英语沙龙:Greek New Year's Day希腊新年
Greek New Year's Day
The people of Greece hail1) September 1as their New Year's Day because it marks the start of the Greek sowing2) season,a time of hope and promise.
To start things off right,farmers' families take plates of seeds to church for the priest to bless.On the island of Kos,people fashion first-of-the-year wreaths3) of pomegranates4),grapes,quinces5),garlic bulbs6),and plane-tree leaves--all of which are traditional symbols of abundance.Just before dawn on September 1,island children carry their house-holds' wreaths down to the shore,the old year's wreaths and the new ones,and they throw the old ones out to sea.They briefly 1 immerse the new ones,for luck.Then they carry sea-water and pebbles7) home in a jar,to serve,along with the new wreath,as protective devices.Tradition calls for exactly forty pebbles 2 and water collected from the tops of exactly forty waves.This is also a time of trepidation 3.One old folk belief is that on this day the Angel of Death writes down the names of all those unfortunates destined 4 to die within the coming year
希腊新年
希腊人在9月1日欢庆新年,因为这一天标志着希腊播种季节的开始,这是一个充满希望和期待的季节。
为了有个好的开端,农家把种子放在盘子里拿到教堂接受牧师的祝福。在科斯岛上,人们流行用石榴、葡萄、蒜头、悬铃树的树叶等编织新年花环。所有这些都是传统上丰裕的象征。9月1日黎明前,岛上的孩子们把家里的新旧花环都拿到海边。他们把旧花环抛到海里,把新的花环在海水里迅速浸泡一下以求好运。之后,他们用罐子装上海水和小鹅卵石带回家,海水和小鹅卵石连同新花环能帮助他们驱魔避邪。传统上要求要捡正好40块小鹅卵石和正好从40朵浪花上汲取的海水。这一天同时又是令人惶恐不安的日子。有一个古老的民俗认为,在9月1日,死亡天使会写下来年里将死去的所有不幸的人的名字。
- I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
- He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。
- The pebbles of the drive crunched under his feet. 汽车道上的小石子在他脚底下喀嚓作响。
- Line the pots with pebbles to ensure good drainage. 在罐子里铺一层鹅卵石,以确保排水良好。
- The men set off in fear and trepidation.这群人惊慌失措地出发了。
- The threat of an epidemic caused great alarm and trepidation.流行病猖獗因而人心惶惶。