Phi Ta Khon Festival（佛诞节）
-Everyone loves a good ghost story. The gruesome, the spiritual and the supernatural arouse an instinctive 1 curiosity in all of us. In the west, ghostly fervor 2 reaches a peak with Halloween on October 31. In Thailand, the spirit-world comes closest to us in June with the Phi Ta Khon festival, an event filled with fun, mischief 3 and of course, a touch of the unknown.
The Phi Ta Khon Festival is quite unique to Thailand and unrivalled by any other ghost festival. Held in Dan Sai district of Loei province, about 450 km north of Bangkok, Phi Ta Khon is part of a Buddhist 4 merit-making holiday known locally as 'Bun Pha Ves.' The precise origin of Phi Ta Khon is unclear. But it is believed that the roots of the festival revolve 5 around an important tale of the Buddha 6's last life, before he reached nirvana.
According to Buddhist folklore 7, the Buddha-to-be was born as Prince Vessandorn, a generous man who gave freely to the people. One day, he gave away a white elephant, a royal creature, revered 8 as a symbol of rain. The townspeople were so angry for fear of drought and famine, that they banished 9 the prince into exile.
The prince left the village for a very long journey. Finally, the king and the people got over their anger and recalled him to the city. When he eventually returned, his people were overjoyed. They welcomed him back with a celebration so loud that even the dead were awakened 10 from their slumbers 11 to join in the festivities.
Phi Ta Khon is held with the arrival of the sixth or seventh lunar month. Young male villagers prepare their ghostly attire 12 and masks, while children roam around town playing tricks. Sheets or blankets are sewn together to look like shrouds 13 while traditional wooden bamboo containers used to store sticky rice (huad), are creatively fashioned into bizarre hats. The huge masks are carved from the bases of coconut 14 trees. The spirit masks are the integral part of the celebrations, which last for three consecutive 15 days.
The first day is marked by a masked procession, accompanied by rejoicing, music and dancing. On the second day, the villagers dance their way to the temple and fire off bamboo rockets to signal the end of the procession. Along the way, they tease onlookers 16 as they accompany a sacred image of the Buddha through the village streets. Monks 17 recite the story of the Buddha's last incarnation before attaining 18 enlightenment.
The festival organizers also hold contests for the best masks, costumes and dancers, and plaques 19 are awarded to the winners in each age group. The most popular event is the dancing contest among those dressed up as ghosts.
On the last day of the event, the villagers gather at the local temple, Wat Ponchai, to listen to the message of the thirteen sermons of the Lord Buddha, recited by the local monks. The ghost dancers then put away their ghostly masks and costumes for another year, return to the paddy fields and continue to earn their living with the onset 20 of the new crop season.
- He tried to conceal his instinctive revulsion at the idea.他试图饰盖自己对这一想法本能的厌恶。
- Animals have an instinctive fear of fire.动物本能地怕火。
- They were concerned only with their own religious fervor.他们只关心自己的宗教热诚。
- The speech aroused nationalist fervor.这个演讲喚起了民族主义热情。
- Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
- He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。
- The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
- In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。
- The planets revolve around the sun.行星绕着太阳运转。
- The wheels began to revolve slowly.车轮开始慢慢转动。
- Several women knelt down before the statue of Buddha and prayed.几个妇女跪在佛像前祈祷。
- He has kept the figure of Buddha for luck.为了图吉利他一直保存着这尊佛像。
- Zhuge Liang is a synonym for wisdom in folklore.诸葛亮在民间传说中成了智慧的代名词。
- In Chinese folklore the bat is an emblem of good fortune.在中国的民间传说中蝙蝠是好运的象征。
- A number of institutions revered and respected in earlier times have become Aunt Sally for the present generation. 一些早年受到尊崇的惯例，现在已经成了这代人嘲弄的对象了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven. 中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。 来自辞典例句
- He was banished to Australia, where he died five years later. 他被流放到澳大利亚，五年后在那里去世。
- He was banished to an uninhabited island for a year. 他被放逐到一个无人居住的荒岛一年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
- The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- His image traversed constantly her restless slumbers. 他的形象一再闯进她的脑海，弄得她不能安睡。
- My Titan brother slumbers deep inside his mountain prison. Go. 我的泰坦兄弟就被囚禁在山脉的深处。
- He had no intention of changing his mode of attire.他无意改变着装方式。
- Her attention was attracted by his peculiar attire.他那奇特的服装引起了她的注意。
- 'For instance,' returned Madame Defarge, composedly,'shrouds.' “比如说，”德伐日太太平静地回答，“裹尸布。” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
- Figure 3-10 illustrates the result of a study or conical shrouds. 图3-10表明了对锥形外壳的研究结果。 来自辞典例句
- The husk of this coconut is particularly strong.椰子的外壳很明显非常坚固。
- The falling coconut gave him a terrific bang on the head.那只掉下的椰子砰地击中他的脑袋。
- It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
- The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。
- A crowd of onlookers gathered at the scene of the crash. 在撞车地点聚集了一大群围观者。
- The onlookers stood at a respectful distance. 旁观者站在一定的距离之外，以示尊敬。
- The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。
- He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Jim is halfway to attaining his pilot's licence. 吉姆就快要拿到飞行员执照了。
- By that time she was attaining to fifty. 那时她已快到五十岁了。
- Primary plaques were detectable in 16 to 20 hours. 在16到20小时内可查出原发溶斑。
- The gondoliers wore green and white livery and silver plaques on their chests. 船夫们穿着白绿两色的制服，胸前别着银质徽章。