Unit-13

Unit13FestivalsI.TextTranslationAnalysisII.TranslationofModifiersIII.ClassroomExercisesandCommentIV.CommentontheAfter-ClassExerciseTheOriginofValentine’sDayEveryFebruary,acrossthecountry,candy,flowers,andgiftsareexchangedbetweenlovedones,allinthenameofSt.Valentine.Butwhoisthismysterioussaintandwhydowecelebratethisholiday?ThehistoryofValentine’sDay—anditspatronsaint—isshroudedinmystery.情人节的由来每年二月，全国各地相爱的人们都以圣•瓦伦丁的名义互赠糖果、鲜花和礼物。这位神秘的圣徒到底是谁？而我们又缘何庆祝圣•瓦伦丁（情人节）？虽然情人节的历史—以及这位情人节的守护圣徒瓦伦丁其人其事—已笼罩在神秘的帷幕之中，ButwedoknowthatFebruaryhaslongbeenamonthofromance.St.Valentine’sDay,asweknowittoday,containsvestigesofbothChristianandancientRometraditions.So,whowasSt.Valentineandhowdidhebecomeassociatedwiththisancientrite?但是我们知道，二月是个浪漫之月。而今天的情人节，同时有着基督教传统和古罗马传统的影子。那么，圣•瓦伦丁究竟是谁？他和这古老的节典有何关联？OnelegendcontendsthatValentinewasapriestwhoservedduringthethirdcenturyinRome.WhenEmperorClaudiusIIdecidedthatsinglemenmadebettersoldiersthanthosewithwivesandfamilies,heoutlawedmarriageforyoungmen—hiscropofpotentialsoldiers.有一种说法认为，瓦伦丁是公元3世纪罗马的一位神职教师。当时，罗马皇帝克劳迪亚斯二世认定未婚的士兵比有妻室的士兵更善战，于是他宣布年轻男子--他未来的兵源--结婚是非法的。Valentine,realizingtheinjusticeofthedecree,defiedClaudiusandcontinuedtoperformmarriageforyoungloversinsecret.WhenValentine’sactionswerediscovered,Claudiusorderedthathebeputtodeath.瓦伦丁觉得这项法令是非正义的，便违抗皇帝的命令，继续秘密地给年轻恋人主持婚礼。克劳迪亚斯发现后，便下令处死瓦伦丁。OtherstoriessuggestedthatValentinemayhavebeenkilledforattemptingtohelpChristiansescapeharshRomanprisonswheretheywereoftenbeatenandtortured.还有一些说法认为，瓦伦丁是因为帮在罗马监狱里遭受酷刑的基督教信徒越狱，而被处以极刑的。Accordingtoanotherlegend,Valentineactuallysentthefirst“Valentine”greetinghimself.Whileinprison,itisbelievedthatValentinefellinlovewithayounggirl—whomayhavebeenhisjailor’sdaughter—whovisitedhimduringhisconfinement.Beforehisdeath,itisallegedthathewroteheraletter,whichhesigned“FromyourValentine,”anexpressionthatisstillinusetoday.还有一种说法是，瓦伦丁就是一位发给“瓦伦丁”（情人）问候的人。他在牢狱中，和一位探视他、也许是典狱长的女儿的年轻女子坠入了爱河。据说他被处死前，给这位女子写过一封信，署名“你的瓦伦丁”（你的情人），该署名沿用至今。AlthoughthetruthbehindtheValentinelegendsismurky,thestoriescertainlyemphasizehisappealasasympathetic,heroic,and,mostimportantly,romanticfigure.It’snosurprisethatbytheMiddleAges,ValentinewasoneofthemostpopularsaintsinEnglandandFrance.尽管事情的真相仍然扑朔迷离，但这些传说无不将瓦伦丁塑造成一位悲天悯人、英勇无畏的人物，更重要的是，他充满了浪漫情怀。所以，到了中世纪的时候，瓦伦丁已经成为在英法两国最受爱戴的圣徒。WhilesomebelievethatValentine’sDayiscelebratedinthemiddleofFebruarytocommemoratetheanniversaryofValentine’sdeathorburial–whichprobablyoccurredaroundA.D.270—othersclaimthattheChristianchurchmayhavedecidedtocelebrateValentine’sfeastdayinthemiddleofFebruaryinaneffortto“Christianize”celebrationsofthepaganLupercaliafestival.有些人相信，情人节在2月中旬过是为了纪念瓦伦丁大约在公元270年逝世或入殓之日。还有些人则宣称，基督教把2月中旬的日子定为瓦伦丁节庆祝，也许是为了将异教徒的牧神节基督教化。InancientRome,Februarywastheofficialbeginningofspringandwasconsideredatimeforpurification.Houseswererituallycleansedbysweepingthemoutandthensprinklingsaltandatypeofwheatcalledspeltthroughouttheirinteriors.Lupercalia,whichbeganatFebruary15,wasafertilityfestivaldedicatedtoFaunus,theRomangodofagriculture,aswellastotheRomanfoundersRomulusandRemus.在古罗马，2月为春天开始，也被认定是进行“净化仪式”的时间。这时，家家户户都要正式地清扫屋子，并在屋内撒上盐和一种叫斯佩尔特的小麦。牧神节，2月15日开始，是纪念罗马农牧之神福纳斯的日子，同时也是纪念罗马的创立者罗穆卢斯和瑞摩斯的日子。Tobeginthefestival,membersoftheLuperci,anorderofromanpriest,wouldgatheratthesacredcavewhereinfantsRomulusandRemus,thefoundersofRome,werebelievedtohavebeencaredforbyashe-wolforLupa.Thepriestswouldthensacrificeagoat,forfertility,andadog,forpurification.庆典开始时，罗马牧神团的成员们聚集在圣洞前，人们相信罗马的建立者罗穆卢斯和瑞摩斯，在襁褓中时曾在此洞中受到一头母狼的哺育之恩。牧师们会献祭一头山羊，以求丰收、繁衍、另进献一只狗，以求净化。Theboysthenslicedthegoat’shideintostrips,dippedtheminthesacrificialbloodandtooktothestreets,gentlyslappingbothwomenandfieldsofcropswiththegoathidestrips.Farfrombeingfearful,Romanwomenwelcomedbeingtouchedwithhidesbecauseitwasbelievedthestripswouldmakethemmorefertileinthecomingyear.然后，孩子们把山羊皮切割成条，蘸上祭血，跑到街上，轻轻地抽打女人们和田里的庄稼。罗马的女人们并不害怕，相反她们很乐意被打，因为据说山羊皮能增强她们未来的生殖能力。Laterintheday,accordingtothelegend,alltheyoungwomeninthecitywouldplacetheirnamesinabigurn.Thecity’sbachelorswouldtheneachchooseanameoutoftheurnandbecomepairedfortheyearwithhischosenwoman.Thesematchesoftenendedinmarriage.据传，那天下午，城里的所有年轻女子都把自己名字写好放进一个钵里，城里的单身汉们便从钵里抽出一个名字，并在这一年里与此名女子结为伴侣，这些情侣后来多结为夫妻。PopeGelasiusdeclaredFebruary14St.Valentine’sDayaroundA.D.498.TheRoman“lottery”systemforromanticpairingwasdeemedun-Christianandoutlawed.Later,duringtheMiddleAges,itwascommonlybelievedinFranceandEnglandthatFebruary14wasthebeginningofbirds’matingseason,whichaddedtotheideathatthemiddleofFebruary—Valentine’sDay—shouldbeadayforromance.大约在公元498年教皇格拉修宣布2月14日为圣•瓦伦丁节，罗马的“抽签”配对的风俗被认为不符合基督教义而被定为非法。到了中世纪，法兰西和英格兰人普遍相信鸟儿的交尾始于2月14日，从而更加相信2月中的瓦伦丁节应当是浪漫的日子。TheoldestknownvalentinestillinexistencetodaywasapoemwrittenbyCharles,DuykeofOrleanstohiswifewhilehewasimprisonedintheTowerofLondonfollowinghiscaptureatthebattleofAgincourt.在现存的资料中，“瓦伦丁”一词最早出现在一首诗里。该诗是在阿金库尔战役中被俘的奥尔良公爵查尔斯被囚禁在伦敦塔中写给他妻子的。InGreatBritain,Valentine’sDaybegantobepopularlycelebratedaroundtheseventeenthcentury.Bythemiddleoftheeighteenthcentury,itwascommonforfriendsandloversina