7-6 7月4日——沃尔顿火种节
时间：2018-12-05 作者：英语课 分类：英语沙龙2004全年合辑下
July 4-- Whalton Baal1 Fire
This annual rite 12 in the Northumbrian village of Whalton takes its name from either the Celtic3 word bel, meaning “bright,” the Anglo-Saxon4 bail 2, meaning “ fire,” or from the name of the old British sun god.
Today the bonfire5 is lit in the customary6 corner of the village green at 7:30 p.m., and it blazes hotly while villagers watch and morris7 dancers leap and stamp8 in the pulsating9 shadows. In former times the ritual was more intricate10. The Reverend11 J. Walker, vicar12 of Whalton, wrote in 1903 that “every year on the 4th of July as the sun goes down a huge bonfire is made and lighted.” The firewood, he wrote, had been gathered by a select group of youths over the past several weeks in a nearby forest. It was loaded into “a long cart ... and with much noise and shouting, with the blowing of a horn by one seated on top of the load, it is brought into the village. The pile is carefully constructed... As the twilight 313 deepens, the word is given to ‘ light her.’ Then the children, joining hands, will form a moving circle round the burning pile... As the flame mounts higher... it illuminates14 the whole village, a fiddle 515 is heard and the young people begin to dance... It was not unknown16 for some to leap over the fire.”
注释：
1. Baal [5beiEl] n. 太阳神，丰饶之神
2. rite [rait] n. (宗教等的)仪式；礼节；惯例
3. Celtic [5keltik] a. 凯尔特语的
4. Anglo-Saxon [5An^lEuE 5sAksn] a. 盎格鲁-撒克逊人(或其语言、文化)的
5. bonfire [5bCn7faiE] n. 篝火，营火
6.customary [5kQstEmEri] a. 惯常的，习惯上的
7. morris [5mCris] n. 莫里斯舞(英国的一种传统民间舞蹈，舞者通常为男子，身上系铃，扮作民间传说中的人物)
8. stamp [stAmp] vi. 跺脚；踩踏
9. pulsate 6 [pQl5seit] vi. 跳动；搏动；颤动
10. intricate [5intrikit] a. 复杂精细的，错综复杂的
11. reverend [5revErEnd] n. [常作(the)R] (对教士的尊称)大人
12. vicar [5vikE] n. (英国国教等的)教区牧师，教区教堂主持
13. twilight [5twailait] n. 黄昏；黎明
14. illuminate 4 [i5lju:mineit] vt. 照明；照亮；照射
15. fiddle [5fidl] n.〈口〉提琴类乐器；小提琴
16. it was not unknown (据说)曾有过
7月4日--沃尔顿火种节
这是沃尔顿的诺森伯兰村一年一度的节日。节日的名称也许来源于凯尔特语的bel一词，意思是“明亮的”，或是盎格鲁-撒克逊语的bail一词，意思是“火”，或是古代英国太阳神的名字。
如今，在晚上7点半钟，人们在村公共草地固定的一角点燃篝火。熊熊的烈火燃烧着，村民都在那里观看，还有跳莫里斯舞的人在跳动的火光里弹跳跺脚。而在过去这个仪式却要复杂得多。沃尔顿的约翰·沃克牧师大人在1903年曾这样记载：“在每年的7月4日，太阳落山以后，巨大的篝火就点了起来。”他写道，柴火是由专门挑选的一群青年人，在节前的几个星期里，从附近森林里采集的。他们把柴火装到“一辆长长的大车上……伴随着喧闹声、叫喊声，以及一个坐在柴火顶上的青年吹出的号角声，柴火被拉到了村子里。柴堆经过仔细地搭架……当夜幕降临时，有人发出‘点火’的命令。然后，孩子们就手拉着手围着燃烧的火堆组成一个移动的圈儿……火焰蹿得越来越高……把整个村子都照得通亮。这时，琴声响起，年轻人开始跳舞……据说还有人曾经从火上跳过去。”
- This festival descends from a religious rite.这个节日起源于宗教仪式。
- Most traditional societies have transition rites at puberty.大多数传统社会都为青春期的孩子举行成人礼。
- One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
- She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。
- Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
- Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。
- Dreams kindle a flame to illuminate our dark roads.梦想点燃火炬照亮我们黑暗的道路。
- They use games and drawings to illuminate their subject.他们用游戏和图画来阐明他们的主题。