A long, long time ago, there lived a man named Noah.
很久很久以前,住著一個叫做諾亞的男人。
He was a good man, and God loved him.
他是個好人,神非常喜歡他。
Noah had a wife and three sons.
諾亞有一位妻子和三個兒子。
He and his family were happy, but it wasn't a very happy time on the earth.
他們一家非常幸福, 但世界并不太平。
There was a lot of fighting, lying and stealing.
打架滋事,謊話連天,偷盜頻發。
This made God very angry.
這讓神惱怒。
One day, God said to Noah,
一天,神對諾亞說道,
There are too many bad people in the world, so I will send a great flood.
世界上壞人太多了,因此我要發一場洪水。
Everyone will die - all except you and your family.
所有人都會死——所有人除了你們一家人。
To prepare for the flood, Noah made a large ship of wood.
為了應對洪水,諾亞制作了一艘巨大的木船。
He put two animals of every kind - elephants, giraffes, dogs, doves, snakes and even ants - on the ship and locked the door.
他將所有動物中的一對——大象、長頸鹿、狗、鴿子、蛇還有螞蟻——放到船上并鎖起來。
When the flood came, they floated for many days and nights.
當洪水來臨時,他們在水上日夜漂浮著。
One day, the rain stopped, so Noah let a dove fly out of the ship.
有一天,大雨停了,諾亞從船上放飛了一只鴿子。
In the evening, the dove came back with a green olive branch in its mouth.
傍晚時分,這只鴿子嘴中銜著一根綠色的橄欖枝回來了。
This meant that land was near and the danger had passed.
這就意味著離陸地近了,危險已經過去了。
Since then, people have always taken the dove and the olive branch as symbols of peace.
從那以后,人們就將鴿子和橄欖枝作為和平的象征。
They are used at many world events today.
今天他們被用在世界上許多重大的事件上。
In most opening ceremonies of the Olympics, people fly doves to show their wish for peace and friendship.
在許多奧林匹克的開幕式上,人們都會放飛和平鴿祈愿和平與友誼。