THE LORELEI

Count Ludwig was the only son of the Prince Palatine. He lived with his father in the castle at Stahleck. The young count had heard many marvelous tales of the beautiful Lorelei and he determined¹ to go in search of her.

One evening he stole from his father’s castle to sail down the Rhine. He hoped to catch a glimpse of the Siren Lorelei. The stars were twinkling softly overhead, and the bark slowly drifted down the river. Darker and darker grew the waters as the bed of the Rhine grew narrower. But the young count did not notice this. His eyes were fixed² on the rocks far above, where he hoped to see the beautiful nymph.

Suddenly he saw a shimmer³ of white drapery and golden hair. At the same time he heard the faint, sweet sound of[27] an alluring⁴ song. As he drew nearer, the melody became more distinct. The moonbeams fell upon the maiden⁵ and seemed to make her even more beautiful. She bent⁶ over the rocky ledge⁷ and beckoned⁸ him to draw nearer.

The count and boatman were spellbound by the vision above them, and they paid no heed⁹ to the vessel¹⁰. Suddenly the boat struck against the rocks and went to pieces. The men struggled against the swift current, and all escaped except the young count. Him the Lorelei took down to her magic palace below the river to be her lover forever. Many different stories about the young count’s fate were related by the men who escaped.

The Prince Palatine was deeply grieved over his only son’s death. He blamed the beautiful Lorelei and longed for revenge. Finally he sent for one of his greatest warriors¹².

“You are to capture this wicked creature who has caused so much woe,” he[28] said. “Take a band of armed men and post them at once all around the rock, so that the nymph cannot escape.”

The great warrior¹¹ did as he was commanded. At the head of a band of armed men he climbed noiselessly up the moonlit cliff and presented himself before the charming Lorelei. There she sat, as usual, combing her golden hair and crooning her matchless song. The men hemmed¹³ her in on all sides. They left no mode of escape except by the steep descent to the river.

“We command you to surrender,” said the captain of the band.

The nymph made no reply, but gracefully¹⁴ waved her white hands. The grim old warriors suddenly felt as if rooted to the spot. They could neither move nor speak.

There they stood motionless with dilated¹⁵ eyes fixed upon the Lorelei. They saw her remove all of her jewels and drop them one by one into the Rhine beneath[29] her feet. Then she whirled about in a mystic spell, chanting her magic tunes¹⁶. They could understand nothing of it except now and then a word about white-maned steeds and pearl shell chariots.

When the song and dance were ended, the waters of the Rhine began to seethe¹⁷ and bubble. Higher and higher they rose, until they reached the top of the cliff.

The petrified¹⁸ warriors felt the cold tide surge about their feet. Suddenly they saw a great white-crested wave rolling rapidly toward them. In its green depths they beheld¹⁹ a chariot drawn²⁰ by white-maned steeds. Into this car the Lorelei sprang and quickly vanished over the edge of the cliff into the river.

In a few moments the angry waters had sunk to their usual level. The brave warriors discovered that they could move once more. They rubbed their eyes and looked about them. No trace of the sudden rise except the water drops along the[30] face of the cliff could be seen. These shone in the moonlight like diamonds.

The Lorelei has never since then appeared on the cliff. But boatmen have often heard the faint sweet echo of her alluring song, wafted²¹ toward them on the summer breeze at midnight. It is said that she remains²² in her beautiful palace and gardens below the green Rhine, enjoying the companionship of her earthly lover.

1 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

2 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

3 shimmer   

v./n.发微光，发闪光；微光

参考例句：

• The room was dark,but there was a shimmer of moonlight at the window.屋子里很黑，但靠近窗户的地方有点微光。
• Nor is there anything more virginal than the shimmer of young foliage.没有什么比新叶的微光更纯洁无瑕了。

4 alluring   

adj.吸引人的，迷人的

参考例句：

• The life in a big city is alluring for the young people. 大都市的生活对年轻人颇具诱惑力。
• Lisette's large red mouth broke into a most alluring smile. 莉莎特的鲜红的大嘴露出了一副极为诱人的微笑。

5 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

6 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

7 ledge   

n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁

参考例句：

• They paid out the line to lower him to the ledge.他们放出绳子使他降到那块岩石的突出部分。
• Suddenly he struck his toe on a rocky ledge and fell.突然他的脚趾绊在一块突出的岩石上，摔倒了。

8 beckoned   

v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He beckoned to the waiter to bring the bill. 他招手示意服务生把账单送过来。
• The seated figure in the corner beckoned me over. 那个坐在角落里的人向我招手让我过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

10 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

11 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

12 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

13 hemmed   

缝…的褶边( hem的过去式和过去分词 )； 包围

参考例句：

• He hemmed and hawed but wouldn't say anything definite. 他总是哼儿哈儿的，就是不说句痛快话。
• The soldiers were hemmed in on all sides. 士兵们被四面包围了。

14 gracefully   

ad.大大方方地；优美地

参考例句：

• She sank gracefully down onto a cushion at his feet. 她优雅地坐到他脚旁的垫子上。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line. 新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

15 dilated   

adj.加宽的，扩大的v.（使某物）扩大，膨胀，张大( dilate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her eyes dilated with fear. 她吓得瞪大了眼睛。
• The cat dilated its eyes. 猫瞪大了双眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 seethe   

vi.拥挤，云集；发怒，激动，骚动

参考例句：

• Many Indians continue to seethe and some are calling for military action against their riotous neighbour.很多印度人都处于热血沸腾的状态，很多都呼吁针对印度这个恶邻采取军事行动。
• She seethed with indignation.她由于愤怒而不能平静。

18 petrified   

adj.惊呆的；目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆，使惊呆；变僵硬；使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• I'm petrified of snakes. 我特别怕蛇。
• The poor child was petrified with fear. 这可怜的孩子被吓呆了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 beheld   

v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟

参考例句：

• His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

20 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

21 wafted   

v.吹送，飘送，（使）浮动( waft的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The sound of their voices wafted across the lake. 他们的声音飘过湖面传到了另一边。
• A delicious smell of freshly baked bread wafted across the garden. 花园中飘过一股刚出炉面包的香味。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。