内容概述
一位年轻而贫穷的毕达哥拉斯信徒在异国他乡病倒，被送往一家小酒店。善良的店主悉心照料他，尽管年轻人身无分文、无力报答。临终前，他在木板上歪歪斜斜地画出兄弟会的神秘五角星符号，请店主挂在门外，并说终有一天会有懂这符号的旅行者经过；只要把一切告诉那人，店主就会得到回报。事情果然如此发生。
中文正文
48° 兄弟会的忠诚
毕达哥拉斯兄弟会中一个年轻的穷会员在外地游历时得了重病，被送到附近的一家小酒店。善良的酒店老板对他悉心照料，尽管年轻人告诉他，自己身无分文，也没有什么可以报答的。意识到自己快死了，年轻人请店老板拿一块木板，他要画东西。他吃力地在木板上歪歪斜斜画出他们兄弟会的神秘的五角星符号（图 6），转身对老板说："我的好朋友，把这块木板挂在你的店门外。总有一天会有明白我画的游客经过，他会停下来问你这符号的事情。把一切都告诉他，你会得到回报的。"事情果然发生了。
英文正文
48° Brotherhood loyalty. A young and penniless member of the Pythagorean Brotherhood fell desperately ill while traveling in foreign lands and was taken to the nearest inn. There the charitable innkeeper nursed him, even though the young man made it clear that he had neither money nor goods with which to repay his host. When it became certain that he was dying, the young man asked the innkeeper for a board on which to draw. With effort he managed to scrawl on the board the mystic pentagram symbol (see Figure 6) of his Brotherhood. Turning to the innkeeper, he said, "My good friend, hang this board outside your inn door. Some day a traveler who understands what I have drawn will pass this way and will stop and ask you about the sign. Tell him everything, and you will be rewarded." And just so did it happen.
英语学习拓展
常用词汇
penniless音标/ˈpeniləs/
身无分文的。
原文用法：A young and penniless member...
desperately音标/ˈdespərətli/
极其；绝望地。
原文用法：fell desperately ill。
charitable音标/ˈtʃærətəbl/
慈善的；仁慈的。
原文用法：the charitable innkeeper。
innkeeper音标/ˈɪnkiːpə(r)/
客栈老板；店主。
原文用法：同上。
repay音标/rɪˈpeɪ/
报答；偿还。
原文用法：repay his host。
certain音标/ˈsɜːtn/
确定的。
原文用法：When it became certain that he was dying...
scrawl音标/skrɔːl/
潦草地写/画。
原文用法：he managed to scrawl on the board...
mystic音标/ˈmɪstɪk/
神秘的。
原文用法：the mystic pentagram symbol。
pentagram音标/ˈpentəɡræm/
五角星；五芒星。
原文用法：同上。
reward /rɪˈwɔːd/ v. / n.：报答；奖赏。原文用法：you will be rewarded。
traveler音标/ˈtrævələ(r)/
旅行者。
原文用法：a traveler who understands...
同义词与近义词
对应核心词汇：penniless
对应核心词汇：penniless。
辨析：penniless 强调一分钱也没有；poor 泛指贫穷；destitute 指赤贫、一无所有。
对应核心词汇：charitable
对应核心词汇：charitable。
辨析：charitable 强调慈善、乐于助人；kind 泛指善良；generous 强调慷慨大方。
对应核心词汇：scrawl
对应核心词汇：scrawl。
辨析：scrawl 指潦草地写/画；scribble 指乱涂乱画；write 泛指书写。
常用短语与固定搭配
- fall ill：生病。原文用法：fell desperately ill。
- in foreign lands：在异国他乡。原文用法：while traveling in foreign lands。
- make it clear that ...：明确表示……。原文用法：the young man made it clear that he had neither money nor goods...
- neither ... nor ...：既不……也不……。原文用法：neither money nor goods。
- with which to do：用来做什么。原文用法：goods with which to repay his host。
- it became certain that ...：……已确定无疑。原文用法：When it became certain that he was dying...
- turn to：转向；对……说。原文用法：Turning to the innkeeper, he said...
常用句式
- Pattern: even though ...：即使……。原文例句：...even though the young man made it clear that he had neither money nor goods with which to repay his host.
- Pattern: When it became certain that ..., ...：当……确定无疑时，……。原文例句：When it became certain that he was dying, the young man asked the innkeeper for a board on which to draw.
- Pattern: Some day a ... who ... will ...：总有一天一个……的人会……。原文例句：Some day a traveler who understands what I have drawn will pass this way...
长难句解析
A young and penniless member of the Pythagorean Brotherhood fell desperately ill while traveling in foreign lands and was taken to the nearest inn.
- 主干：A member fell ill and was taken to the inn.
- 修饰与从句：
- young and penniless 为形容词短语，修饰 member； - of the Pythagorean Brotherhood 为介词短语，修饰 member； - desperately 修饰 ill； - while traveling in foreign lands 为时间状语，说明生病时的情境； - to the nearest inn 为地点状语。
- 逻辑关系：句子交代人物、状态、地点，为后续情节铺垫。
语言使用特点
- 叙事按时间顺序展开，连接自然；
- charitable、mystic 等形容词带有情感与神秘色彩；
- 直接引语再现年轻人的嘱托，增强故事感染力。
迁移练习
- 用 "even though ..." 写一句话，描述某人做了某件无私的事。
- 翻译：他吃力地在木板上画出兄弟会的神秘五角星符号。
- 用 "Some day a ... who ... will ..." 写一句话，预测未来会发生的事。
点击展开参考答案
- （示例）She helped the stranger even though she was in a hurry herself.
- With effort he managed to scrawl on the board the mystic pentagram symbol of his Brotherhood.
- （示例）Some day a reader who understands your feelings will find this letter and be moved.