TED Talk The unheard story of David and Goliath 大卫和歌莉娅的故事 Speaker: Malcolm Gladwell 第一课
So I wanted to tell a story that really obsessed me when I was writing my new book, 所以我想讲一个故事，当我写我的新书时，我真的着迷了，
and it's a story of something that happened 3,000 years ago, when the Kingdom of Israel was in its infancy. 这是一个3000年前发生的事情的故事，当时以色列的王国还在襁褓中。
【词义】If sth. is in its infancy, it is... very new and still developing.
infancy n. 初期；婴儿期；幼年
And it takes place in an area called the Shephelah in what is now Israel. 它发生在一个叫做舍斐拉的地方，在现在的以色列。
And the reason the story obsessed me is that I thought I understood it, 这个故事让我着迷的原因是我想我理解了它，
and then I went back over it and I realized that I didn't understand it at all. 然后我回到了它，我意识到我根本不理解它。
Ancient Palestine had a - along its eastern border, there's a mountain range. 古巴勒斯坦有一个--沿着它的东部边界，有一个山脉。
Still same is true of Israel today. 以色列今天也是如此。
And in the mountain range are all of the ancient cities of that region, so Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron. 在这山上，有那一带的古城，就是耶路撒冷，伯利恒，希伯仑。
And then there's a coastal plain along the Mediterranean, where Tel Aviv is now. 还有一个沿地中海沿岸的平原，特拉维夫现在在那里。
And connecting the mountain range with the coastal plain is an area called the Shephelah, 【跟读】 把山脉和沿海平原联系起来，是一个叫做“舍斐拉”的地区，
which is a series of valleys and ridges that run east to west, and you can follow the Shephelah, 它是一系列东向西的山谷和山脊，你可以跟着它走，
go throughthe Shephelah to get from the coastal plain to the mountains. 从沿海平原到山区去。
And the Shephelah, if you've been to Israel, you'll know it's just about the most beautiful part of Israel. 如果你去过以色列，你就会知道这是以色列最美丽的地方。
It's gorgeous, with forests of oak and wheat fields and vineyards. 【跟读】 这里很美，有橡树、麦田和葡萄园的森林。
But more importantly, though, in the history of that region, it's served. It's had a real strategic function, 但更重要的是，在这个地区的历史上，它的作用是，它具有真正的战略作用，
and that is, it is the means by which hostile armies on the coastal plain find their way, get up into the mountains and threaten those living in the mountains. 也就是说，它是沿海平原上敌对的军队找到出路的手段，上山去威胁那些住在山里的人。
And 3,000 years ago, that's exactly what happens. 而3000年前，这正是所发生的。
The Philistines, who are the biggest of enemies of the Kingdom of Israel, are living in the coastal plain. 非利士人是以色列国最大的敌人，住在沿海平原。
They're originally from Crete. They're a seafaring people. 它们来自克里特岛。他们是航海的人。
And they may start to make their way through one of the valleys of the Shephelah up into the mountains, 他们可以从一个平原的山谷中走到山上，
because what they want to do is occupy the highland area right by Bethlehem and split the Kingdom of Israel in two. 因为他们想做的是占领高地地区的伯利恒，把以色列王国分成两半。
【跟读】The Philistines want to occupy the highland area and split the Kingdom of Israel in two.
And the Kingdom ofIsrael, which is headed by King Saul, obviously catches wind of this, 以扫罗王为首的以色列国，显然是捕风，
and Saulbrings his army down from the mountains and he confronts the Philistines in theValley of Elah, one of the most beautiful of the valleys of the Shephelah. 扫罗使他的军队从山上下来，在以拉谷与非利士人打仗，一个最美丽的山谷的shephelah。
And the Israelites dig in along the northern ridge, and the Philistines dig in along the southern ridge, 以色列人在北方挖土厄恩里奇和非利士人沿着南部的山脊挖掘，
and the two armies just sit there for weeks and stare at each other, because they're deadlocked. 两支军队在那里坐了几个星期，互相凝视着，因为他们僵持不下。
Neither can attack the other, because to attack the other side you've got to come down the mountain into the valley and then up the other side, and you're completely exposed. 也不能攻击对方，因为攻击对方，你必须下山进入山谷，然后在另一边，你完全暴露。
【跟读】 -What best describes the landscape of Shephelah? -It's covered by forests and farmyard.
【跟读】 -Why did the Philistines want to move up into the mountains? -They wan to attrack the Kindom of Isreal.