A prophetical Riddle¹.

Poor mortals, who wait for a happy day,

Cheer up your hearts, and hear what I shall say:

If it be lawful² firmly to believe

That the celestial³ bodies can us give

Wisdom to judge of things that are not yet;

Or if from heaven such wisdom we may get

As may with confidence make us discourse⁴

Of years to come, their destiny and course;

I to my hearers give to understand

That this next winter, though it be at hand,

Yea and before, there shall appear a race

Of men who, loth to sit still in one place,

Shall boldly go before all people’s eyes,

Suborning men of divers⁵ qualities

To draw them unto covenants⁶ and sides,

In such a manner that, whate’er betides,

They’ll move you, if you give them ear, no doubt,

With both your friends and kindred to fall out.

They’ll make a vassal⁷ to gain-stand his lord,

And children their own parents; in a word,

All reverence⁸ shall then be banished⁹,

No true respect to other shall be had.

They’ll say that every man should have his turn,

Both in his going forth¹⁰ and his return;

And hereupon there shall arise such woes¹¹,

Such jarrings, and confused to’s and fro’s,

点击收听单词发音  

1 riddle
n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜
参考例句：
The riddle couldn't be solved by the child.这个谜语孩子猜不出来。 Her disappearance is a complete riddle.她的失踪完全是一个谜。

2 lawful
adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的
参考例句：
It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。 We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

3 celestial
adj.天体的；天上的
参考例句：
The rosy light yet beamed like a celestial dawn.玫瑰色的红光依然象天上的朝霞一样绚丽。 Gravity governs the motions of celestial bodies.万有引力控制着天体的运动。

4 discourse
n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述
参考例句：
We'll discourse on the subject tonight.我们今晚要谈论这个问题。 He fell into discourse with the customers who were drinking at the counter.他和站在柜台旁的酒客谈了起来。

5 divers
adj.不同的；种种的
参考例句：
He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。 Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。

6 covenants
n.（有法律约束的）协议( covenant的名词复数 )；盟约；公约；（向慈善事业、信托基金会等定期捐款的）契约书
参考例句：
Do I need to review the Deed of mutual Covenants (DMC)? 我是否需要覆核公共契约(DMC)吗？ 来自互联网 Many listed and unlisted companies need to sell to address covenants. 许多上市公司和非上市公司需要出售手中资产，以满足借贷契约的要求。 来自互联网

7 vassal
n.附庸的；属下；adj.奴仆的
参考例句：
Wales was a vassal kingdom at that time.那时威尔士是个附庸国。 The vassal swore that he would be loyal to the king forever.这位封臣宣誓他将永远忠诚于国王。

8 reverence
n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬
参考例句：
He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。 We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我们尊重传统，但不被传统所束缚。

9 banished
v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He was banished to Australia, where he died five years later. 他被流放到澳大利亚，五年后在那里去世。 He was banished to an uninhabited island for a year. 他被放逐到一个无人居住的荒岛一年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 forth
adv.向前；向外，往外
参考例句：
The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。 He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

11 woes
困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉
参考例句：
Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。 She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

12 tumults
吵闹( tumult的名词复数 )； 喧哗； 激动的吵闹声； 心烦意乱
参考例句：

13 gallant
adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的
参考例句：
Huang Jiguang's gallant deed is known by all men. 黄继光的英勇事迹尽人皆知。 These gallant soldiers will protect our country.这些勇敢的士兵会保卫我们的国家的。

14 fervency
n.热情的；强烈的；热烈
参考例句：
Their fervency is hospitable, but often arrives late. 他们热情好客，却常常迟到。 来自互联网 The bright, wide, neat office environment, It's help to Increase the staff's working fervency. 明亮、宽敞、整洁的办公环境，有助于提高员工的工作热情。 来自互联网

15 contention
n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张
参考例句：
The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。 The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

16 lout
n.粗鄙的人；举止粗鲁的人
参考例句：
He's just an ill-bred lout.他是个缺乏教养的乡巴佬。 He had no training, no skills and he was just a big, bungling,useless lout!什么也不行，什么也不会，自己只是个傻大黑粗的废物！

17 deluge
n./vt.洪水，暴雨，使泛滥
参考例句：
This little stream can become a deluge when it rains heavily.雨大的时候，这条小溪能变作洪流。 I got caught in the deluge on the way home.我在回家的路上遇到倾盆大雨。

18 foul
adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规
参考例句：
Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。 What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

19 bowels
n.肠，内脏，内部；肠( bowel的名词复数 )；内部，最深处
参考例句：
Salts is a medicine that causes movements of the bowels. 泻盐是一种促使肠子运动的药物。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The cabins are in the bowels of the ship. 舱房设在船腹内。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 exhort
v.规劝，告诫
参考例句：
The opposition can only question and exhort.反对党只能提出质问和告诫。 This is why people exhort each other not to step into stock market.这就是为什么许多人互相告诫，不要涉足股市的原因。

21 commotions
n.混乱，喧闹，骚动( commotion的名词复数 )
参考例句：

22 gaol
n.(jail)监狱；(不加冠词)监禁；vt.使…坐牢
参考例句：
He was released from the gaol.他被释放出狱。 The man spent several years in gaol for robbery.这男人因犯抢劫罪而坐了几年牢。

23 occident
n.西方；欧美
参考例句：
Our cultural beliefs caused many problems traveling through the Occident.我们在文化上的信仰导致了许多在西方国家旅游时的问题。 Almost every great occident philosopher discussed this problem after Descartes.笛卡尔以后，几乎所有伟大的西方哲学家都对这个问题进行了深刻的探讨。

24 dart
v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲
参考例句：
The child made a sudden dart across the road.那小孩突然冲过马路。 Markov died after being struck by a poison dart.马尔科夫身中毒镖而亡。

25 behold
v.看，注视，看到
参考例句：
The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。 The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

26 nought
n.／adj.无，零
参考例句：
We must bring their schemes to nought.我们必须使他们的阴谋彻底破产。 One minus one leaves nought.一减一等于零。

27 worthy
adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的
参考例句：
I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。 There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

28 persecuted
（尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人
参考例句：
Throughout history, people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. 人们因宗教信仰而受迫害的情况贯穿了整个历史。 Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。

29 monk
n.和尚，僧侣，修道士
参考例句：
The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。 Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

30 glosses
n.（页末或书后的）注释( gloss的名词复数 )；（表面的）光滑；虚假的外表；用以产生光泽的物质v.注解( gloss的第三人称单数 )；掩饰（错误）；粉饰；把…搪塞过去
参考例句：
The movie glosses over the real issues of the war. 这部电影掩饰了这次战争的真正问题。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Time inevitably glosses over the particularities of each situation. 时间不可避免地掩饰了每种情形的特质。 来自互联网

31 makers
n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）
参考例句：
The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。 The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

32 guts
v.狼吞虎咽，贪婪地吃，飞碟游戏（比赛双方每组5人，相距15码，互相掷接飞碟）；毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的第三人称单数 )；取出…的内脏n.勇气( gut的名词复数 )；内脏；消化道的下段；肠
参考例句：
I'll only cook fish if the guts have been removed. 鱼若已收拾干净，我只需烧一下即可。 Barbara hasn't got the guts to leave her mother. 巴巴拉没有勇气离开她妈妈。 来自《简明英汉词典》