口语素材：复活节的各种特别事物

 Egg 

　　The star of Easter—painted, dyed, gilded¹ in silver and gold, blown empty and hung on trees--is the egg. Legends abound² about this symbol of life. Around the world they are brought to church, given as gifts, hidden for the benefit of children and even rolled on the White House lawn. 

　　Bunny 

　　The Easter bunny is often considered a part of Easter because of the notable ability of bunnies to proliferate³. However, there are roots back to the actual name of Easter. A goddess of fertility, Eostre, (who may have been one of the inspirations for the name Easter) is said to have been accompanied by a hare. Although many sources debate this connection. The tradition of the bunny was brought to the U.S. by German settlers to Pennsylvania. 

　　Easter (the name) 

　　Some traditions connect this name with Ishtar, the Babylonian and Assyrian goddess of love and fertility, or Eostre, an Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring. Doubtless, the Christian⁴ holiday was modeled after pagan celebrations of spring and fertility. However, its traditions also closely mimic⁵ Passover, and the last supper is believed by some to be a Passover Seder. European names still use this root for what they call Easter; in Spanish it is Pasqua, French call it Paques, and the Italian name is Pasqua. 

　　The Date, a.k.a. "The Movable Feast" 

　　Easter is a moveable feast, meaning it changes depending on a few things. The council of Nicea 325 determined⁶ that it would occur after the full moon following the vernal equinox on the next occurring Sunday, unless this happened to interfere⁷ with Passover, in which case it should be the Sunday after that. Got it? This year we will celebrate Easter on April 4. However it can occur anytime between March 22 and April 25. 

　　Breads 

　　Hot cross buns and other breads marked with an X to symbolize⁸ the cross are a tradition on many Easter tables. Different sweet breads are also used all over the world. Try these: Choreg (Armenia), Paska (Ukraine), Babka (Poland), Tsoureki (Greece). Also try a traditional Italian Easter Bread (shown above) with eggs baked right in. These bread are conspicuously⁹ risen breads which may also show a desire for Easter traditions to be different from Passover which includes unleavened breads. 

　　Ham 

　　The tradition of eating ham most likely came from the slaughter¹⁰ of an animal before fall and then preserved in salt over the winter, sometimes buried near the sea. 67 percent of Americans serve ham at their Easter dinners, according to pork.com, and this typically breaks any meat fast that is undertaken during Lent.

1 gilded   

a.镀金的，富有的

参考例句：

• The golden light gilded the sea. 金色的阳光使大海如金子般闪闪发光。
• "Friends, they are only gilded disks of lead!" "朋友们，这只不过是些镀金的铅饼！ 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡

2 abound   

vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于

参考例句：

• Oranges abound here all the year round.这里一年到头都有很多橙子。
• But problems abound in the management of State-owned companies.但是在国有企业的管理中仍然存在不少问题。

3 proliferate   

vi.激增，(迅速)繁殖，增生

参考例句：

• We must not proliferate nuclear arms.我们决不能扩散核武器。
• Rabbits proliferate when they have plenty of food.兔子有充足的食物就会繁衍得很快。

4 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

5 mimic   

v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人

参考例句：

• A parrot can mimic a person's voice.鹦鹉能学人的声音。
• He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another.他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

6 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

7 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

8 symbolize   

vt.作为...的象征，用符号代表

参考例句：

• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。
• Dolphins symbolize the breath of life.海豚象征着生命的气息。

9 conspicuously   

ad.明显地，惹人注目地

参考例句：

• France remained a conspicuously uneasy country. 法国依然是个明显不太平的国家。
• She figured conspicuously in the public debate on the issue. 她在该问题的公开辩论中很引人注目。

10 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。