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Hawaii’s Hidden Treasure 神秘的夏威夷

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本 

Aloha Hawaii  哈啰夏威夷

Hawaii is the most isolated, and beautiful, archipelago on Earth. Due to its remoteness, Hawaii remained unpopulated until the arrival of Marquesan explorers in about A.D. 400. Little is known of these original Hawaiians, who were overrun by Tahitians, the present-day Hawaiians, around A.D. 1200. Paradise is hard to keep secret, and Hawaii’s Polynesian culture very nearly did not survive once the West, too, began to covet paradise.

夏威夷可说是地球上最孤立、最美丽的群岛。由于地处偏僻，夏威夷直到400年左右马克萨斯人前来探险后才开始有人居住。这些早期的夏威夷人，世人知之甚少，他们在大约公元1200年被大溪地人，即当今的夏威夷人所打败。不过天堂是难以避人耳目的，当西方世界也开始垂涎这块天堂之地，夏威夷的玻里尼西亚文化几乎濒临断绝。

Thanks to English explorer Captain Cook, Hawaiians had had some experience with Western culture before the American presence – that was to dominate Hawaii – began with missionaries in 1820. The impact of these missionaries was a mixed blessing: though they developed a Hawaiian written language, they suppressed aspects of Hawaiian culture which they deemed “unchristian.”

要感谢英国探险家库克船长，夏威夷人在美国人──他们即将统治夏威夷──来临之前就已经先和西方文化打过交道了，因缘起于1820年的传教士。传教士的影响是喜忧参半：因为他们发展出来夏威夷的书写文字，但他们也打压夏威夷文化里基督教文化不认同的那些部份。

One positive of the American presence in the 19^th century was the establishment in Hawaii of the first high school west of the Rockies. Opened in 1841, it set in train an impressive rise in Hawaiian literacy rates. But the price came in the form of introduced diseases, which had killed about 80 percent of Hawaiians by 1848.

19世纪美国人来临，带来一项利多，就是在夏威夷建立起落基山山脉以西的第一所高中。该所高中1841年开始，相继大幅提高了夏威夷人的识字率。然而付出的代价是境外移入疾病，至1848年止造成约百分之八十的夏威夷人死亡。

In 1898, the Hawaiian language banned from schools and government, annexation by the United States was completed, and the things were not looking good for traditional Hawaiian culture.

1898年，当地政府和学校都禁用夏威夷语，夏威夷终于并入美国，不过对传统夏威夷文化而言，展望不佳。

Vocabulary

单词发音

archipelago [͵ɑrkəˋpɛlə͵go] n. 群岛，列岛

unpopulated [ʌnˋpɑpjə͵letɪd] adj. 无人居住的

Marquesan n.（大洋洲）马克萨斯人; adj. 马克萨斯群岛的，马克萨斯人的

overrun [͵ovɚˋrʌn] v.（迅速）侵占，占领

Tahitian [tɑˋhitɪən] adj. 大溪地的; n. 大溪地居民

Polynesian [͵pɑləˋniʒən] adj. 玻里尼西亚的；玻里尼西亚人（语）的

covet [ˋkʌvɪt] v.【正式】贪求; 垂涎﹐觊觎

missionary [ˋmɪʃən͵ɛrɪ] n. 传教士

a mixed blessing 有利亦有弊的事物  a situation that has both good and bad parts

set in train 启动; 开启 if you set in train an activity or an event, you make it begin

annexation [͵ænɛkˋseʃən] n. 附加；合并；并吞

Sentence of the Day

For a time, it seemed the survival of their culture was in the lap of the gods.

一时之间，他们文化的存活都要看运数了。

in the lap of the gods 难以预料的

lap [læp] n. 膝

课文讲解

The tide begins to turn  时来运转

The overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893 was the outcome of a U.S.-led conspiracy, which President Clinton, backed by Congress, officially apologized for in 1993. Ironically, the survival of the Hawaiian language was made possible by one Hawaiian island few had any interest in.

1893年夏威夷王朝被推翻是美国政府阴谋策动的结果，在国会的支持下，克林顿总统已于1993年正式向他们道歉。令人玩味的是夏威夷语之所以得以保存，是因为夏威夷群岛里的一个几乎鲜为人知的小岛。

At the extreme north end of the Hawaiian Islands is the sandy and privately-owned Niihau Island. Sold by the King of Hawaii in 1863 to the Sinclair family, Niihau is home to the Sinclair’s descendants, native Hawaiians, and cows. Except for the Sinclairs, non-Hawaiians are not allowed here. Elsewhere in Hawaii, the Hawaiian language was gradually edged out by Pidgin – a hodgepodge of English and Hawaiian – but it remains the language of Niihau to this day.

夏威夷群岛的极北是尼豪岛，一个地属沙质、私人拥有的小岛。1863年夏威夷国王把它卖给辛克莱家族，所以岛上住着辛克莱家族后裔、土著夏威夷人和牛群。除了辛克莱家族的人，非夏威夷人不准居住在岛上。在夏威夷群岛的其他地方，夏威夷语已经逐渐被不地道的洋泾滨──英文和夏威夷语的混合物──所取代，但是尼豪岛上直到今天夏威夷语仍然很正统。

As with many North American native peoples, Hawaiians experienced a cultural renaissance in the 1970s. Many Hawaiians singers, dancers, and poets moved to Niihau to immerse themselves in the most authentic Hawaiian setting remaining.

与很多北美原住民一样，夏威夷人在1970年代历经了文化复兴。很多夏威夷歌手、舞者和诗人移居到尼豪岛，以体验第一手最真实、硕果仅存的夏威夷文化。

Things have since continued to look up for native Hawaiians. In 1987, Hawaiian schools were again permitted to teach the Hawaiian language, and many other aspects of Hawaiian culture are thriving again. This rebirth is thanks in large part to Niihau – the hidden oasis of Hawaii’s Polynesian heritage.

对夏威夷原住民而言景况已经持续看好。1987年，夏威夷的学校再度被允许教自己的语言，而夏威夷文化的很多其他面貌也都再度活跃。她的重生大部份应该归功于尼豪岛──夏威夷玻里尼西亚文化传统中的那一个神秘绿洲。

－by Iain Ferguson

Vocabulary

单词发音

turn the tide 扭转局势 - cause a complete reversal of the circumstances

overthrow [ˋovɚθro] / [ovɚˋθro] v. 颠覆﹐推翻〔某领导或政府〕

monarchy [ˋmɑnɚkɪ] n. 君主政治，君主政体

conspiracy [kənˋspɪrəsɪ] n. 阴谋；谋叛；共谋

elsewhere [ˋɛls͵hwɛr] adv. 在别处; 去别处

edge something out of something 把…挤出去, 排挤, 淘汰, 代替 to move something out of something very carefully, bit by bit

pidgin [ˋpɪdʒɪn] n.（并用两种或多种语言的）混杂语；洋泾滨语

hodgepodge [ˋhɑdʒ͵pɑdʒ] n. 混杂物；大杂烩

renaissance [ˈrenəsɑns] n. 新生；复活

immerse [ɪˋmɝs] v. 潜心于﹐ 专心于

authentic [ɔˋθɛntɪk] adj. 真正的

setting [ˋsɛtɪŋ] n. 环境；背景

look up【口】(指商业、某人的前景等)转好, 改善 to show promise of improving

Sentence of the Day

Getting the acknowledgement and respect they deserve has been an uphill battle for many native peoples.

对很多原住民而言，获取他们应得的那份认可与尊敬是一场艰苦之战。

uphill battle 苦战；一场艰苦的战斗