英语沙龙：11月14日：小狂欢节

November 14 :The little Carnival¹

The true Carnival ushers² in the dreariness³ of Lent. In Cyprus and parts of Greece, the Little Carnival ushers in the Advent⁴ season, which, for purists, is also a time of abstinence. Many observe a forty-day fast, and generally no meat, sweets, or fats are eaten from November 15 until Christmas. So the Little Carnival is a last fling, a binge. Throughout the preceding week, Cypriots travel into the town from all over the countryside, just to shop for tonight’s feast. Nobody wants to be, as the saying goes, “caught barefooted and naked”when the Little Carnival arrives. For many country people, this constitutes a rare visit to town, so this has also become known as the time for replenishing household supplies, clothes, and shoes. An essential item at the feast is a type of sesame-seed-studded pastry⁵, which is baked in the shapes of men and women, animals and farm implements⁶, each with a little dough⁷ cross superimposed on top. One of these cookies is hung from a beam or placed before a household icon⁸ and left there for good luck until the next year’s Little Carnival.

In southernmost Greece’s Mani region, feasters gorge⁹ on a type of deep-fried knots and twists of sourdough. These are eaten with roasted meat, sprinkled with cheese, or drizzled¹⁰ with honey. Their very fragrance¹¹, it is said, signifies the start of the Christmas season.

11月14日：小狂欢节

随着正式的狂欢节到来的, 是枯燥的大斋期。在塞浦路斯和希腊部分地区, 小狂欢节之后便是基督降临节, 这对纯粹主义者来说, 也是斋戒的时节。许多人奉行４０天的斋戒, 从１１月１５日起直至圣诞节到来之前, 一般不吃肉、糖和油。因此, 小狂欢节是最后一次尽情欢乐的机会, 是狂欢的机会。在此之前的整整一周时间里, 塞浦路斯人从四面八方的乡村来到城里, 为这一晚的盛宴购物。谁也不愿在节日到来时像俗话所说的那样, “显得赤身光脚”。对许多乡村的人来说, 这是一次难得的进城的机会, 因此也成了添置居家物品、衣服和鞋子的时机。宴会时必不可少的一样东西是一种撒满芝麻的面点, 被烤成男人、女人、动物和农具的形状。每个面点上都放着一个小小的面制十字架。其中的一个面点挂在横梁上或放在家中的圣像前面, 一直放到来年的小狂欢节, 祈求好运。

在希腊最南部的马尼地区, 参加宴会的人要大吃一种用酵头发酵的油炸麻花, 同时还吃抹上奶酪或洒上蜂蜜的烤肉。据说它们散发出来的香味就表明圣诞季节开始了。

1 carnival   

n.嘉年华会，狂欢，狂欢节，巡回表演

参考例句：

• I got some good shots of the carnival.我有几个狂欢节的精彩镜头。
• Our street puts on a carnival every year.我们街的居民每年举行一次嘉年华会。

2 ushers   

n.引座员( usher的名词复数 )；招待员；门房；助理教员v.引，领，陪同( usher的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Seats clicked, ushers bowed while he looked blandly on. 座位发出啪啦啪啦的声响，领座员朝客人们鞠躬，而他在一边温和殷勤地看着。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• The minister then offers a brief prayer of dedication, and the ushers return to their seats. 于是牧师又做了一个简短的奉献的祈祷，各招待员也各自回座位。 来自辞典例句

3 dreariness   

沉寂，可怕，凄凉

参考例句：

• The park wore an aspect of utter dreariness and ruin. 园地上好久没人收拾，一片荒凉。
• There in the melancholy, in the dreariness, Bertha found a bitter fascination. 在这里，在阴郁、倦怠之中，伯莎发现了一种刺痛人心的魅力。

4 advent   

n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临

参考例句：

• Swallows come by groups at the advent of spring. 春天来临时燕子成群飞来。
• The advent of the Euro will redefine Europe.欧元的出现将重新定义欧洲。

5 pastry   

n.油酥面团，酥皮糕点

参考例句：

• The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry.厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。
• The pastry crust was always underdone.馅饼的壳皮常常烤得不透。

6 implements   

n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• Primitive man hunted wild animals with crude stone implements. 原始社会的人用粗糙的石器猎取野兽。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• They ordered quantities of farm implements. 他们订购了大量农具。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 dough   

n.生面团；钱，现款

参考例句：

• She formed the dough into squares.她把生面团捏成四方块。
• The baker is kneading dough.那位面包师在揉面。

8 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

9 gorge   

n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃

参考例句：

• East of the gorge leveled out.峡谷东面地势变得平坦起来。
• It made my gorge rise to hear the news.这消息令我作呕。

10 drizzled   

下蒙蒙细雨，下毛毛雨( drizzle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The dew on the branches drizzled our hair and shoulders. 枝头上的露珠润湿了我们的头发和双肩。
• It drizzled throughout the night. 毛毛雨下了一夜。

11 fragrance   

n.芬芳，香味，香气

参考例句：

• The apple blossoms filled the air with their fragrance.苹果花使空气充满香味。
• The fragrance of lavender filled the room.房间里充满了薰衣草的香味。