the boat of noah

The Boat of Noah

Distant Education College, Jilin UniversityDistant Education College, Jilin University

1. Background Knowledge

2. Text Analysis

3. Exercises

Background Knowledge


1. Bible: The Bible, a collection of sacred books of Judaism and Christianity, is composed of two main parts: the Old Testament （旧约） and the New Testament （新约） . The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew and later it was translated into Greek and Latin. The Old Testament is traditionally divided into three parts: the Law （律法书或摩西五经） , the Prophets （先知书） and the Writings （圣录） . Christianity regards the Old Testament as an accurate record of God’s dealings with his people in preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ, containing much New Testament teaching at its early stage of development.

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The New Testament, the part of the Bible concerned with the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and his earliest followers, comprises the four GOSPELS （四福音书：马太福音、马可福音、路加福音、约翰福音） , the ACTS of the APOSTLES （使徒行传） , the EPISTLES （使徒书信） and the BOOK of REVELATION （启示录） . The GOSPELS are named after Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

The Bible has exerted an incalculable influence on the thought, attitudes, beliefs, art, science, and politics of Western society. Ever since its coming into being, there have been many versions and translations of the Bible. It has now been translated into more than 1,400 languages, and millions of copies are sold every year throughout the world. More



The Bible is not only a sacred book, it is also important literature and a source of literary inspiration. Many great poets, writers and painters created masterpieces based on the Bible and its stories, among which are Milton’s long poems “Paradise Lost” and “Paradise Regained”, and Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “The Last Supper”.

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2. Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden after they were found to have eaten the forbidden fruit. So they went into the world to make a living by themselves. Soon they had two sons: Cain and Abel. Cain worked in the fields while his brother looked after sheep for their father. One day, they both brought offerings to the Lord. It happened that the Lord preferred Abel’s offerings to Cain’s. This made Cain very jealous of his brother. He led Abel to the open country, where he attacked his brother and murdered him. When the Lord learned this, he forced Cain to run away from home as a punishment for disobeying his will. Cain left home and settled in the land of Nod and his parents never saw him again.

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Adam and Eve had many more children after this tragedy. Gradually their children and grandchildren began to populate the earth. But the crime of Cain had set its mark on the early race. People were wicked and their thoughts were evil. The world was in a very sad state. In those days there lived a man called Noah. He was a descendant of Seth, one of Adam and Eve’s sons. He was a good man and the Lord was pleased with him. The Lord was sorry that HE had created Mankind. In order to begin all over again, he decided to send a flood on the earth to put an end to all mankind except Noah. Our text describes how Noah and his household survived the terrible flood by hiding in their boat. (Pictures)

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Exercises


1. True/False Questions

2. Multiple-choice Questions

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True/False Questions


1. The Lord saw that people were wicked and he was sorry he ever made them.

2. Noah’s only daughter was taken by a supernatural being.

3. It rained for forty days and the water did not start going down for forty days.

4. After forty days Noah sent out a raven and it came back.

5. Finally, Noah knew the water had gone down when he sent out a dove and it came back with a fresh olive leaf in its beak.

Answer



1. The Lord saw that people were wicked and he was sorry he ever made them. T

2. Noah’s only daughter was taken by a supernatural being.




Answer




2. Noah’s only daughter was taken by a supernatural being. F




Answer





3. It rained for forty days and the water did not start going down for forty days. F



Answer






4. After forty days Noah sent out a raven and it came back. F


Answer






4. After forty days Noah sent out a raven and it came back. F

5. Finally, Noah knew the water had gone down when he sent out a dove and it came back with a fresh olive leaf in its beak. T

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6. After the flood Noah made a sacrifice to the Lord of each kind of animal and bird.

7. Lord decided he would never again put the earth under a curse because of man’s evil deeds.

8. The Lord regretted having created mankind when he saw people were all living evil lives.

9. The Lord decided to send a flood on the earth to teach the wicked people a lesson.

10. In the Lord’s eyes, Noah was the only good man on the earth. He told Noah about the coming of the flood in order to spare him from the disaster.

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6. After the flood Noah made a sacrifice to the Lord of each kind of animal and bird. F

7. Lord decided he would never again put the earth under a curse because of man’s evil deeds.




Answer




7. Lord decided he would never again put the earth under a curse because of man’s evil deeds. T




Answer





8. The Lord regretted having created mankind when he saw people were all living evil lives. T



Answer






9. The Lord decided to send a flood on the earth to teach the wicked people a lesson. F


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9. The Lord decided to send a flood on the earth to teach the wicked people a lesson. F

10. In the Lord’s eyes, Noah was the only good man on the earth. He told Noah about the coming of the flood in order to spare him from the disaster. T

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11. All the living things on the earth died during the flood. Noah and his fellow travellers in the boat were the only ones that survived this terrible flood.

12. Noah sent out the dove three times. Each time the dove came back to the boat.

13. When Noah found all the living beings had died in the flood, he begged the Lord never to put the earth under a curse.

Answer



11. All the living things on the earth died during the flood. Noah and his fellow travellers in the boat were the only ones that survived this terrible flood. T

12. Noah sent out the dove three times. Each time the dove came back to the boat.


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12. Noah sent out the dove three times. Each time the dove came back to the boat. F


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12. Noah sent out the dove three times. Each time the dove came back to the boat. F

13. When Noah found all the living beings had died in the flood, he begged the Lord never to put the earth under a curse. F

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Multiple-choice Questions


1. The great heroes and famous men of long ago were ____.

A) the supernatural beings

B) the human beings

C) the descendants of the supernatural beings and human women

D) the sons of human women

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1. The great heroes and famous men of long ago were ____. C

A) the supernatural beings

B) the human beings

C) the descendants of the supernatural beings and human women

D) the sons of human women



2. The Lord decided to destroy living beings because _____.

A) the Lord regretted having created human beings, animals and birds

B) he did not wish them to live forever

C) the world was full of wicked and violent deeds

D) there were far too many living things on earth

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2. The Lord decided to destroy living beings because _____. C

A) the Lord regretted having created human beings, animals and birds

B) he did not wish them to live forever

C) the world was full of wicked and violent deeds

D) there were far too many living things on earth



3. The Lord told Noah to build a boat because ________.

A) Noah had three sons

B) Noah was the oldest person of his time

C) the Lord wanted to keep Noah immortal

D) the Lord wanted to help Noah survive the flood

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3. The Lord told Noah to build a boat because ________. D

A) Noah had three sons

B) Noah was the oldest person of his time

C) the Lord wanted to keep Noah immortal

D) the Lord wanted to help Noah survive the flood



4. The Lord told Noah to take two of every kind of animal and bird with him into the boat so that ______.

A) these animals and birds would help Noah survive the flood

B) Noah would take these animals and birds to sacrifice to the Lord

C) these animals and birds could reproduce more of their kind on earth

D) Noah could keep these animals and birds clean

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4. The Lord told Noah to take two of every kind of animal and bird with him into the boat so that ______. C

A) these animals and birds would help Noah survive the flood

B) Noah would take these animals and birds to sacrifice to the Lord

C) these animals and birds could reproduce more of their kind on earth

D) Noah could keep these animals and birds clean



5. How long had Noah stayed in the boat?

A) For forty days.

B) For one hundred and fifty days.

C) For twenty seven days.

D) For about one year.

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5. How long had Noah stayed in the boat? D

A) For forty days.

B) For one hundred and fifty days.

C) For twenty seven days.

D) For about one year.



6. What does the story tell us about the Lord?

A) He was ruthless to the living beings on earth.

B) He was powerless in the face of the evil deeds of human beings.

C) He was concerned about all living beings on earth.

D) He was unable to destroy the whole world.

Answer



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6. What does the story tell us about the Lord? C

A) He was ruthless to the living beings on earth.

B) He was powerless in the face of the evil deeds of human beings.

C) He was concerned about all living beings on earth.

D) He was unable to destroy the whole world.

Text Analysis


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God decided to flood the earth and put an end to all mankind. Why? But Noah and his family survived the flood. How could it be? Read the story and you’ll find the answer.

When mankind had spread all over the world, and girls were being born, some of the supernatural beings saw that these girls were beautiful, so they took the ones they liked. Then the LORD said, “I will not allow people to live for ever; they are mortal. From now on they will live no longer than a hundred and twenty years.” In those days, and even later, there were giants on the earth who were descendants of human women and the supernatural beings. They were the great heroes and famous men of long ago.

Text Analysis


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When the LORD saw how wicked everyone on earth was and how evil their thoughts were all the time, he was sorry that he had ever made them and put them on the earth. He was so filled with regret that he said, “I will wipe out these people I have created, and also the animals and the birds, because I am sorry that I made any of them.” But the LORD was pleased with Noah.

Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Noah had no faults and was the only good man of his time. He lived in fellowship with God, but everyone else was evil in God’s sight, and violence had spread everywhere. God looked at the world and saw that it was evil, for the people were all living evil lives.

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Text Analysis


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God said to Noah, “I have decided to put an end to all mankind. I will destroy them completely, because the world is full of their violent deeds. Build a boat for yourself out of good timber; make rooms in it and cover it with tar inside and out. Make it 133 metres long, 22 metres wide, and 13 metres high. Make a roof for the boat and leave a space of 44 centimeters between the roof and the sides. Build it with three decks and put a door in the side. I am going to send a flood on the earth to destroy every living being. Everything on the earth will die, but I will make a covenant with you. Go into the boat with your wife, your sons, and their wives. Take into the boat with you a male and a female of every kind of animal and of every kind of bird, in order to keep them alive. Take along all kinds of food for you and for them.” Noah did everything that God commanded.

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Text Analysis


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The LORD said to Noah, “Go into the boat with your whole family; I have found that you are the only one in all the world who does what is right. Take with you seven pairs of each kind of ritually clean animal, but only one pair of each kind of unclean animal. Take also seven pairs of each kind of bird. Do this so that every kind of animal and bird will be kept alive to reproduce again on the earth. Seven days from now I am going to send rain that will fall for forty days and nights, in order to destroy all the living beings that I have made.” And Noah did everything that the LORD commanded.

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Text Analysis


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Noah was six hundred years old when the flood came on the earth. He and his wife, and his sons and their wives, went into the boat to escape the flood. A male and a female of every kind of animal and bird, whether ritually clean or unclean, went into the boat with Noah, as God had commanded. Seven days later the flood came.

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Text Analysis


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When Noah was six hundred years old, on the seventeenth day of the second month all the outlets of the vast body of water beneath the earth burst open, all the floodgates of the sky were opened, and rain fell on the earth for forty days and nights. On that same day Noah and his wife went into the boat with their three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives. With them went every kind of animal, domestic and wild, large and small, and every kind of bird. A male and a female of each kind of living being went into the boat with Noah, as God had commanded. Then the LORD shut the door behind Noah.

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Text Analysis


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The flood continued for forty days, and the water became deep enough for the boat to float. The water became deeper, and the boat drifted on the surface. It became so deep that it covered the highest mountains; it went on rising until it was seven metres above the tops of the mountains. Every living being on the earth died — every bird, every animal, and every person. Everything on earth that breathed died. The LORD destroyed all living beings on the earth — human beings, animals, and birds. The only ones left were Noah and those who were with him in the boat. The water did not start going down for a hundred and fifty days.

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Text Analysis


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God had not forgotten Noah and all the animals with him in the boat; he caused a wind to blow, and the water started going down. The outlets of the water beneath the earth and the floodgates of the sky were closed. The rain stopped, and the water gradually went down for a hundred and fifty days. On the seventeenth day of the seventh month the boat came to rest on a mountain in the Ararat Range. The water kept going down, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains appeared.

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Text Analysis


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After forty days Noah opened a window and sent out a raven. It did not come back, but kept flying around until the water was completely gone. Meanwhile, Noah sent out a dove to see if the water had gone down, but since the water still covered all the land, the dove did not find a place to alight. It flew back to the boat, and Noah reached out and took it in. He waited another seven days and sent out the dove again. It returned to him in the evening with a fresh olive leaf in its beak. So Noah knew that the water had gone down. Then he waited another seven days and sent out the dove once more; this time it did not come back.

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Text Analysis


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When Noah was 601 years old, on the first day of the first month, the water was gone. Noah removed the covering of the boat, looked round, and saw that the ground was getting dry. By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was completely dry.

God said to Noah, “Go out of the boat with your wife, your sons, and their wives. Take all the birds and animals out with you, so that they may reproduce and spread over all the earth.” So Noah went out of the boat with his wife, his sons, and their wives. All the animals and birds went out of the boat in groups of their own kind.

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Text Analysis


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Noah built an altar to the LORD; he took one of each kind of ritually clean animal and bird, and burnt them whole as a sacrifice on the altar. The odour of the sacrifice pleased the LORD, and he said to himself, “Never again will I put the earth under a curse because of what man does; I know that from the time he is young his thoughts are evil. Never again will I destroy all living beings, as I have done this time. As long as the world exists, there will be a time for planting and a time for harvest. There will always be cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.”

From Genesis, Good News Bible,

United Bible Societies, 1976.

Approximately 1,300 words.

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Words to Know

mortal [] adj. 终有一死的，不能永存的= liable or subject to deathe.g. Man is mortal.人人必有一死。


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Words to Know

descendant [] n. 后裔，子孙= a person, an animal, or a plant whose descent can be traced to a particular individual or groupe.g. Today's bicycles are descendants of the earlier velocipede.今天的自行车是从早期的脚踏车发展而来的。


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Words to Know

wicked [] adj. 不道德的，邪恶的= evil by nature and in practicee.g. We were outraged by the enemy’s wicked cruelty. 敌人伤天害理的暴行引起了我们的义愤。


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Words to Know

evil [] adj. 邪恶的，罪恶的= wickede.g. He was an notorious evil tyrant.他是一个有名的邪恶的暴君。


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Words to Know

destroy [] vt. 摧毁，破坏= ruin; spoile.g. The fire destroyed all my books. 这场大火毁了我的全部书籍。


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Words to Know

timber [] n. 木材，木料= lumbere.g. We must safeguard forest timber.我们必须保护森林。


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Words to Know

tar [] n. 焦油，柏油，沥青=black substance, hard when cold, thick and sticky when warm, obtained from coal, used to preserve timber, in making roads, etc.

e.g. We use tar to make roads. 我们用沥青铺路。


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Words to Know

deck [] n. 层面，甲板=any of the floors of a ship or similar surfacee.g. He found a seat on the top deck of the double-deck bus.他在双层汽车的上层找到一个座位。


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Words to Know

covenant [] n. 盟约= a binding agreement; a compacte.g. On second thought, he didn’t sign the deed of covenant.经再三考虑，他没有签契约书。


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Words to Know

outlet [] n. （水，蒸汽）出口= a passage for escape or exit; a vente.g. Children need an outlet for their energies.孩子们需要发泄精力的机会。


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Words to Know

floodgate [] n. 防洪闸，进水闸= a gate used to control the flow of a body of watere.g. This is a ruling that opened the floodgates to refugees seeking asylum.这是一条打开了难民们寻找避难所大门的法令。


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Notes

the Ararat Range: a range of mountains in Turkey range [] n. （山）脉= an extended group or series, especially a row or chain of mountainse.g. The Alps has a magnificent range of mountains.阿尔卑斯山由巍峨壮丽的山脉组成。


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Words to Know

raven [] n. 乌鸦=crowe.g. A raven is often regarded as a bird of ill omen.乌鸦一般被视为不吉之鸟。


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Words to Know

dove [] n. 鸽子= any of various widely distributed birds of the family Columbidaee.g. The dove is a symbol of peace.鸽子是和平的象征。


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Words to Know

alight [] vi. 飞落= to come down and settle, as after flighte.g. The bird alighted on a twig.那只鸟飞下来落在细树枝上。


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Words to Know


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olive [] n. 橄榄

= the small, ovoid fruit of Olea europaea treee.g. Olive is an important food and source of oil.橄榄是一种主要的食物和制油原料。

Words to Know


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beak [] n. 鸟嘴=the horny, projecting structure forming the mandibles of a birde.g. That parrot has got a red beak.那只鹦鹉有一支红色的鸟嘴。

Words to Know

altar []n. 圣餐台，祭坛=an elevated place or structure before which religious ceremonies may be enacted or upon which sacrifices may be offerede.g. Altar piece refers to the painting or sculpture placed behind an altar.祭坛绘画指的是祭坛背后的绘画或雕刻。


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Words to Know

sacrifice [] n. 祭祀，供奉，祭品；牺牲=the act of offering something to a deity in propitiation or homagee.g. A lamb was offered in sacrifice. 一只小羊用作祭祀。


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Words to Know

odour [] n. （香或臭的）气味=flavore.g. The room is filled with the odour of roses.屋子里充满了玫瑰花香。


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Notes

supernatural beings: sons of the gods, sons of God


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Notes

ritually clean: Jewish people believed some living creatures could be eaten and some could not. Those which could not be eaten were called unclean. Only clean animals could be killed and offered to God in worship.


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Useful Phrases and Expressions

all the time 一直，始终e.g. We will support you all the time.我们会一直支持你。


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wipe out 彻底消灭，摧毁e.g. The guerilla wiped out a whole army.游击队歼灭了对方全军。


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put an end to 消灭，毁掉e.g. Death put an end to his wicked career.死亡结束了他邪恶的一生。


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(build or make)… out of… 用…造…e.g. Cloth is made out of cotton, wool, silk and other materials.衣料是用棉，毛，丝和其他原料制成的。


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inside and out 里里外外e.g. The house was cleaned inside and out.房子里里外外都被打扫干净了。


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put…under a curse 使…受诅咒而遭殃e.g. He was put under a curse because he overturned the altar.他因为打翻祭坛而受诅咒。


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Difficult Sentences

“Everything on the earth will die, but I will make a covenant with you. Go into the boat with your wife, your sons, and their wives. Take into the boat with you a male and a female of every kind of animal and of every kind of bird, in order to keep them alive.”“ 大地上的一切都将死去，但我要和你立约，那时你就带着你的妻子、儿子和儿媳们一起进入方舟。你还要带上各种动物和飞鸟，每种都是雌雄一对，和你一道登舟，使他们能生存下来。”


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Difficult Sentences

When Noah was six hundred years old, on the seventeenth day of the second month all the outlets of the vast body of water beneath the earth burst open, all the floodgates of the sky opened, and rain fell on the earth for forty days and nights.在第二个月的第十七天，那时诺亚是六百岁，地下的大水一起喷发出来，天穹洞开，大雨倾盆，不停地下了四十个昼夜。


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Difficult Sentences

It returned to him in the evening with a fresh olive leaf in its beak.晚上，鸽子回来了，嘴里衔着一片刚啄下来的橄榄叶。


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Difficult Sentences

God said to Noah, “Go out of the boat with your wife, your sons, and their wives. Take all the birds and animals out with you, so that they may reproduce and spread over all the earth.”上帝对诺亚说：“你和你的妻子、儿子和儿媳们都从方舟里出来吧，把你带的方舟里的所有的动物和飞鸟都放出来吧，让它们滋生繁衍，遍布全世界吧！”


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Difficult Sentences

Noah built an altar to the LORD; he took one of each kind of ritually clean animals and birds, and burnt them whole as a sacrifice on the altar.诺亚为天主修了一座祭坛，他选了各种洁净的动物和飞鸟，把它们整个烤熟了放在祭坛上作为供品。


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Difficult Sentences

The odour of the sacrifice pleased the LORD, and he said to himself, “Never again will I put the earth under a curse because of what man does; I know that from the time he is young his thoughts are evil.”供品的香味使天主深感喜悦，他心里想到：“我再也不会因人类做了坏事而使大地遭到诅咒 ; 我早就知道人类的思想是罪恶的。”


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Difficult Sentences

He lived in fellowship with God, but everyone else was evil in God’s sight, and violence had spread everywhere.他与上帝关系良好 , 但是上帝所见的其他人都是邪恶的 , 到处充满了暴力。

He lived in fellowship with God: He lived a life of close contact and friendship with God.


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Questions

Why did the Lord feel sorry for having created mankind? What did he decide to do?


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Questions

What kind of man was Noah?


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Questions

What did the Lord tell Noah to do to escape the flood?


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Questions

What did Noah take with him into the boat besides his family?


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Questions

What happened to the earth in the flood?


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Questions

How did Noah learn that the water had gone down?


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Questions

How long did Noah stay in his boat?


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Questions

What did Noah do when he got out of the boat? What was the Lord’s promise?


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Pictures


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God instructed Noah to build the boat

Noah and his household came out of the boat

the boat of noah

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