading Nsemen in the years aroundA. D. 700. This much of the Arthurian tale is probably based on fact. Whethercalled Arthur not, there is a body of evidence suppting the existence ofsuch a warri. It is the later embellishments of the tale whose authenticityis questionable. Accding to these, Arthur was bn in a castle in Tintagel onthe stmy western coast of Engl because he was the illegitimate son ofKing Uther Pendragon, he was spirited away by the magician Merlin his trueidentity kept from him. He became king after freeing the swd Excalibur fromthe stone into which it was thrust. He married the beautiful Guinevere assembled in his court all the noblest knights of the l, including Lancelot,with whom Guinevere would later be unfaithful to him. He was finally defeatedin battle by his illegitimate son Mdred, his body was spirited away tothe isle of A Valon.
This romantic tale greatly appealed to the English the French in the Middle Ages, when the code of chivalry-ideal qualities ofknighthood-constituted an imptant part of many sties. Tales of the heroismof Galahad, Percival, Gawain, many other of Arthur's knights werecirculated as well.
In Engl today, there are many sites claiming apiece of the Arthurian an legend. There is a mined castle at Tintagel. NearGlastonbury are the remains of an ancient abbey Arthur’s Guinevere'sbodies were supposedly exhumed in the 12th century. Neither of these provesthat the legend is true, but they do keep its mystique alive. 詞匯：
Arthurn.亞瑟(中世紀(jì)傳奇故事中的不列顛國(guó)王，圓桌騎士團(tuán)的首領(lǐng))
authenticityn.可靠性，真實(shí)性
spiritv.偷偷地帶走;拐走;綁架
warrin. 戰(zhàn)士，勇士
chivalryn. 騎士
subduev. 制服，懾服
embellishmentn. 美化，修飾
mystiquen. 神秘氣氛
注釋：
1. This much of theArthurian tale……：許多這類亞瑟王的故事
2. ...was spirited awayby ……被偷偷地帶走……
練習(xí)：
1. King Arthur’s famer was ______
A. Lancelot
B. Avalon
C. Mdred
D. Uther Pendragon
2. The writer seems to feel that the truth aboutArthur is that he ______.
A. existed
B. was married to Guinevere
C. had many knights
D. was bn at Tintagael
3. The infmation in the second paragraph ismostly presented in ______.
A. spatial der
B. der from latest to earliest
C. der from earliest to latest
D. der from least persuasive
4. In the last paragraph the wd “exhumed” means_____
A. dug up from the grave
B. buried
C. quarreled over
D. built a church around
5. Another good title f this passage would be ______
A. Kings in the Seventh Century
B. The Knights of the Round Table
C. Real Legend?
D. Arthur’s Marriage to Guinevere.