文本选自:CNN(美国有线电视新闻网)
作者:AJ Willingham
原文标题:What April Fools’ Day looks like around the world
原文发布时间:1 Apr. 2023
What April Fools' Day looks like around the world
Much divides us, but one thing that knows no cultural bounds is the human desire to pull some silly, goofy little tricks. April Fools' Day has a shockingly global history, for a holiday devoted fully to mild deception. For some cultures, it's not even relegated to one day in April, cracking the calendar wide open for multi-seasonal chaos.
Of course, whether such prankery even crosses your path has more to do with the company you keep than the places you live, but it's fun to see what other countries are up to when they're feeling a little Fools-ish. What you do with this information is beyond our control. Take it as inspiration, or as a simple warning that you are never truly safe from April Fools' thrall.
While the origins of April Fools' Day aren't unanimously known, historians are pretty certain Ancient Romans, Western Europeans and people from the British Isles had a lot to do with it. In France, a longstanding tradition is to stick paper fish on other people's backs, kind of like an elevated "kick me" sign. This harmless bit of mischief is accompanied by the phrase "Poisson d'Avril" which means, of course, "April Fish." As one French site noted, it's not exactly the latest trend or anything, but if people are charitable, maybe they'll give you a half-hearted laugh for your efforts. Interestingly enough, fish are also considered a lucky symbol in many areas of the world, and are important in a lot of New Year's traditions.
精听党背景导读
愚人节(April Fool's Day或All Fools' Day)也称万愚节、幽默节,是西方社会民间传统节日,节期在每年4月1日。愚人节与古罗马的嬉乐节和印度的欢悦节有相似之处。
在欧美一些国家,这一天,人们以多种方式开周围的人的玩笑,上当者当被告知是愚人节时,才恍然大悟,所以这一天总是能够引出许多笑话,不过某些玩笑也会因开得过大而引起人们的恐慌,或改变形势衍生成为(网络)谣言。但是,玩笑最晚只能开到中午12点,这是约定俗成的严格规矩。
文本选自:CNN(美国有线电视新闻网)作者:AJ Willingham原文标题:What April Fools’ Day looks like around the world原文发布时间:1 Apr. 2023关键词:愚人节 鱼 历史
精听党带着问题听
1. 如何理解第二段的“be up to”?2. 愚人节的起源是怎样的?3.“原产地”用英语可以如何表达?
精听党选段赏析
标题解读
What April Fools’ Day looks like around the world
世界各地的愚人节是什么样子的
April Fools’ Day 愚人节;
around the world 世界各地;全世界;环游世界;
段一
Much divides us, but one thing that knows no cultural bounds is the human desire to pull some silly, goofy little tricks. April Fools’ Day has a shockingly global history, for a holiday devoted fully to mild deception. For some cultures, it’s not even relegated to one day in April, cracking the calendar wide open for multi-seasonal chaos.
divide vt. 使产生分歧;使意见不一;
bound n. 界限;1. upper bound 上界;最大值;2. adj. 必然的,肯定的;
be bound to 必然,一定要;
pull vt.(耍手腕)得逞;1. He's pulling some sort of trick on you. 他在耍花招骗你呢。
silly adj. 愚蠢的;不明事理的;没头脑的;
goofy adj. 傻瓜的,愚笨的;1. a goofy grin 龇牙咧嘴的傻笑;
trick n. 诡计;花招;骗局;把戏;1. play tricks on 捉弄;
shockingly adv. 令人震惊地,怕人地;
devote vt. 献身,致力;用于;1. devote sth. to sth. 把…用于;
I could only devote two hours a day to the work. 我每天只能花两个小时在工作上。
2. devote oneself to sth. 全心地奉献于;把某人自己奉献给;
She devoted herself to her career. 她全力倾注于自己的事业。
mild adj. 轻微的,温和的;1. a mild punishment/criticism 轻微的责罚;和善的批评;
deception n. 欺骗;蒙骗;1. self-deception 自我欺骗;
relegate vt. 贬低,使降级;1. If you say this is the most important, then you relegate the other facts of life to a secondary position. 如果你说这是最重要的,那么你就把生活中的其他事情放到了次要的位置。
wide open 完全开放的,大开的;
chaos n. 混乱;杂乱;1. The house was in chaos after the party. 聚会后,房子里一片狼藉。
参考译文
尽管我们诸多不同,但有一件事是没有文化界限的,那就是人类想要耍一些愚蠢的小把戏。愚人节有着惊人的全球历史,因为这个节日充满了轻微的欺骗。在一些文化中,节日甚至不局限于4月的某一天,而是为多季节的混乱打开日历。
段二
Of course, whether such prankery even crosses your path has more to do with the company you keep than the places you live, but it’s fun to see what other countries are up to when they’re feeling a little Fools-ish. What you do with this information is beyond our control. Take it as inspiration, or as a simple warning that you are never truly safe from April Fools’ thrall.
company n. 在一起的一群人;1. keep company 与…作伴;交往;
be up to 忙于…,在做…;1. We're up to our eyes in work. 我们工作忙得不可开交。
ish adj. 像…似的,有点儿…的;大约…;1. childish adj. 孩子气的;2. foolish adj. 愚蠢的;傻的;
do with 利用,处理;
inspiration n. 灵感;启发灵感的人(或事物);
safe from 免于;没有…的危险;
thrall n. 控制;束缚;1. He is not in thrall to the media. 他不受制于媒体。
参考译文
当然,这种恶作剧是否会出现在你的生活道路上,更多的是与你的朋友有关,而不是你生活的地方,但看看其他国家愚人的时候都在做什么是很有趣的。你如何利用这些信息我们是无法控制的。把它当作灵感,或者只是一个简单的警告:你永远无法真正摆脱愚人节的束缚。
段三
While the origins of April Fools’ Day aren’t unanimously known, historians are pretty certain Ancient Romans, Western Europeans and people from the British Isles had a lot to do with it. In France, a longstanding tradition is to stick paper fish on other people’s backs, kind of like an elevated “kick me” sign. This harmless bit of mischief is accompanied by the phrase “Poisson d’Avril” which means, of course, “April Fish.” As one French site noted, it’s not exactly the latest trend or anything, but if people are charitable, maybe they’ll give you a half-hearted laugh for your efforts. Interestingly enough, fish are also considered a lucky symbol in many areas of the world, and are important in a lot of New Year’s traditions.
origin n. 起源,起因;1. country of origin 原产地;原产国;
unanimously adv. 全体一致地;1. cheer unanimously 一致地欢呼;2. It is unanimously agreed that… 大家一致同意…;
longstanding adj. 长期存在的;长时间的;
stick vt. 粘贴;粘住;
elevated adj. 高出地面的,比(他物)高的;
mischief n. 淘气;恶作剧;顽皮;1. I try to keep out of mischief. 我尽量不胡闹。
accompany vt. 陪伴,伴随;
charitable adj. 慈善的;仁慈的,宽容的;1. a charitable donation/gift 慈善捐赠/赠品;
half-hearted adj. 半心半意的;缺乏热情的;
symbol n. 象征,标志;
参考译文
虽然愚人节的起源并不是所有人都知道,但历史学家们确信,古罗马人、西欧人和不列颠群岛人与愚人节有很大关系。在法国,一个由来已久的传统是把纸鱼粘在别人的背上,就像一个高高的“踢我”的标志。这一无伤大雅的恶作剧伴随着短语“Poisson d’Avril”,当然,意思是“四月的鱼”。正如一家法国网站指出的那样,这并不是最新的潮流,但如果人们很宽容,也许他们会对你的努力半心半意地笑一笑。有趣的是,鱼在世界上许多地区也被认为是幸运的象征,在许多新年传统中都很重要。
精听党每日单词
April Fools’ Day
愚人节;
around the world
世界各地;全世界;环游世界;
divide
/dɪˈvaɪd/ vt. 使产生分歧;使意见不一;
bound
/baʊnd/ n. 界限;
pull
/pʊl/ vt.(耍手腕)得逞;
silly
/ˈsɪli/ adj. 愚蠢的;不明事理的;没头脑的;
goofy
/ˈɡuːfi/ adj. 傻瓜的,愚笨的;
trick
/trɪk/ n. 诡计;花招;骗局;把戏;
shockingly
/ˈʃɑːkɪŋli/ adv. 令人震惊地,怕人地;
devote
/dɪˈvoʊt/ vt. 献身,致力;用于;
mild
/maɪld/ adj. 轻微的,温和的;
deception
/dɪˈsepʃ(ə)n/ n. 欺骗;蒙骗;
relegate
/ˈrelɪɡeɪt/ vt. 贬低,使降级;
wide open
完全开放的,大开的;
chaos
/ˈkeɪɑːs/ n. 混乱;杂乱;
company
/ˈkʌmpəni/ n. 在一起的一群人;
be up to
忙于…,在做…;
-ish
adj. 像…似的,有点儿…的;大约…;
do with
利用,处理;
inspiration
/ˌɪnspəˈreɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 灵感;启发灵感的人(或事物);
safe from
免于;没有…的危险;
thrall
/θrɔːl/ n. 控制;束缚;
origin
/ˈɔːrɪdʒɪn/ n. 起源,起因;
unanimously
/juˈnænɪməsli/ adv. 全体一致地;
longstanding
/ˌlɔːŋˈstændɪŋ/ adj. 长期存在的;长时间的;
stick
/stɪk/ vt. 粘贴;粘住;
elevated
/ˈelɪveɪtɪd/ adj. 高出地面的,比(他物)高的;
mischief
/ˈmɪstʃɪf/ n. 淘气;恶作剧;顽皮;
accompany
/əˈkʌmpəni/ vt. 陪伴,伴随;
charitable
/ˈtʃærətəbl/ adj. 慈善的;仁慈的,宽容的;
half-hearted
/ˌhæf ˈhɑːrtɪd/ adj. 半心半意的;缺乏热情的;
symbol
/ˈsɪmb(ə)l/ n. 象征,标志;
精听党文化拓展
关于愚人节的由来的两种说法。一种是起源于西班牙,由于人们恐惧西班牙国王暴虐的统治在这一天选择不断说谎而起源的;另外一种则是起源于法国,是由于守旧派坚持把四月一日当成新年而被主张改革派戏弄而起源的。
有一个关于愚人节的由来的说法与诺亚方舟有关。根据西方传说,在人类始祖亚当出世之后的一千六百五十年间,上帝向世间倾泻了大量的洪水,希望毁灭世界。不过亚当的第三个儿子慧德的后代诺亚偷偷建造了一条大船保全了全家的性命。在肆虐的洪水退去之后,虽然没有生命危险,但也没有一块可以登上的陆地。所以诺亚放出了一只白鸽,想要这只白鸽去寻找一块洪水消失后露出的陆地,但未果。因为根据传说这一天是四月一日,所以后来人认为,在这一天去做一些没有丝毫意义的事情就好像放白鸽去寻找陆地,行为非常愚蠢,这便是愚人节由来的另外一种说法。
还有一个跟愚人节的由来相关的传说就更厉害了,跟蝙蝠侠扯上了关系。当然只是跟蝙蝠侠中的地名有关。据说,十三世纪有一个国王非常贪婪,只要是他巡视过的土地,全部都收归他所有,其余人路过这里都需要缴纳金钱。不过有一个小镇名字叫做哥谭镇,他们不愿意失去他们的主干道,所以他们就散布谣言说这里是不祥之地。国王听说了派人前往哥谭镇打探,结果发现哥谭镇满街都是疯傻之人,于是国王取消了这里的巡视计划。哥谭镇人的装疯卖傻正好是四月一日这一天,所以也就成为了后来愚人节的由来。
精听党每日美句
Life is fine and enjoyable, yet you must learn to enjoy your fine life.
人生是美好的,但要学会如何享用美好的生活。