【英语文化】初中英语传统文化阅读62 Shennong tastes hundreds of herbs神农尝百草

Shennong Tastes Hundreds of Herbs

Long, long ago, ancient people lived a hard life. They had no knowledge of wild plants and could not tell which plants were safe to eat and which were poisonous. As a result, they often got sick or even died from eating the wrong wild plants.

Shennong, a kind and brave ancient leader, felt extremely sorry for the suffering people. To save them from illness and danger, he made up his mind to find out all the safe edible plants for everyone.

Shennong led his people to explore the forests and fields. They discovered a huge number of strange wild plants. Some of them bore beautiful lovely flowers, while others grew thick and big leaves. To distinguish safe plants from harmful ones, Shennong began to taste various plants personally.

He would carefully pick a leaf or a piece of grass and taste it slowly. If the plant tasted fine and brought no discomfort to his body, he would tell local people that it was safe for eating.

During this tough journey, he once ate a kind of bitter toxic grass. Soon he had a serious stomachache and felt very dizzy. However, he never gave up his great mission. He clearly remembered the appearance of the toxic grass and warned all people not to eat it.

Shennong kept tasting and classifying wild plants day after day. He got sick and hurt countless times, but he never regretted or stopped. After long-term exploration and practice, he successfully found plenty of edible grains, fruits and medicinal herbs for humans. People in ancient times were very thankful to his selfless dedication.

Besides tasting hundreds of herbs, Shennong also invented simple and practical farming tools. He patiently taught ancient people how to plant and grow food on their own. The great story of Shennong shows the wisdom and courage of ancient people, and tells us that human civilization grows and progresses through constant exploration of nature.

神农尝百草

很久很久以前，古人的生活十分艰苦。他们不了解野生植物，无法分辨哪些植物可以食用、哪些植物有毒。因此，人们常常因为误食植物生病，甚至失去生命。

神农是一位善良且勇敢的远古首领，看到百姓饱受疾苦，他内心万分悲痛。为了拯救百姓、让他们远离病痛和危险，他下定决心，为世人探寻出所有安全可食用的植物。

神农带领族人深入山林田野探索，发现了各种各样奇特的野生植物。这些植物形态各异，有的开着美丽的鲜花，有的长着宽大的叶片。为了区分可食用植物与有毒植物，神农决定亲自品尝各类草木。

他总是小心翼翼地摘下叶片或野草，慢慢品尝。如果植物口感正常、不会让身体产生不适，他就会告知百姓，这种植物可以放心食用。

在艰辛的探索过程中，他曾误食一种苦涩的毒草，瞬间腹痛难忍、头晕目眩。但他从未放弃自己的使命，牢牢记住了这种毒草的样貌，告诫世人切勿食用。

日复一日，神农坚持品尝、甄别各类野生植物。他无数次受伤、患病，却从未后悔、从未停歇。经过漫长的探索，他为人类找到了大量可以食用的谷物、果实和草药。古人无比感激神农无私的付出与奉献。

除了亲尝百草，神农还发明了实用的农耕工具，耐心教导百姓耕种、培育粮食。神农的伟大事迹，展现了古人的智慧与勇气，也诠释了人类文明是在不断探索自然的过程中发展进步的。

重点核心短语

• poisonous plants 有毒的植物

• die from 死于；因……丧生

• decide to do sth. 决定做某事

• all kinds of 各种各样的

• some... while others... 有的……另一些……

• warn sb. not to do sth. 警告某人不要做某事

• give up 放弃

• be thankful to sb. 感激某人

• farming tools 农耕工具

• learn from nature 向自然探索、师从自然

阅读理解问答题

【Questions】

1. Why did ancient people often get sick or die long ago?

2. What kind of person is Shennong according to the passage?

3. What did Shennong do when he found a kind of toxic bitter grass?

4. What two great things did Shennong do for ancient people?

5. What does Shennong’s story tell us?

【Keys】

1. Because they didn’t know which plants were safe to eat and which were poisonous, so they often got sick or died from eating the wrong things.

2. Shennong is a kind, brave and selfless man with strong perseverance.

3. Though he felt sick and dizzy after eating the bitter grass, he did not give up. He remembered the grass’s appearance and warned others not to eat it.

4. First, he tasted hundreds of herbs and found many safe grains, fruits and herbs for people. Second, he invented farming tools and taught people how to grow food.

5. The story shows the ancient people’s wisdom and courage, and tells us that people learn and make progress by exploring nature constantly.

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