内容概述
故事讲述了一个虚构的部落里，男人地位由妻子们的总体重决定。戈只有一位非常壮实的妻子，尕有两位较瘦的妻子。称重当天，戈的妻子放在一张大河马皮上，尕的两位妻子放在两张小羚羊皮上，结果重量恰好相等，于是两人的地位相同。故事引出一句幽默的“等式”：河马皮上的那个女人等于另外两张皮上女人的总和。
中文正文
关于史前和原始人类，有许多良莠不齐的虚构的数学故事。其中，有两个叫戈（Gog）和尕（Gug）的人，流传着下面的故事（它有好几个版本）：
在一个实行一夫多妻的部落里，已婚男子在部落的地位取决于他几个妻子的重量——妻子们越重，男人的分量也越大。每年称重的那一天，男人照规矩让妻子们站在整齐铺开的兽皮上，部落首领拿来一架粗糙的跷跷板，让一个男人的妻子与另一个男人的妻子分坐在两端，然后决定她们男人的相对地位。戈只有一个妻子，长得十分壮实，而尕有两个非常苗条的妻子，两人整天都在争吵谁更重要。称重的日子到了，戈把妻子放在一张巨大的斑马皮上，而尕把妻子放在两张小羚羊皮上。称重开始了，戈的妻子与尕的两个妻子恰好一样重。结果是两个男人一样重要，因为，根据首领的裁定，“斑马皮上的那个女人等于那两张羊皮上的两个女人的总和。”
英文正文
12° Gog and Gug. There are a number of fanciful mathematical stories, of varying quality, about prehistoric or primitive people. Two of these people go by the names of Gog and Gug, and the following (which has appeared in several versions) is representative of the Gog and Gug stories.
In a certain tribe, in which polygamy was practiced, a married man's standing in the tribe depended upon the combined weight of his wives—the greater the combined weight, the more important was the man. Every year, on weighing day and according to custom, the married men would stand their wives on neatly spread animal skins, and the chief of the tribe would come around with a crude seesaw and balance the wives of one man against those of another in order to determine the relative importance of the men. Now Gog had only one wife, who was very heavy, while Gug had two much slenderer wives, and all year the two men argued as to who was the more important. When weighing day arrived, Gog placed his wife on a large hippopotamus skin, and Gug placed his wives on two small gazelle skins. When the weighing was performed, it was found that Gog's wife exactly balanced against the two wives of Gug. Thus it turned out that the two men were equally important, since, by the chief's ruling, "the squaw on the hippopotamus is equal to the sum of the squaws on the other two hides."
英语学习拓展
常用词汇
fanciful音标/ˈfænsɪfl/
空想的，奇特的。
原文用法：There are a number of fanciful mathematical stories（有许多虚构奇特的数学故事）。
prehistoric音标/ˌpriːhɪˈstɔːrɪk/
史前的。
原文用法：about prehistoric or primitive people（关于史前或原始人）。
polygamy音标/pəˈlɪɡəmi/
一夫多妻制；多配偶制。
原文用法：a certain tribe, in which polygamy was practiced（一个实行一夫多妻的部落）。
combined音标/kəmˈbaɪnd/
合计的，组合的。
原文用法：the combined weight of his wives（他妻子们的总体重）。
crude音标/kruːd/
粗糙的，简陋的。
原文用法：a crude seesaw（一架粗糙的跷跷板）。
seesaw音标/ˈsiːsɔː/
跷跷板。
原文用法：a crude seesaw。
balance音标/ˈbæləns/
使平衡。
原文用法：balance the wives of one man against those of another（让一个男人妻子的重量与另一个男人的妻子平衡）。
slender音标/ˈslendə(r)/
苗条的，纤细的。
原文用法：two much slenderer wives（两位更苗条的妻子）。
（slenderer 为比较级。
）
同义词与近义词
常用短语与固定搭配
- depend upon：取决于。原文用法：a married man's standing in the tribe depended upon the combined weight of his wives。
- come around：走过来，绕过来。原文用法：the chief of the tribe would come around with a crude seesaw。
- balance A against B：把 A 与 B 平衡/比较。原文用法：balance the wives of one man against those of another。
- turn out：结果是，原来是。原文用法：Thus it turned out that the two men were equally important。
常用句式
- Pattern: The greater ..., the more ...：越……就越……。原文例句：the greater the combined weight, the more important was the man（妻子总体重越大，男人越重要）。
- Pattern: ... in order to ...：为了……。原文例句：in order to determine the relative importance of the men（为了确定男人们的相对地位）。
长难句解析
Every year, on weighing day and according to custom, the married men would stand their wives on neatly spread animal skins, and the chief of the tribe would come around with a crude seesaw and balance the wives of one man against those of another in order to determine the relative importance of the men.
- 主干：the married men would stand their wives on neatly spread animal skins, and the chief of the tribe would come around ... and balance ...（已婚男人们会让妻子们站在铺开的兽皮上，部落首领会带着跷跷板过来，称量妻子们）。
- 修饰与从句：Every year, on weighing day and according to custom 为时间/方式状语；neatly spread 为过去分词短语，修饰 animal skins；with a crude seesaw 为介词短语；of one man 和 of another 为介词短语；those of another 中 those 指代 wives；in order to determine the relative importance of the men 为目的状语。
- 逻辑关系：先交代时间（每年称重日）和习俗，再分述男人们和首领的行为，最后说明目的（确定相对地位）。
语言使用特点
- 叙事结构清晰：背景介绍 → 规则说明 → 人物冲突 → 高潮与结局。
- 使用了比较级 much slenderer 和条件状语从句，使情节对比鲜明。
- 结尾的 squaw 一词在现代英语中带有冒犯意味，仅作为历史文本保留，教学时建议说明并避免使用。
迁移练习
- 用 depend upon 造句：描述某件事取决于某个因素。
- 用 the greater ..., the more ... 句式描述学习时间与成绩的关系。
- 将 The chief would balance the wives of one man against those of another in order to determine their relative importance. 改写成一句包含 so that 的句子。
点击展开参考答案
- （示例）Your success in math often depends upon how much you practice.
- （示例）The greater the effort you put in, the more progress you will make.
- （示例）The chief would balance the wives of one man against those of another so that he could determine their relative importance.