英语沙龙合集五.pdf

5 April Fool s Day While popular in the U S the April Fool s Day tradition is even more prevalent1 in European countries such as France and Great Britain Although the roots of the traditional trickings2 are unclear the French and the British both have claims on the origin of the celebration One theory holds that the first April Fool s Day was on April 1 of the year when King of France instituted the new calendar This new system placed the day that had formerly been the first day of a new year on April 1 Many people were reluctant3 to adjust to4 the new calendar and continued to celebrate New Year s Day on what had become the first day of April Thus they become the first April fools Others began to give gag5 gifts on the day to mock the foolishness of those who continued to celebrate the new year on April 1 An English story about the day however holds that it began sometime during the 1200s At the time King John of England was in the habit of6 making a road out of nearly every path he walked regularly The citizens of one particular farm village were aware of this To avoid having their green meadows7 and pastures disturbed with one of the king s roads they built a fence that prevented the king from walking through their countryside The king sent a group of messengers to inform the villagers that they must remove the barrier8 Upon hearing that the king was planning to do this however the villagers developed a plan of their own When the messengers arrived they found what appeared to be a community of lunatics9 with people behaving in a bizarre10 manner throwing things and running around wildly The messengers alarmed at what they had found reported to King John that these people were so mad as to be beyond punishment So the villagers saved their farmland by tricking the King In Great Britain tradition only allows April Fool s tricks from midnight to noon on April 1 Those who try to play tricks in the afternoon become the fools themselves 愚人节 愚人节的习俗在美国是很流行的 在欧洲国家如法国和英国就更是如此了 虽然这种愚弄人习俗的起源不甚清楚 但法国人和英国人却都声称这种庆祝活动 是由他们开始的 有一种说法是 第一个愚人节始于法国新历法实行那年的 4 月 1 日 在这一 天法国国王宣布实行新历法 这种新历法将过去的新的一年第一天定在 4 月 1 日 很多人却不愿意按新的历法行事 还继续在根据新的历法已经是 4 月的第一 天庆祝新年 于是他们就成了第一批愚人 另一些人开始在这一天送恶作剧的礼 物来取笑那些继续在 4 月 1 日庆祝新年的人 关于这一天 英国的一个故事则说它是始于 13 世纪的某一天 那时 英格 兰的约翰国王习惯于将他经常走的几乎每一条小道都修成一条路 有一个乡村的 居民知道了这个情况 为了保护他们绿色的草地和牧场免受国王修路所将造成的 破坏 他们修了一道篱笆来阻挡国王在他们的乡间穿行 国王派了一队使者去通 报村民们必须拆除障碍 在听到国王打算这么做时 村民们也想出了自己的办法 当使者到达时 他们看到这儿的人像一群疯子似的 样子怪诞 乱扔东西 四下 疯跑 使者们惊讶于他们所看到的情景 向约翰国王报告说 这些人疯得厉害根 本没法处罚 村民们就这样骗过了国王 保护了自己的农田 在英国 按习俗在 4 月 1 日只允许从半夜到中午的这段时间可以搞愚人的恶作剧 到下午还这么做 的人自己就成了愚人了 1 prevalent adj 流行的 盛行的 2 trick vi 戏弄 开玩笑 3 reluctant adj 不情愿的 勉强的 4 adjust vi 适应 常与 to 搭配 在生活方相互熟悉而适应 5 gag n 恶作剧 戏弄 6 tobeinthehabitof 有 的习惯 7 meadow n 草地 牧场 8 barrier n 障碍物 屏障 9 lunatic n 疯子 10 bizarre adj 怪诞的式等方面 5 Cartoon Giant William Hanna It s a sad day in Toontown Cartoon pioneer William Hanna co chairman and co founder of Hanna Barbera Studios passed away on March 22 at his home in North Hollywood He was 90 Hanna was responsible for such famous animation icons as Tom and Jerry Huckleberry Hound Yogi Bear The Flintstones and The Jetsons Bill was a cartoon scientist and a genius at timing said Betty Cohen president of the Cartoon Network The cartoons of Hanna Barbera have influenced and entertained generations of kids and adults and will serve as a legacy to his talent Born in New Mexico in 1910 Hanna studied journalism and engineering in college He left school in 1929 to start work as a structural engineer only to be laid off during the Depression He then moved on to animation and formed a partnership with Joseph Barbera at the early age of 27 a partnership that would come to define the rest of their careers The Metro Goldwyn Mayer MGM hired him in 1937 as animation director A month later Barbera joined the studio they were soon collaborating on projects In 1939 they came up with battling cat and mouse Tom and Jerry Tom and Jerry s first appearance in Puss Gets the Boot won the pair an Academy Award nomination for best cartoon short in 1940 In the next 12 years the pair s creation would garner them 12 nominations and seven Oscars over the course of more than 100 cartoons As the movie going audience declined and moved to television Hanna and Barbera moved with it creating The Huckleberry Hound Show the first weekly show composed entirely of original cartoons The Huckleberry Hound Show won an Emmy Award in 1958 for outstanding achievement in the field of children s entertainment the first cartoon ever to receive this honor Hanna Barbera has won eight Emmys Two years later in 1960 the pair launched The Flintstones the first cartoon sitcom to play in prime time The Flintstones ran for six years until 1966 Similar success followed as the pair went on to help the creation of many of the most recognizable cartoons over the past four decades like Yogi Bear and The Jetsons Among their accomplishments was Scooby Doo Where Are You which was produced for 17 years and was television s longest running animated series 动画大师威廉 汉纳 90 高龄辞世 3 月 22 日 是动画城悲哀的一天 这一天 动画片创始人汉纳 巴伯拉影 视公司的联合主席和共同创办人 威廉 汉纳在好莱坞北部家中辞世 终年 90 岁 汉纳一生中创作出了众多著名的动画形象 如汤姆和杰瑞 小猎狗 瑜 珈熊 弗林斯通以及杰特森一家 动画网的总裁贝蒂 科恩说 比尔是个卡通科学家 也是掌握时机的天才 好几代儿童和成年人都受到汉纳 巴伯拉的卡通形象的影响并从中获得快乐 这 些卡通形象将作为他才智的遗产传留后世 汉纳 1910 年出生于新墨西哥州 他在大学里学的是新闻学和工程学 1929 年离开学校当了建筑工程师 结果却在大萧条时期失业 他随后转向动画业 并 早在 27 岁时就与约瑟夫 巴伯拉结成合作伙伴 这种伙伴关系确定了他们此后 的职业生涯 1937 年汉纳受雇于米高梅制片公司 当了动画片制作人 一个月后巴伯拉 加入该制片公司 随即他们开始了事业上的合作 1939 年他们创造出了争斗不 休的猫和老鼠 汤姆和杰瑞 汤姆和杰瑞的首次亮相是在 猫咪被解雇 一片 该片为这对合作伙伴赢得了1940年奥斯卡最佳动画短片奖提名 在此后12年里 他们共创作出 100 多部动画片 12 次获得提名 7 次获得奥斯卡奖 当电影观众日渐寥落 而转向电视时 汉纳和巴伯拉也随之转移阵地 创作 了 小猎狗和朋友们 节目 这是第一部全由原创卡通形象构成的每周播映的电 视节目 1958 年该动画因在儿童娱乐领域的突出成就 而获得 埃米 奖 并 成为获此殊荣的第一部卡通片 汉纳 巴伯拉 8 次获得 埃米 奖 两年之后 即 1960 年 他们创作了 石头族乐园 这是第一部在黄金时 间播出的动画情景喜剧 石头族乐园 连播了 6 年 直到 1966 年才播完 类似的成功接踵而至 在过去的 40 余年里 他们又创作出了许多广为人知 的动画片 如 瑜珈熊 和 杰特森一家 他们的成就还包括 Scooby Doo 你在哪儿 该片播映了 17 年之久 是电视台播放时间最长的动画系列片 5 Origins of Eastch Traditionl Do you know how the custom of coloring Easter eggs began or how the tradition of the Easter Bunny began 1 The egg has always been a symbol of new life Christians have long used the egg as the symbol of Christ s rebirth 2 It is thought the custom of dyeing1 eggs was brought to Europe during the Middle Ages by the Crusaders2 as it was common practice among the Egyptians Persians3 Phoenicians4 Greeks and Romans to dye eggs for their spring festivals 3 In eastern and central Europe Easter eggs are taken very seriously The most elaborate5 eggs are decorated by the people from Poland and Ukraine6 They call them pysanki eggs which means written eggs Thus began the custom of writing on Easter eggs 4 The most elaborate Easter eggs are not even real eggs A Russian jeweler Carl Faberge made his eggs out of gold silver and jewels The eggs opened to show tiny figures of people animals plants or buildings The Russian emperor gave these eggs as gifts 5 The custom of wearing new clothes on Easter began around 300 A D around the time of Constantine the first Christian emperor He decreed7 that members of his court should wear their finest clothes on Easter 6 The first Easter baskets were made to look like birds nests In early times people placed their Easter eggs in grass nests to honor the ancient goddess Eostre 7 The Easter Bunny is the modern version of a very old Easter symbol The hare8 a larger relative of the rabbit was an animal sacred to9 the goddess Eostre 8 The custom of the Easter egg hunt folklore10 tells us was started by a German duchess11 It was said the brightly decorated eggs were left by the Easter rabbit for the country children who made a game of finding the eggs 复 活 节 习 俗 的 渊 源 你 知 道 复 活 节 彩 蛋 或 复 活 节 兔 子 的 习 俗 是 如 何 开 始 的 吗 1 蛋 一 向 是 新 生 命 的 象 征 长 久 以 来 基 督 徒 都 以 蛋 作 为 基 督 复 活 的 象 征 2 人 们 认 为 给 蛋 染 色 的 习 俗 是 在 中 世 纪 由 十 字 军 战 士 传 入 欧 洲 的 因 为 埃 及 人 波 斯 人 腓 尼 基 人 希 腊 人 和 罗 马 人 惯 常 为 庆 祝 其 春 节 而 将 蛋 染 色 3 在 东 欧 和 中 欧 人 们 对 复 活 节 彩 蛋 是 看 得 很 重 的 最 精 心 制 作 彩 蛋 的 是 波 兰 人 和 乌 克 兰 人 他 们 把 这 种 蛋 叫 做 pysanki 意 思 是 写 了 字 的 蛋 于 是 就 开 始 了 在 复 活 节 彩 蛋 上 写 字 的 习 俗 4 最 精 心 制 作 的 复 活 节 彩 蛋 甚 至 不 是 真 蛋 一 个 叫 卡 尔 费 伯 奇 的 俄 国 珠 宝 商 曾 用 金 银 和 珠 宝 做 成 彩 蛋 打 开 蛋 还 可 以 看 到 小 小 的 人 动 物 植 物 和 房 子 俄 国 皇 帝 以 此 作 为 礼 物 送 人 5 在 复 活 节 穿 新 衣 服 的 习 俗 是 在 公 元 后 300 年 左 右 开 始 的 大 约 在 第 一 个 基 督 徒 皇 帝 康 斯 坦 丁 的 时 代 他 下 令 在 复 活 节 那 天 朝 臣 们 都 得 穿 最 好 的 衣 服 6 第 一 批 复 活 节 篮 子 做 得 像 鸟 窝 一 样 在 早 期 人 们 将 复 活 节 彩 蛋 放 在 草 窝 里 来 膜 拜 古 代 女 神 厄 俄 斯 特 7 复 活 节 兔 子 是 非 常 古 老 的 复 活 节 象 征 的 现 代 说 法 野 兔 是 兔 子 的 大 个 子 亲 戚 它 是 专 供 厄 俄 斯 特 女 神 用 的 圣 物 8 寻 找 复 活 节 彩 蛋 的 习 俗 据 民 间 传 说 是 由 一 位 德 国 公 爵 夫 人 兴 起 的 据 说 五 彩 缤 纷 的 彩 蛋 是 复 活 节 兔 子 为 乡 村 的 孩 子 们 留 下 的 孩 子 们 把 找 蛋 作 为 一 种 游 戏 1 dye vt 给 染 色 染 2 crusader n 史 十 字 军 战 士 3 Persian n 波 斯 人 4 Phoenician n 腓 尼 基 人 5 elaborate adj 精 心 制 作 的 6 Ukraine 乌 克 兰 7 decree vt 命 令 颁 布 8 hare n 野 兔 9 sacred adj 与 to 连 用 专 供 用 的 10 folklore n 民 间 传 说 11 duchess n 公 爵 夫 人 女 公 爵 5 At the Critical Monment Sunrise was still an hour away when Deborah arose to get her four children off to school It was the week before Christmas and presents were piling up beneath their sparkling tree Watching her 15 year old daughter Razeena step into Boston s empty city streets Deborah felt uneasy though she didn t know why Now Razeena was thinking about Christmas and admiring the holiday lights at the nearby senior citizens apartment complex1 It s so pretty she thought stopping in front I ll just take a peek2 through the front door But as Razeena peered3 through the door her heart lurched4 The lobby5 was filled with smoke and she could hear the crackle6 of flames The building is on fire She looked around wildly for help but not a soul7 was in sight Someone has to save these people Razeena panicked8 She quickly tried the door but it was locked so she started to pound on it Help she cried and an elderly man nudged9 open the door Fire Razeena yelled running into the hallway and pounding on every door she saw Everybody get out The building had two floors and soon Razeena was charging up10 the stairs Her heart was hammering11 and her throat felt tight but still she pushed herself Hurry hurry She urged herself You have to help them Upstairs the thick smoke was hanging just a few feet above the floor People could die if they breathe in that smoke She thought terror rising inside her Instinctively she dropped to her belly to crawl She saw pairs of slippered feet but no one was moving They can t see where to go She realized Down here she yelled Follow me Holding a sleeve over her mouth she scrambled12 to her feet and led the elderly residents down the stairs The support beams of the ceiling were ablaze13 and burning tiles14 fell to the floor What if the ceiling caves in15 Razeena thought desperately We don t have much time So she pounded up and down16 the stairs weaving through the smoke and heat to fetch more people Take my arm she told the frantic residents Her eyes burned and flames were hissing17 louder But I can t stop she thought I won t One man stumbled18 out in boxer shorts19 It s so cold outside he ll freeze Razeena thought and instantly ripped off her coat Take this she told him Another man was too weak to walk I ll carry you she announced hoisting him into her arms Oh I hope everyone will be all right she thought as she helped them to the sidewalk It s funny I m not even scared Finally she led the last person out They stood on the sidewalk dazed20 and crying but alive Thank you so much they told her over and over Without you we never would have made it As firetrucks screeched up the street Razeena walked home in a daze Deborah gasped when her daughter walked in the door She was shaking and covered from head to toe with soot21 What happened she cried Razeena collapsed in her mother s arms bursting into sobs There was a fire so many people I think I saved them all she sputtered I ruined my uniform Razeena was crying I thought you might be mad Deborah shook her head tears in her own eyes Oh honey I m so proud of you she whispered When firefighters learned of Razeena s bravery they presented her with a commissioner s award and plaque Newspaper and TV interviews followed Even President Clinton sent his praise and thanks 危急时刻 五 还有 1 个小时才天亮 德博拉就起床打发 4 个孩子上学了 现在是圣诞节前 的一星期 闪闪发光的圣诞树下已经堆满了礼物 当德博拉看着 15 岁的女儿拉泽娜踏上波士顿空无一人的街道时 心中有种 不安的感觉 尽管她不知是何原因 此时 拉泽娜正一边想着圣诞节 一边欣赏附近老年公寓里的节日灯光 真 漂亮啊 她想着 在公寓前停了下来 我就从前门往里瞥一眼吧 但当她往门里一看时 她的心猛地颤起来 大堂里充满了烟雾 她还听到了 东西燃烧的噼啪声 这房子着火了 她急切地四下张望找人帮忙 可一个人也没看见 得有人救 这些人啊 拉泽娜万分着急 她立即去开门 而门却锁着 于是她使劲地敲起来 救命呀 她大声地 喊 一位老年男子才轻轻地将门打开来 着火了 拉泽娜一边喊一边跑到走廊 看见每个门都敲 大家都出 来 这幢房子有两层楼 很快拉泽娜就冲上了楼梯 她的心怦怦地跳 喉咙发 紧 但她还是费劲地往上走 快 快 她催促着自己 你得帮助他们 楼上 浓烟悬浮在离地面仅仅几英尺处 人要是将这烟吸进去就会死的 她 想着 心中充满了恐惧 她本能地趴在地上匍匐前进 她看见一双双穿着拖鞋的脚 可是谁也没有 挪动一步 她意识到他们看不清该往哪儿走 往这儿来 她叫喊道 跟着 我 她用一只袖子捂住嘴 赶忙站起身来 领着那些老人下楼 支撑天花板的梁 都已经着火了 燃烧着的瓦片纷纷掉落到地板上 天花板要是塌下来怎么办 拉 泽娜万分着急 时间紧迫 于是她咚咚地上楼下楼 在炽热的浓烟中来回穿行 接送更多的人 抓住 我的手臂 她对那些紧张万分的老人说 她的眼睛火辣辣的 火焰发出的嘶嘶 声更大了 但是她想 我不能停下来 我不会的 有一个人穿着拳击裤跌跌撞撞地走了出来 外面太冷了 他会冻坏的 拉 泽娜想 于是立即脱下了自己的外套 穿上这个 她对他说 另一个人虚弱 得挪不动步子 我来抱你 她说着 双臂将他抱了起来 啊 希望大家都平安无事 她一边把他们带到人行道上一边想 奇怪 我居 然不感到害怕 终于 她把最后一个人带了出来 他们都茫然地站在人行道上 哭泣着 但是都活着 太感谢你了 他们一遍一遍地对她说 要是没有你 我们自 己是跑不出来的 当街上充满了消防车刺耳的啸鸣声时 拉泽娜恍恍惚惚地走回家去了 德博拉看见女儿进门时倒抽了一口冷气 女儿浑身颤抖 从头到脚满是黑灰 出什么事了 她大声问 拉泽娜一下瘫倒在母亲的怀抱里 抽噎起来 有个地方着火了 好多人 呢 我想我把他们都救出来了 她语无伦次地说 我把制服弄坏了 拉泽娜哭着 我想你会很生气的 德博拉摇摇头 眼里满是泪水 啊 宝贝 我真为你骄傲 她低声说 消防队员们听说了拉泽娜的勇敢行为之后授予她警察局长颁发的奖金和奖章 报 纸和电视台的采访随之而至 连克林顿总统都致信赞扬并向她表示谢意 plex n 集合体 建筑群 2 peek n 一瞥 很快的一看 3 peer vi 仔细看 凝视 4 lurch vi 突然倾斜 突然急动 5 lobby n 穿堂 大厅 6 crackle n 噼啪声 爆裂声 7 soul n 常冠以数词或带有情感色彩的形容词 人 家伙 8 panic vi pt panicked 感到惊慌 9 nudge vt 轻推 10 chargeup 冲上前 11 hammer vi 反复 敲打 12 scramble vi 仓促行动 13 ablaze adj 着火 14 tile n 瓦片 瓷砖 花砖 15 cavein 塌落 倒坍 16 upanddown 来来回回 往返地 17 hiss vi 发着嘶嘶声逸出 或移动 18 stumble vi 跌跌撞撞地走 蹒跚而行 19 boxershorts 复 拳击裤 20 dazed adj 茫然的 恍惚的 21 soot n 煤烟 炭黑色 5 Prince Charming Will s World On the occasion of his 18th birthday the world was getting a rare look at the man who was born to be the king of England The shattered boy who marched bravely behind his mother s coffin1 years ago has emerged as thoughtful young man a thoroughly modern monarch2 With a smile disarmingly3 like Diana s and his father s sense of duty William has the makings of a thoroughly modern monarch As befits4 a 21st century prince he s being introduced to his future subjects through the media Although he s still very young and no one knows what challenges he ll face imagery clearly will have to be a top priority The birthday pictures released tells the story of a young man equally at home or on the rugby5 field or in front of a computer He s a leader but also one of the boys and seems remarkably comfortable in his own skin It s a very different image from the stiff and formal portraits of Elizabeth and Charles at the same age Because he s been sheltered from publicity William is very much an unknown quantity to most of his future subjects And he seems to like it that way At almost every photo opportunity in the past few years William has appeared at best shy and often deliberately distant Photographers frequently complained that they would go through many rolls of film just to get a few frames in which William was actually smiling William is said to have hated the paparazzi6 who emerged from nowhere when he was out with his mother and as he grew older he reportedly avoided appearing in public with her He preferred holidays with his father at Balmoral in Scotland where the flashbulbs7 could be kept at bay by acres of royal land William thrived on Eton s legendary playing fields excelling at rugby football swimming and water polo The birthday pictures show him participating in all these sports with some gusto8 enjoying a rough and tumble9 life But he was more than just a jock William reportedly took his studies very seriously and earned a respectable number of A s at the academically demanding school William s success at Eton is very different from his father s experiences as a teenager and that has helped him develop leadership skills he ll need as king Charles has said that he was miserable at Gordonstoun his no frills10 boarding school in Scotland and was bullied by classmates But if Charles was the kid everyone picked on11 William at 18 appears to be the quintessential12 cool guy whom everyone wants to befriend regardless of his royal status He was elected to the Eton Society That entitled him to impose fines on younger boys who broke school rules It also meant he got to wear a special uniform including vests of his own design When William talked about his experiences at Eton and the ever more intense media attention he anticipates in the future he said I have particularly appreciated being left alone at Eton which has allowed me to concentrate on my schoolwork and enjoy being with my friends without being followed by cameras I hope I can enjoy the same freedom at university That doesn t seem likely At a university there s a lot more potential than there was at Eton for William to be exposed in a compromising position girlfriends parties even his grades could all be tabloid13 fodder14 Fear of publicity may be one reason why William s first choice for university is reported to be Edinburgh in Scotland rather than Oxford or Cambridge William refused to discuss his personal life in the birthday interview I like to keep my private life private There s been a lot of nonsense put out by PR firms he said I don t like being exploited in this way but as I get older it s increasingly hard to prevent He is beginning to understand that his best hope for keeping these intrusions15 at bay is to slowly tame16 the beast that stalks17 him the media Despite his childhood mistrust of the flashbulbs he s beginning to find his own way in the spotlight Nicholas Owen a correspondent for the British television network ITN was understandably startled18 when a royal aide approached him at Klosters the chic19 Swiss ski resort favored by Charles and his sons The aide wanted to know if William and Harry could watch as Owen and his editor looked over their tape of the most recent photos of the royal family The two young men came over and stood alongside m