Unit 16 Text IThe Battle of the Ants.docx

1、Unit 16 Text I The Battle of the AntsTEXT1 The Battle of the Ants Henry David ThoreauPre-reading questions1. Do you enjoy watching the TV program Animal World? Why or why not?2. What similarities and differences have you found between the animal world and the human world?1 One day when I went out to

2、 my wood-pile, or rather my pile of stumps, I observed two large ants, the one red, the other much larger, nearly half an inch long, and black, fiercely wrestled and rolled on the chips incessantly. Looking farther, I was surprised to find that the chips were covered with such combatants, that it wa

3、s not a duellum, but a bellum, a war between two races of ants, the red always pitted against the black, and frequently two red ones to one black. The legions of these Myrmidons covered all the hills and vales in my woodyard, and the ground was already strewn with the dead and dying, both red and bl

4、ack. It was the only battle which I have ever withnessed, the only battlefield I ever trod while the battle was raging; internecine war; the red republicans on the one hand, and the black imperialists on the other. On every side they were engaged in deadly combat, yet without any noise that I could

5、hear, and human soldiers never fought so resolutely. I watched a couple that were fast locked in each others embraces, in a little sunny valley amid the chips, now at noonday prepared to fight till the sun went down, or life went out. The smaller red champion had fastened himself like a vice to his

6、adversarys front, and through all the tumblings on that filed never for an instant ceased to gnaw at one of his feelers near the root, having already caused the other to go by the board; while the stronger black one dashed him from side to side, and, as I saw on looking nearer, had already divested

7、him of several of his members. They fought with more pertinacity than bulldogs. Neither manifested the least disposition to retreat: It was evident that their battle- cry was “Conquer or die.” In the meanwhile there came along a single red ant on the hillside of this valley, evidently full of excite

8、ment, who either had dispatched his foe, or had not yet taken part in the battle; probably the latter, for he had lost none of his limbs; whose mother had charged him to return with his shield or upon it2. Or perchance he was some Achilles2, who had nourished his wrath apart, and had now come to ave

9、nge or rescue his Patroclus3. He saw this unequal combat from afarfor the blacks were nearly twice the size of the redhe drew near with rapid pace till he stood on his guard within half an inch of the combatants; then ,watching his opportunity, he sprang upon the black warrior, and commenced his ope

10、rations near the root of his right foreleg, leaving the foe to select among his own members; and so there were three united for life, as if a new kind of attraction had been invented which put all other locks and cements to shame4. I should not have wondered by this time to find that they had their

11、respective musical bands stationed on some eminent chip, and playing their national airs the while5, to excite the slow and cheer the dying combatants. I was myself excited somewhat even as if they had been men. The more you think of it, the less the difference. And certainly there is not the fight

12、recorded in Concord6 history, at least, if in the history of America, that will bear a moments comparison with this; whether for the numbers engaged in it, or for the patriotism and heroism displayed. For numbers and for carnage it was an Austerlitz or Dresden7. Concord Fight! Two killed on the patr

13、iots side, and Luther Blanchard8 wounded! Why here every ant was a Buttrick9“Fire! For Gods sake fire!” and thousands shared the fate of Davis and Homer10. There was not one hireling there11. I have no doubt that it was a principle they fought for, as much as our ancestors, and not to avoid a three-

14、penny tax on their tea12; and the results of this battle will be as important and memorable to those whom it concerns as those of the battle of Bunker Hill13, at least.2 I took up the chip on which the three I have particularly described were struggling, carried it into my house, and placed it under

15、 a tumbler on my windowsill, in order to see the issue. Holding a microscope to the first-mentioned red ant, I saw that, though he was assiduously gnawing at the near foreleg of his enemy, having severed his remaining feeler, his own breast was all torn away, exposing what vitals he had there to the

16、 jaws of the black warrior, whose breastplate was apparently too thick for him to pierce; and the dark carbuncles of the sufferers eyes shone with ferocity such as war only could excite. They struggled half an hour longer under the tumbler, and when I looked again the black soldier had severed the h

17、eads of his foes from their bodies, and the still living heads were hanging on either side of him like ghastly trophies at his saddle-bow, still apparently as firmly fastened as ever, and he was endeavoring with feeble struggles, being without feelers, and with only the remnant of a leg, and I know

18、not how many other wounds, to divest himself of them, which at length, after half an hour more, he accomplished. I raised the glass, and he went off over the windowsill in that crippled state. Whether he finally survived that combat, and spent the remainder of his days in some Hotel des Invalides14,

19、 I do not know; but I thought that his industry would not be worth much thereafter. I never learned which party was victorious, nor the cause of the war, but I felt for the rest of that day as if I had my feelings excited and harrowed by witnessing the struggle, the ferocity and carnage, of a human

20、battle before my door.3 Kirby and Spence15 tell us that the battles of ants have long been celebrated and the date of them recorded, though they say that Huber is the only modern author who appears to have witnessed them. “Aeneas Sylvius16,” say they, “after giving a very circumstantial account of o

21、ne contested with great obstinacy by a great and small species on the trunk of a pear tree,” adds that “ this action was fought in the pontificate of Eugenius the Fourth17, in the presence of Nicholas Pistoriensis, an eminent lawyer, who related the whole history of the battle with the greatest fide

22、lity. A similar engagement between great and small ants is recorded by Olaus Magnus18, in which the small ones, being victorious, are said to have buried the bodies of their own soldiers, but left those of their giant enemies a prey to the birds. This event happened previous to the expulsion of the

23、tyrant Christian the Second from Sweden19.” The battle which I witnessed took place in the Presidency of Polk20, five years before the passage of Websters Fugitive-Slave Bill21. 1,182 words GLOSSARYStump gnawChip feelerCombatant dash Duellum divestBellum pertinacityPit bulldog Legion battle-cryMyrmi

24、don dispatchVale limb Woodyard perchanceStrew nourishRage wrathInternecine avengeResolutely commenceVice forelegTumbling cementHeroism ghastlyCarnage trophyHireling saddle-bowWindowsill remnantAssiduously harrow Vitals circumstantial Jaw obstinacyBreastplate pontificate Pierce fidelityCarbuncle expu

25、lsion1. About the author Thoreau, Henry David(1817-1862), was an American writer, philosopher, and naturalist who believed in the importance of individualism. Thoreaus best-know work is Walden; or Life in the woods (1854), which embodies his philosophy and reflects his independent character. The boo

26、k records Thoreaus experiences in a hand-built cabin, where he spent two years in partial seclusion, at Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts. The current text is taken from this book.2. whose mother had charged him to return with his shield or upon it (Paragraph1) whose mother had told him either

27、 to fight bravely and return intact, or to fight to death and return lying on the shield.3. Or perchance he was some Achilles, who had nourished his wrath apart, and had now come to avenge or rescue his Patroclus(Paragraph1) In Greek mythology, Patroclus was dearest friend of the hero Achilles whom

28、he accompanied to the Trojan War. Later in the war, Achilles withdrew his troops, the Myrmidons, from combat because of quarrel with Agamemnon, commander of the Greek forces. Soon after Patroclus led the Greek army to victory over the Trojons, he was slain by the Trojon commander, Hector. To avenge

29、his frieds death,Achilles rejoined the battle and killed Hector.4. and commenced his operations near the root of his right foreleg, leaving the foe to select among his own members; and so there were three united for life, as if a new kind of attraction had been invented which put all other locks and

30、 cements to shame.(Paragraph1)then started his attacks at the root of the black ants right front leg, leaving the enemy to choose to use the rest of his legs for the confrontation; at a result, the thereof them, fighting for survival, were so tightly locks and cements were almost nothing.5. playing

31、their national airs the while (Paragraph1) playing their own tribal melody to cheer up their soldiers during this time of combat.6. Concord(Paragraph1) a town of eastern Massachusetts on the Concord River west-northwest of Boston. An early battle of the Revolutionary War was fought here on April 19,

32、1775. In the 19th century the town was noted as an intellectual and literary center.7. Austerlitz or Dresden(Paragraph1) Austerlitz is a town of southern Czechoslovakia. Nearby, on December2,1805,Napoleon decisively defeated the Russian and Austrian armies were all present on the field, the Battle of Austerlitz is sometimes called the Battle of the Three Emperors. Dresden is a city of east-central Germany on the Elbe River east-southeast of Leipzig. Napoleon won his last major military success here in 1813.8. Luther Blanchard(Paragraph1) On Apirl19,1775,in the town of Acton,