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Strange Days　奇怪的节日

关键词： 意大利面    愚人节    英语    节日    奇怪                                          

Strange Days　奇怪的节日

Odd holidays from around the world.

世界各地的怪节日。

There are 365 days in the year and each of them has been marked by somebody as special in some way. Often it is for a good cause such as wearing headscarves for cancer awareness, but sometimes it is just plain bizarre.

一年有三百六十五天，其中每一天都因为在某方面很特别而被人标示出来，通常是为了某项善举，例如戴头巾提醒大家注意癌症，但有时候纯粹就是很古怪。

April Fool's Day is one of the oldest bizarre holiday days - a day in which pranks are encouraged. Newspapers write ridiculous stories and radio stations tell outrageous lies.

Back in 1957, the BBC news in Britain included a story about 'growing' spaghetti and showed a film of Swiss peasants pulling spaghetti down from tree branches. Huge numbers of viewers phoned in asking how they could grow their own spaghetti. The BBC replied that they should "place a piece of spaghetti in a can of tomato sauce and hope for the best".

愚人节是最古老的怪异节日之一──在这一天，恶作剧受到鼓励，报纸写些荒谬的故事，广播电台讲些不合理的谎言。在一九五七年，英国的英国国家广播公司新闻，涵括一则关于「栽种」的意大利面的故事，并展示一段瑞士农夫从树枝上拔下意大利面的影片。大批观众打电话询问他们要如何才能种植自己的意大利面，英国国家广播公司响应，他们应该「把一段意大利面放进一罐蕃茄酱里，然后抱着乐观的希望。」

The tradition of April Fool's Day goes right back to ancient Rome, but many bizarre holiday days were created more recently. They often start as someone's bright idea, and then spread quickly around the world on the internet. This is how we ended up with 'No Housework Day' (April 7); 'Thank a Mailman Day' (February 4); and 'Blame Somebody Else Day' (September 13). It's not really clear how many people actually know about these holidays, let alone celebrate them.

愚人节的传统可以追溯到古罗马时代，但是很多古怪的节日是近代才被发明出来的，它们通常始于某人的聪明好点子，然后很快经由网络传遍全世界，这就是后来我们有了「不做家事日」﹙四月七日﹚、「感谢邮差日」﹙二月四日﹚，还有「怪罪别人日」﹙九月十三日﹚的原因。我们并不清楚究竟有多少人知道这些节日，更不要说为它们庆祝了。

The list of bizarre holiday days is probably longer than you'd imagine. If you're bored, try looking on the internet and see what you can celebrate to put a little fun in your day. There are many to choose from; National Honesty Day, Look Alike Day, Hug an Australian Day. And that's just in the month of April.

怪异节日的清单可能比你想象的长，如果你很无聊的话，试着上网找找看有什么可以庆祝的，好让你的生活增添一点乐趣。可以选择的有很多：全国诚实日、看起来相像日、拥抱澳洲人日，而这只不过是四月份而已

hope for the best 抱乐观的希望

It hasn't rained in weeks. Looking at our garden, all we can do is hope for the best.

let alone 更别说

Tina found it difficult to pass her courses, let alone do well

1. good cause n. chk. 善举；慈善救助

Fred wanted to ensure his donation went to a good cause and not into someone's pocket.

2. headscarf [`hAdskZrf] n. 头巾

On windy days, Jane wore a headscarf to keep her hair in place.

3. awareness [K`wArnIs] n. 意识；体认

The commercials aim to raise people's awareness about the importance of driving safely.

4. bizarre [bI`zZr] adj. 古怪的

His excuses for being late to work became more and more bizarre as time went by.

5. April Fool's Day n. chk. 愚人节

Dan switched the salt and sugar as an April Fool's Day joke.

6. prank [prGEk] n. 恶作剧

The students were disciplined for their prank of filling the teacher's car with shampoo.

7. encourage [In`kSIP] v. 鼓励

Frequent flyer plans encourage people to travel more frequently.

8. ridiculous [rI`dIkjKlKs] adj. 荒谬的

It's ridiculous to think you can retire if you never save money.

9. outrageous [aUt`rePKs] adj. 不合理的；极无礼的

The revealing dress she wore to the funeral was totally outrageous and inappropriate.

10. spaghetti [spK`gAtI] n. 意大利面条

I love Italian food, especially spaghetti with tomato sauce.

11. peasant [`pAzYt] n. 农民

The poor peasants received money from the government.

12. celebrate [`sAlKˊbret] v. 庆祝

We celebrate New Year's Eve by opening a bottle of champagne.

         

【作者: 大能猫】【访问统计:】【2005年12月15日 星期四 17:40】【 加入博采】【打印】