History’s Winners and Losers

歷史贏家及輸家
語音播放：

Winston Churchill once said: “History is written by the victors.” This means that the winners of wars and elections have the power to control what is written in books, what is taught in schools, and what is shown in the media, among other things. But is this isn’t always necessarily true. Quite a few influential pieces of writing have come from the losing side.
Winston Churchill（英國首相邱吉爾）曾說過：「歷史是贏家所寫的」。這代表贏了戰爭或是選舉贏的人，不只掌控著書籍文字、學校的教導內容、媒體上的言論，還有其他的東西... 但事實並非都是如此，還是有少數具有影響力的寫作片段是由戰敗方所寫。

語音播放：

Sometimes the losers have a more powerful influence on history. One case is the Fall of Constantinople, which happened in 1453. Constantinople was the old capital of present-day Turkey. The Byzantine Empire was taken over by the Ottoman Empire, and although the Ottoman Empire was victorious, many Greek scholars (who were part of the Byzantine Empire) left the area and headed west. They wrote about how unreasonably violent the Ottomans were, and the public later became biased against them.
有時候輸家對於歷史的影響更大，如在1453年發生的伊士坦堡的陷落就是其一。伊斯坦堡是現今土耳其的舊首都。拜占庭帝國被奧斯曼帝國接手，儘管奧斯曼帝國勝利了，很多希臘學者(拜占庭帝國的一份子)離開並前往西方。他們寫下奧斯曼帝國如何使用不合理的武力，因而造成人民的質疑。

語音播放：

What happened after the American Civil War also shows how losers can influence history. After the war, the Lost Cause movement came about. The people that made up this movement were members of the American South. They argued that they were the righteous ones, and that the North had had way more weapons and resources. They also tried to make slavery seem like a less important aspect of the war. The books they wrote became very popular. This version of the war made the people of the South seem like the real winners.
美國內戰之後的發展也可以顯示出輸家對歷史的影響力。戰爭結束後，敗局命定論的運動隨即展開。本次運動是由美洲南方的人民所組成，他們主張自己是正義的一方，並指控北方支配較多的武器和資源，他們也試圖模糊奴隸制造成戰爭發生的重要性。他們撰寫的書變得非常暢銷，這使得南方人民才是戰爭真正的贏家。

Vocabulary 好字精選

1. influential (adj.) having great influence on someone or something有影響力的
The Beatles were a very influential English rock band.   
披頭四是英國很有影響力的搖滾樂團。

2. present-day (adj.) relating to the current period of time 當今
Present-day technology is incredible! 
當今的科技真是讓人難以置信！

3. victorious (adj.) having won a victory 勝利的，獲勝的
The Falcons played the Vikings on Sunday, and the Falcons were victorious.   
本周日亞特蘭大獵鷹隊對上維京足球隊，由亞特蘭大獵鷹隊獲勝。

4. head (v) to move forward toward a point specified 前往
I think I’m going to head home. See you later!      
我要回家了。晚點見！

5. unreasonably (adverb) in a way that is not guided by or based on good sense不合理地，不講理地
Kyle was unreasonably angry about the performance last night. 
Kyle對於昨晚的表現異常的生氣。

6. violent (adj.) using physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something暴力的，劇烈的，猛烈的
The Olsen brothers were two of the most violent criminals that ever lived.  
奧森兄弟是有史以來囚牢裡最暴力的兩名囚犯。

7. biased (adj.) having unfair views about someone or something存有偏見的
She said the movie was good, but I think she’s biased because her father directed it. 
她認為這部電影拍得很好。但我認為這是她父親拍的電影，所以她有偏袒。

Phrases and Sentence Patterns 句型解析

1. among other things (phrase) used when you are mentioning one or more things out of a larger number除此之外...，還有...
I can play guitar, flute, drums, and piano, among other things. 
我不只會演奏吉他、長笛、打鼓、鋼琴，除此之外我還會其他。

2. take over (phrasal verb) to take control 接管
Mr. Thompson wants to take over his father’s business one day.  
Thompson先生希望有一天他能接管父親的生意。

3. make up (something) (phrasal verb) to combine together to form something larger 結合
The leadership team is made up of three members: Johnny, Jimmy, and Jeremy. 
此領導團隊由三個成員所組成：Johnny、 Jimmy和Jeremy。

Exercise 課後練習題

1. My mom was very _______________ in my life because she always believed I could become a great artist.
我母親對我的人生影響很大，因為她總是相信我可以成為偉大的藝術家。

2. _______________ education has many problems; some of them are even worse than before.
當今的教育有很多問題，有些甚至更甚以往。

3. Two basketball teams are competing today. One will lose and the other will be _______________.
兩隊籃球隊正在比賽，有一隊會輸一隊會贏。

4. He’s _______________ toward the library.
他正出發去圖書館。

5. Mrs. Daffodil was _______________ upset with her son for staying up late.
Daffodil對於兒子晚睡沒由來的感到生氣。

6. It was obviously a _______________ crime because there is blood everywhere.
這很明顯的是暴力犯罪，因為這裡到處都是血。

7. I don’t believe you because people say your opinion is _______________.
我不相信你，因為人們說你的主張很有偏坦。

8. I’m good at playing basketball, cooking Chinese food, and planning vacations, _______________.
我很擅長打籃球、煮中國菜、規劃渡假，除此之外還有其他。

9. That evil man wants to _______________ the world! We have to stop him!
這個邪惡的人想要接管世界！我們必須阻止他！

10. As far as we know, there are about 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars that
目前為止所知道的，我們的宇宙大約由1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000星體所組成。

解答:
1. influential
2. Present-day
3. victorious
4. heading
5. unreasonably
6. violent
7. biased
8. among other things
9. take over
10. make up

Comprehension Questions 閱讀理解

1. What is the purpose of this passage?  
a. To explain why winners fail to influence history. 
b. To change people’s minds about the Fall of Constantinople and the American Civil War.
c. To show that losers can still have a strong effect on history.
d. To show why Winston Churchill’s quote is important.

2. According to the passage, which of the following is true about the members of the Lost Cause movement?
a. They were from both the North and the South.
b. They tried to show how important slavery was.
c. They argued that they were the good people in the fight.
d. Their books weren’t read by many people.

解答:

1. 這篇文章的主旨為何？
a. 解釋為何贏家無法影響歷史。  
b. 改變人們對伊斯坦堡陷落及美國內戰的看法。
c. 顯示輸家對歷史仍可以有深遠的影響。
d. 顯示Winston Churchill（英國首相邱吉爾）的引述為何這麼重要。

2. 根據文章內文，以下對於敗局命定論的成員的敘述，何者正確？
a. 他們來自北方與南方。
b. 他們試著顯示奴隸的重要性。
c. 他們主張他們是正義的一方。
d. 沒有太多人看過此書。

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