常春藤生活英语【106】Cirque du Soleil 绚丽夺目的感官飨宴—太阳剧团

Cirque du Soleil 绚丽夺目的感官飨宴—太阳剧团

Cirque du Soleil is a Canadian performing group whose French name means "Circus of the Sun." Cirque du Soleil was established in Quebec in 1984 by some local street performers. Their aim was to create a new kind of circus that did not have a traditional ring or animal performances. They also wanted to blend many different circus styles from all over the world.
　　
Daniel Gauthier and Gilles Ste-Croix managed a youth hostel for street performers. In 1979, they and Guy Laliberté had the idea of organizing the youth into a performing group. However, they were short of money, so they tried to raise money by performing a stunt. For the stunt, Ste-Croix walked 90 kilometers from their hometown to Quebec City on stilts. With the money they raised, they created a group called Les Échassiers de Baie-Saint-Paul. Later on, the Quebec government was inspired to fund the group. After many financial ups and downs, Cirque du Soleil was born, and it has had great success. It has also grown from 73 members in 1984 to over 3,500 today.
　　
太阳剧团是一支加拿大的表演团体，其法文名字意指『太阳的马戏团』。太阳剧团是由一群在魁北克当地的街头艺人于1984年创立。他们的目标是创造一种没有传统圆形演出场地和动物表演的新型态马戏团。他们也想融合许多全球各地不同的马戏团风格。
　　
Daniel Gauthier和Gilles Ste-Croix经营一家供街头艺人住宿的青年旅社。1979年，他们和Guy Laliberté萌生了将这些年轻人组成表演团体的念头。不过他们欠缺资金，所以试着以表演特技来筹钱。Ste-Croix为了这项特技踩着高跷从他们家乡出发，走了九十公里的路到魁北克。藉由筹措到的资金，他们创立了名为Les Échassiers de Baie-Saint-Paul的团体。之后，魁北克政府受到感召而资助这个团体。在历经许多财务上的盛衰起伏后，太阳剧团终于诞生，并且屡创佳绩。它的成员还从1984年的七十三人，发展到如今成员超过三千五百名的规模。

Building Your Vocabulary

1. establish　vt. 建立，设立
A rich man established this library.
一位富翁创立了这间图书馆。
2. blend　vt. 融合，混合
The director's new movie blended truth and fiction together.
那位导演的新电影融合了真实事件与虚构故事。
3. raise　vt. 筹募（尤指金钱）
We are raising funds to start our company.
我们正在筹集资金开设自己的公司。
4. fund　vt. 资助
Max has been funding this baseball team.
麦斯一直都在资助这支棒球队。

Phrases for Learning

1. be short of...　　欠缺……
A lot of disaster victims are short of food.
有许多灾民的粮食短缺。
2. inspire + 人 + to + 原形动词　　鼓舞某人……
Ed's wife inspired him to pursue his dream.
艾德的妻子激励他去追逐梦想。

Extra Words

1. ring　n.（马戏团的）圆形表演场
2. hostel　n.（提供廉价食宿的）旅社
3. stunt　n. 特技表演
4. stilt　n. 高跷（常用复数）
5. financial　a. 财务的，财政的

Tips In Use

...many financial ups and downs...
（……许多财务上的盛衰起伏……）
"ups and downs"表『盛衰；浮沉；苦乐』，而"highs and lows"的结构和意思都与"ups and downs"相同。此外，与上述两者结构相同但意思不同的尚有："ins and outs"（详情，细节）、"rights and wrongs"（事情的是非曲直）。
There have been lots of ups and downs in Larry's business.
= There have been lots of highs and lows in Larry's business.
（赖瑞的事业历经了许多的起起伏伏。）
Meg doesn't know the ins and outs of this job yet.
（梅格还不知道这份工作的细节。）

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