常春藤生活英语【58】情人的守护神(在线收听

St.1 Valentine's2 story started a short time before his death in AD 280. The emperor at the time was namedClaudius. He decided that none of the men in the army could be married. Saint Valentine, whose real name was Valentinus, was a Christian3 priest4. He disagreed with Claudius' decision and secretly helped young couples get married. The emperor was furious at what Valentinus did. So,Claudius arrested him and put him in prison.

Valentinus worried that his followers would lose hope because he was arrested. So, he sent them messages by tying notes to doves' legs. In the messages, he encouraged them to stay faithful and to look out for one another.

It is also said that on the day Valentinus was killed, he wrote a goodbye note to the daughter of a prison guard. She had been blind and deaf before he had cured her. On the note, he signed, "from your Valentine." In AD 496, Pope Gelasius I declared Valentinus to be a martyr5 and Valentinus received the title6 of Saint. Although the details of Valetinus' life have been lost in history, his legend still exists.

关于圣瓦仑丁的故事,是他在公元280年去世前不久所揭开序幕的。当时的皇帝叫克劳迪斯。他下令军队里的男人都不能结婚。本名为瓦仑廷斯的圣瓦仑丁是一名基督教牧师。他不认同克劳迪斯的命令,并且还秘密地帮助年轻情侣结婚。皇帝对瓦仑廷斯的所作所为大为光火。所以克劳迪斯将他逮捕并关进牢里。瓦仑廷斯担心他的追随者会因为他被逮捕而失去希望。因此他便飞鸽传书给他们。在信息中,他鼓励他们保持信念并照料彼此。

此外,据说在瓦仑廷斯被处死当天,他写了一张告别纸条给某位狱卒的女儿。瓦仑廷斯将她治愈之前,她一直是又聋又瞎。他在便条上签上『来自妳的瓦仑丁』(编按:此处的"from your Valentine"只是单纯署名而已。但时至今日,这样的签法则常出现在情人节卡片上,意思也变为『来自你的情人』之意)。公元496年,教宗杰拉西斯一世宣布瓦仑廷斯成为一位殉教者,同时也得到圣者的头衔。虽然瓦仑廷斯生平故事的细节在历史中为人所遗忘,但是他的传奇却依然流传至今。

Building Your Vocabulary

1.furious a. 暴怒的,狂怒的
My boss was furious with me when I was late for work again.
因为我上班又迟到了,所以老板对我大发雷霆。

2.faithful a. 忠诚的,忠实的
You should be faithful to your own feelings.
你应该忠于自己内心的感觉。

3.declare vt. 宣布,声明
Judy declared that she was getting married.
朱迪宣布她要结婚了。

Phrases for Learning

1.disagree with... 不同意……
Why do you always disagree with my ideas?
为何你总是不同意我的想法?

2.put + 人 + in prison 将某人关进牢里
The judge decided to put Bill in prison.
法官决定将比尔关进牢里。

3.look out for... 留意∕照料……
I'm always looking out for my younger sister.
我总是在照料我妹妹。

< 参考字词 >
1.saint n. 圣人、圣徒(缩写为 St.)
2.Valentine n. 人名;(小写)情人
3.Christian a. 基督教的
4.priest n. 牧师
5.martyr n. 殉道者;烈士
6.title n. 头衔,称号

TIPS IN USE

St. Valentine's story started a short time before his death in AD 280.
(关于圣瓦仑丁的故事,是他在公元280年去世前不久所揭开序幕的。)

AD 表『公元』,而 BC 则表『公元前』。两者的分野为耶稣诞生那一年,其表示方法如下:

1.500 BC → 公元前500年
BC 为"Before Christ"(耶稣诞生前)的缩写。

2.AD 2008 → 公元2008年
AD 为拉丁文 Anno Domini 的缩写,其意为"in the year of our lord"(我们活在主的年代)。

注意:若是年份不特别注明是 AD 或 BC,通常指的是公元某某年。但若是文章内两者皆同时提及,则必须写上 AD 或 BC 以示区隔。细心的读者可发现,本文中无 BC,却仍将 AD 写上,这是因为如果年份是三位数或以下,习惯上也会以 AD 标明。

Enjoy Box

爱在全世界

每年的二月十四日是西洋情人节。在这个浪漫的一天里,全世界的有情人都会甜蜜地庆祝佳节。美国的男性会在这一天向女性朋友说声『情人节快乐』,这已经逐渐演变成一种在公开场合中打招呼的形式。在日本,女性会送巧克力给她喜欢的男性,而男性则会在一个月后的白色情人节回礼以表情衷。在韩国,除了过情人节和白色情人节以外,他们也在四月十四日过黑色情人节。这是一个属于单身人士的非正式节日,那些在情人节和白色情人节收不到任何礼物的人,都会聚在一起吃韩式炸酱面来安慰彼此。在英国,各地庆祝的方式都不同,不过共同的习俗是会请小朋友唱特殊歌曲,小朋友唱完后便能拿到糖果、水果或零用钱作为奖赏。德国人则喜欢送爱心形状的礼物作为爱的纪念品,上头还会附上可爱的话语。虽然世界各地的庆祝方式不尽相同,但二月十四日情人节这天,确实提供了一个大好机会,让天下有情人互诉情衷。

  原文地址:http://www.tingroom.com/lesson/cctshyy/134263.html