英语短文精读【8】万圣节的来历 Pumpkins and Ghosts

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【开篇小问】

万圣节的夜晚，人们拿着什么到处恶作剧？
a.南瓜
b.南瓜灯
c.糖果
d.糖果灯

答案：b.

你知道“万圣节”的由来吗？

Halloween（万圣节） was called Samhain by the Irish. Samhain took place on October 31 through to November 1. During this period（时期）.

爱尔兰人管万圣节叫Samhain，每年的10月31日到11月1日，人们都庆祝这个节日。

To celebrate the festival, the Irish would dress up in bizarre（奇异的） costumes and parade（游行） through their villages，causing destruction（破坏） and saying "Trick-or-Treat", in-groups scare（吓唬） off any recently departed（往昔的） souls who might be prowling（四处寻觅） for bodies to inhabit（居住）. Irish immigrants brought several customs with them, including one of the symbols（标志） most commonly associated with Halloween -- the "Jack Lantern". （灯笼）

节日里，村民们就自己扮成鬼魂精灵，游走村外，到处捣乱，嘴里说着“Trick-or-Treat”(接受我的恶作剧还是给我糖果)，成群结队，吓唬在黑暗中寻找活人的鬼魂。爱尔兰移民将节日的各种风俗传遍各地，其中包括人们都知道的万圣节标志 “杰克灯笼”。

According to Irish folklore（传说）, there once lived a man named Jack who was known for being a drunk and a prankster（爱恶作剧的人）. One night Jack tricked（哄骗） the devils（魔鬼） into climbing a tree, and quickly carved（刻） an image of a cross（十字架） on the trunk（树干）, trapping（捉住） the devil. Jack then made him promise that, in exchange for letting him out of the tree, the Devil would never tempt（引诱） him to sin again. He reluctantly（勉强地） agreed, but was able to exact his revenge upon（报仇） Jack's death. Because of his mischievous（调皮的） ways in life, Jack was barred（被堵塞的） from entering heaven and because of his earlier trick, he was also barred from hell. So he was doomed（注定） to wander the earth until the end of time, with only a "Jack Lanterns" to warm him.

“杰克灯笼”起源于爱尔兰的一个传说。传说，爱尔兰曾经有一个名叫杰克的爱恶作剧的酒鬼。一天晚上，他把一个魔鬼骗上树，然后在树干上刻了个十字架，）让魔鬼下不来。后来魔鬼不得不保证，以后再也不会引诱杰克去做坏事，杰克这才让它下来。杰克死后，魔鬼报复了，它让杰克上天不得入地无门，只能漫无目的流浪，手里只有一盏灯笼取暖。

【世博读书笔记】

1．call

（1）be called sth.意思是“被叫做……”，如：
They have a three-year-old son called Matthew.
他们有个三岁的儿子叫马休。

（2）call sb. names指“给某人起外号”，如：
The other kids used to call me names.
那些小孩过去常给我起外号。

2．soul

（1）通常，人们理解soul就是spirit“灵魂”的意思，如：
Christians believe that the soul lives forever.
基督徒相信灵魂永生。

（2）soul可以表示“内心的感受”，如：
Deep down in her soul, she knew she could never marry him.
在她内心深处，她知道自己决不会嫁给他。

（3）指“美感”，即欣赏美的能力，如：
My brother doesn’t appreciate poetry--he has no soul.
我弟弟不喜欢诗歌——他根本没有鉴赏能力。

【世博句型留言板】

in exchange for
作为……的交换

What would you give me in exchange for my recorder?
我把我的录音机给你,那你用什么作为交换呢?

She is giving me piano lessons in exchange for her English classes.
我教她英语，她教我弹钢琴。

练习：

1．为了多住一星期（a week’s accommodation），我已经答应（offer）粉刷厨房了。
2．女妖（temptress）给了他七个愿望（wishes），但他必须用自己的灵魂作为交换。


练习答案：
1．I’ve offered to paint the kitchen in exchange for a week’s accommodation.
2．In exchange for his soul, the temptress will grant him seven wishes.

【世博语法教室】

英语中有不少词组，从形式看好象只有冠词之差，而实际上却是意义完全不同的新词组。

1．take place（举行）和take the place（代替）

When did this conversation take place?
会谈什么时候举行？
Electric train has now taken the place of steam trains in England.
在英国电力火车已经取代了蒸汽火车。

2．in front of（在……[外]的前面）和in the front of（在……[内]的前面）

There’s a garden in front of the classroom.
教室前面是一个花园。
There’s a blackboard in the front of the classroom.
教室的前面有一块黑板。

3．in charge of （掌管；负责）和in the charge of（在……负责之下）

An experienced worker is in charge of the project.
在这项计划中，需要一名经验丰富的员工。
The project is in the charge of an experienced worker.
这相计划由一位资深的员工负责。