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当前位置:Home 英语教材 Intermediate English Travel (旅游景点) A Stranger at Home Volume 2:The Heart of Europe 原乡陌路人 第二章:欧洲的心脏

A Stranger at Home Volume 2:The Heart of Europe 原乡陌路人 第二章:欧洲的心脏

 

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课文讲解

 

繁體中文譯本

 

In January 1993, Slovakia became an independent country for the first time. Before that, it had always been part of the Kingdom of Hungary, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, or the Republic of Czechoslovakia. To most westerners, Slovakia was just another title known Central European country emerging from communism to enter the world stage on its own.

1993年一月,斯洛伐克首度成为独立的国家。之前,它一直是匈牙利王国、奥匈帝国、或捷克共和国的一部分。对多数西方人来说,斯洛伐克不过是另一个鲜为人知的中欧国家,共产主义出身,靠自己步上世界的舞台。

 

Slovakia and Poland are neighbors; the people of both countries are Slavic and understand each other’s language. But I knew little of Slovakia’s centuries-old history when I arrived there in the summer of 1994.

斯洛伐克和波兰是邻居;两国人民均属斯拉夫民族,也都了解彼此的语言。但我在1994年夏天到达那儿的时候,对斯洛伐克悠久的历史几乎浑然不知。

 

Not far from where I was staying, nestled in a green valley between two mountain ranges, lies a tiny village call Haj. From a distance, it looks like a picture from a fairy tale. Whitewashed houses huddle close together, changing in hue from pale blue to golden to soft orange as the sun rises and sets; on opposite sides, the white spires of church towers rise above the village, as if guarding it’s serenity. To visit my friends in Haj, I would often take long walks through its fields of wheat and grass that swayed gently in the wind. During one such visit, I was invited to a celebration; Haj’s 730-year anniversary.

距我留宿的地方不远,有个名叫哈寂的小村落,座落在两座山脉间的翠绿山谷。远远看来,它宛如童话故事中的图画。粉刷过的屋舍紧紧簇拥着,随着日升日落,色彩由淡蓝转金黄,再变成柔和的鲜橙;另一头,教堂高楼的白色尖塔昂然耸立村庄之上,彷佛在捍卫着它的静谧。去拜访哈寂的朋友时,我常徒步穿过麦穗与青草迎风摇曳的田野。其中一趟,我受邀参加一个庆祝会:哈寂的730周年纪念。

 

 

Vocabulary

单词发音

 

Slovakia [sloˋvɑkɪə] n. 斯洛伐克(国名)

on one’s own 独自, 独立

Slavic [ˋslævɪk] n. 斯拉夫民族[语.的]

nestle [ˋnɛs!] v. 坐落在〔山间〕

whitewash [ˋhwaɪt͵wɑʃ] v. 涂白,粉刷

huddle [ˋhʌd!] v. 偎依

hue [hju] n. 色调,色泽,色度

spire [spaɪr] n. 尖塔;尖顶

serenity [səˋrɛnətɪ] n. 宁静; 平静

sway [swe] v. 摇动,使摇摆

 

 

Sentence of the Day

She really went to town.

她真的花了好一番功夫。

 

go to town【俚】(事情)做得很快或很有效;一帆风顺,事业有成

 

 

 

课文朗读

 

课文讲解

 

The people of Haj celebrated their ancient history by recalling traditions that had slowly disappeared as the old way of life gave way to the new. Local actors performed a play called Traditional Wedding. During the wedding party scene, the newlyweds left the guests to their eating and drinking and retired to the bedroom; when they returned, the bride had changed out of her white dress and into a black one. I wondered, then, if she wore black to mourn the loss of her youth or just to respect the change that is an inevitable part of all life.

在旧生活方式纷为新方式取代之时,哈寂的村民藉由回溯逐渐凋零的传统,来庆祝他们悠久的历史。当地演员演出一出叫《传统婚礼》的剧。在囍宴的场景中,新婚佳偶留下宾客继续喝喜酒,自己则退回卧房;再回到宴会现场时,新娘已褪下白裳,换上黑衣。我不禁怀疑,她一身黑是为了哀悼青春的流逝呢,或只是对于人生难免会有的改变表示敬意。

 

Just as the bride’s life had changed, so Slovakia has seen transformation, but over many centuries. The sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation split Slovaks into Catholics and Protestants, which is why Haj now has two churches watching over it. But, on the day of the anniversary, the people of Haj went to one mass, performed conjointly by a Catholic priest and Protestant minister.

正如新娘的人生变了,斯洛伐克也已改头换面,不同的是它历时好几百年。十六世纪的宗教改革将斯洛伐克人分裂成新旧教徒两派,这也是为什么哈寂现在会有两座教堂一同看守着它。尽管如此,在周年纪念当天,哈寂的村民会聚在一起作弥撒,由一名天主教神父与一名新教牧师共同主持。

 

Later, the two clergymen have me a present, a book called Slovakia: The Heart of Europe. When I asked what the title meant, they said with pride, “You didn’t know? If you measure the distances, the very center of Europe lies here in Slovakia.”

后来,这两位神职人员送了我一个礼物:一本书,书名《斯洛伐克:欧洲的心脏》。当我问及书名的意义,他们颇为自豪地回答:「你不知道喔?如果实地测量距离,欧洲的正中心就落在斯洛伐克这里。」

 

by Dominika Baran

 

Vocabulary

单词发音

 

recall [rɪˋkɔl] v. 使复苏,使恢复[(+to)]

give way to 为…所代替 to step aside for or stop for

newlywed [`njulɪˏwɛd] n. 新结婚的人; (常复数)新婚夫妇

retire [rɪˋtaɪr] v. 退出,离开(去别的地方)

inevitable [ɪnˋɛvətəb!] adj. 必然发生的﹐难以避免的

Protestant [ˋprɑtɪstənt] n. 新教徒

mass [mæs] n.【宗】弥撒

conjointly [kənˋdʒɔɪntlɪ] adv. 共同地

priest [prist] n.(基督教)牧师;(天主教)神父

minister [ˋmɪnɪstɚ] n. 牧师,神职人员

clergyman [ˋklɝdʒɪmən] n. 神职人员,牧师;教士

 

 

Sentence of the Day

There was a change of heart.

有人变心了。

 

a change of heart 改变主意, 变心, 弃邪归正

 

 

 

Slovakia- The Unknown Beauty (Full Video)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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