陳佳

What exactly are dragons？

Stories of dragons have existed since the time stories were told. Dragons generally are said to have scales1 and claws and breathe fire. They are also thought to be majestic2 creatures of mystery and magic.

Different cultures have varying stories about dragons

The Greek called them serpents3 of the sea and the first mention of the Greek word is from the Iliad by Homer.

The Europeans early on thought of them as sea creatures and had maps depicting4 them waiting to eat sailors at the edge of the earth.

Generally， the dragons were thought of as bringers of destruction and terror， and the Westerners often depict them as hoarders5 of treasure or maidens or both.

At the other side of the planet， the Japanese， Koreans and Chinese respected them as mythical6 creatures who brought wisdom， prosperity and good luck.

Japanese ones are associated with rainfall and bodies of water and are typically depicted as large， wingless， serpentine7 creatures with clawed feet.

Chinese dragons traditionally symbolize strong and auspicious8 powers， particularly control over water， rainfall， typhoons， and floods. The dragon is also a symbol of power， strength， and good luck for people who are worthy of it. With this， the emperors of China usually used the dragon as a symbol of his imperial9 power and strength.

Has there been proof that dragons existed？

1. Well， ancient people may have discovered dinosaur fossils10 and considered them as the remains of dragons. A Stegosaurus11， was a giant beasts 30 feet in length and typically 14 feet tall and were covered in armored plates and spikes12 for defense.

2. Even in a small town of Austria they mistook the skeleton of the ancient rhino and called it dragon. A statue of a dragon still stands in the Middle of the town square.

3. Humans usually try to find meaning in things they cant explain.

4. The closest thing we can call to actual dragons is the Komodo dragon， not entirely a dragon but fearsome anyway.

5. So we know now that dragons are fictional13 but as they say， there is no smoke without fire.

龍到底是什么？

龍的故事自從有人講故事起就一直存在。一般說(shuō)來(lái)，龍有鱗片和爪子，還能?chē)姵龌鹧?。它們也被認(rèn)為是神秘且有魔力的雄偉的生物。

不同文化中有關(guān)于龍的不同故事

希臘人稱(chēng)它們?yōu)楹Ｑ笾械木奚?，第一次提到其希臘語(yǔ)單詞是在荷馬史詩(shī)《伊利亞特》中。

早期歐洲人認(rèn)為它們是海洋生物，并繪有它們?cè)诘厍蜻吘壍戎缘艉胶Ｕ叩牡貓D。

一般來(lái)說(shuō)，龍被認(rèn)為會(huì)帶來(lái)毀滅和恐懼，西方人經(jīng)常把它們描繪成收集寶藏或少女的愛(ài)好者，或?qū)烧叨紣?ài)。

在地球的另一邊，日本人、韓國(guó)人和中國(guó)人崇拜它們，認(rèn)為它們是帶來(lái)智慧、繁榮和好運(yùn)的神話(huà)生物。

日本的龍與降雨和水域有關(guān)，通常被描繪成有爪子的大型無(wú)翼蛇形生物。

中國(guó)的龍傳統(tǒng)上象征著強(qiáng)大和吉祥的力量，特別是能控制水、降雨、臺(tái)風(fēng)和洪水。龍對(duì)配得上它的人來(lái)說(shuō)也是力量和好運(yùn)的象征。因此，中國(guó)的皇帝們通常用龍作為皇權(quán)和實(shí)力的象征。

有證據(jù)表明龍是存在的嗎？

1. 嗯，古人可能發(fā)現(xiàn)了恐龍化石，并認(rèn)為那是龍的遺骸。劍龍是一種巨大的野獸，長(zhǎng)30英尺（約9米），通常高14英尺（約4米），身上覆蓋著用于防御的鱗甲和尖刺。

2. 甚至在奧地利的一個(gè)小鎮(zhèn)上，人們把一副古代犀牛的骨架誤認(rèn)為是龍。一尊龍的雕像仍然矗立在小鎮(zhèn)廣場(chǎng)的中央。

3. 人類(lèi)總是試圖從無(wú)法解釋的事物中尋找意義。

4. 最接近我們能稱(chēng)之為真正的龍的生物是科莫多龍，它不完全是龍，但至少很可怕。

5. 所以我們現(xiàn)在知道，龍是虛構(gòu)出來(lái)的，但正如人們說(shuō)的，無(wú)風(fēng)不起浪，事出必有因。

（英語(yǔ)原文選自：mocomi.com）