Midas was the king of Phrygia. Once， Dionysus found his old school master and foster father， Silenus， missing. The old man had been drinking， and had wandered away drunk， and was found by some peasants， who carried him to their king， Midas. Midas recognized him， and treated him hospitably， entertaining him for ten days and nights with politeness， while Silenus entertained Midas and his friends with stories and songs. On the eleventh day， he brought Silenus back to Dionysus. Dionysus offered Midas his choice of whatever reward he wanted.
The greedy Midas asked that whatever he might touch should be changed into gold. Dionysus consented， though was sorry that he had not made a better choice. Midas rejoiced in his new power， which he hastened to put to the test. He touched and turned to gold an oak twig and a stone. Overjoyed， as soon as he got home， he ordered the servants to set a feast on the table. Then he found that his bread， meat， wine and even daughter turned to gold.
Upset， Midas strove to divest himself of his power （the Golden Touch）； he hated the gift he had coveted. He prayed to Dionysus， begging to be delivered from starvation. Dionysus heard and consented； he told Midas to wash in the river Pactolus. He did so， and when he touched the waters the power passed into them， and the river sands changed into gold. This could explained why the sands of the Pactolus were rich in gold.
26. 点金术
美戴斯是弗里吉亚的国王。有一次，狄奥尼索斯发现他年老的学校校长即养父——西勒诺斯不见了。这老人家一直喝酒，喝得醉醺醺的，和狄奥尼索斯他们失散了。后来他被一群农民发现，送到了他们的国王美戴斯那里。美戴斯认出了他，并热情礼貌地款待了他十天十夜，同时西勒诺斯用故事和歌给美戴斯和他的朋友助兴。在第十一天的时候，他把西勒诺斯送回了狄奥尼索斯那里。狄奥尼索斯许诺美戴斯可以选择任何他想要的东西作为报答。
贪婪的美戴斯要求他碰触到的东西都能变成金子，狄奥尼索斯答应了，尽管他遗憾地觉得美戴斯的选择并不是很好。对于拥有的新能力，美戴斯欣喜若狂，急切地想试试。他碰了一根橡树枝和一块石头，它们立刻变成了金子。喜出望外的他，一回到家里，就命令仆人在桌子上准备了宴席，他发现他碰了的面包，肉，酒，甚至女儿都变成了金子。
苦恼的美戴斯努力去解除自己的这种能力（点金术），他开始讨厌自己梦寐以求的礼物了，便向狄奥尼索斯祈祷，乞求把他从饥饿中解救出来。狄奥尼索斯听到并同意了他的请求。他告诉美戴斯去帕克托洛斯河洗澡。美戴斯按照他说的做了，当美戴斯碰到河水的时候，这种能力就传给了河水，河里面的沙子变成了金子。这就解释了为什么帕克托洛斯河里面的沙子会盛产金子。
单词短语透视
1.
foster [‘fst（r）] adj. 收养的，养育的例句
She lives with her foster father.
她跟她的养父住一起。
2.wander away（指人或动物）离开原处或正道， 离群， 失散例句
The shepherd set out to look for the sheep that had wandered away.
牧羊人出发去找走失的羊。
3.
recognize [’rekgnaz] v. 认出或识别某人/某事物例句
I recognized her by her red hat.
我根据她的红色帽子认出了她。
4.
hospitably [h‘sptbl] adv. 招待周到地；亲切地例句
I was hospitably entertained. Thank you！谢谢你热情的款待。
5.
politeness [p’latns] n. 有礼貌；客气例句
He was noted for his politeness.
大家都知道他很有礼貌。
6.
reward [r‘wd] n. 报答；报偿
例句
He received a medal in reward for his bravery.
他因表现勇敢而获得了一枚奖章。
7.
greedy [’grid] adj. 贪婪的
例句
Don’t be so greedy.别这么贪。
8.change into变成
例句
The witch changed the prince into a frog.巫婆把王子变成了青蛙。
9.
consent [kn‘sent] v. 同意；允许
例句
She made the proposal， and I readily consented.
她提出了这个建议， 我欣然同意。
10.
rejoice [r’ds] v. 极欢喜；极高兴例句
We rejoiced that the war was over.
我们为战争结束而欢欣鼓舞。
11.
hasten [‘hesn] v.急忙；赶快
例句
He hastened to the office.
他急急忙忙到办公室去了。
12.
twig [twg] n. 细枝；嫩枝
例句
They used dry twigs to start the fire.
他们用干燥的细树枝来引火。
13.
feast [fist] n. 盛宴；宴会
例句
We are busy providing for the feast.
我们忙于准备宴席。
14.strive to（为获得或实现某事物）努力， 奋斗例句
She is striving to improve her spoken English.
她正在努力提高她的英语口语。
15.
divest [da’vest] v. 解除（某人的权力﹑权利﹑责任等）
例句
The disgraced official was divested of all authority.
该失势官员失去了一切权力。
16.
covet [‘kvt] v. 渴望，热切地希望得到例句
He won the prize they all coveted.
他赢得了他们大家都渴望得到的奖品。
17.be delivered from从……中被拯救出来
例句
The people are looking forward to being delivered from the unhappiness.人民期待着从不愉快的状况中解脱出来。
神话背后的习语
the Midas touch 赚大钱的本领
人们根据点金术的故事，用the Midas touch喻指赚大钱的本领，该短语常与动词have连用。
例如
He is a talented young businessman with the Midas touch.
他是个很有才气的年轻商人，具有点石成金的天分。
All his firms are extremely profitable. He has the Midas touch.
他所有的公司盈利甚丰，他有赚大钱的本领。
27. Arethusa
The lovely nymph Arethusa was a companion of the goddess of hunt and moon-Artemis. She carried bow and arrows for Artemis in her hunting. The nymph， like the goddess she followed， loved nothing more than to wander freely in forest and field， enjoying the beauty of nature and would have nothing to do with men.
However， while she was bathing in a river after a hunt， the god of the river- Alpheus fell in love with her and chased her relentlessly.The nymph fled as fast as she could. After a long chase， she prayed to her goddess to ask for protection. Artemis hid her in a cloud， but Alpheus was persistent. She began to sweat profusely from fear， and soon transformed into a stream. Artemis then broke the ground allowing Arethusa another attempt to flee. Her stream traveled under the earth to the island of Ortygia， but Alpheus had himself transformed into a river running under the spring so that the waters of river and spring might mingle. He gained her love in the end.
27. 阿瑞塞莎
美丽的山林仙女阿瑞塞莎是狩猎与月亮女神——阿尔忒弥斯的随从。每逢阿尔忒弥斯打猎时，她负责携带弓箭。这位仙女与她跟随的神一样，只喜欢在森林和田野里自由自在地游荡，享受自然的美丽，从没曾想过跟男人有任何关系。
然而，一次狩猎后，她在河里洗澡的时候，河神阿尔斐俄斯爱上了她，并疯狂地追她。仙女以自己最快的速度飞跑着。跑了很长时间后，她向自己跟随的神寻求保护。阿尔忒弥斯把她藏在一团云雾里面，但是阿尔斐俄斯执着地追着她。由于害怕，她开始不停地出汗，瞬间她变成了一条小溪。阿尔忒弥斯劈开地面试图让阿瑞塞莎从另一个地方逃跑。这条小溪从地下穿流到了奥提伽岛，但是阿尔斐俄斯已经将自己变成了一条河，在阿瑞塞莎变成的泉水下面流淌，这样河流的水可以与泉水交汇在一起。最后他得到了阿瑞塞莎的爱。
单词短语透视
1.
companion [ km’pn] n. （相伴的）人或动物；同伴；伙伴例句
A dog is a faithful companion.
狗是忠实的伙伴。
2.
hunt [hnt] n. 狩猎
例句
The dog was trained to the hunt.
这只狗受过狩猎训练。
3.
bow [bu] n. （射箭用的）弓
例句
At that time， people hunt with bows and arrows.
在那时，人们用弓和箭打猎。
4.nothing more than仅仅；只不过
例句
It was nothing more than a shower.
仅仅下了场阵雨而已。
5.
wander [‘wnd（r）] v. 游荡；漫游；闲逛例句
She likes to wander through the countryside.她喜欢在野外闲逛。
6.
persistent [p’sstnt] adj. 坚持的；不屈不挠的
例句
She eventually married the most persistent of her admirers.她终于嫁给了最执着追求她的人。
7.
sweat [swet] v. 出汗；流汗；发汗
例句
The long climb made us sweat.
我们攀登了很长距离后大汗淋漓。
8.
profusely [pr‘fju：sl] adv. 丰富地；大量地例句