英语悠选脱口秀 第76期:榭寄生下的吻

 　　讲解

　　Today’s key word is Mistletoe

　　Mistletoe 榭寄生

　　Mistletoe is a plant(植物) with pale berries（浆果） that grows on the branches（树枝） of some trees. Mistletoe is used in Britain and the United¹ States as a Christmas decoration（装饰）, and people often kiss under it.

　　Here is a lovely example:

　　He used the mistletoe as an excuse to kiss her.

　　他用槲寄生枝条为借口吻了她.

　　大家或多或少都听过关于榭寄生mistletoe的故事。圣诞节时，站在mistletoe下面，不论是不是男女朋友都要亲吻对方。So why do we kiss under the mistletoe?

　　There are different explanations(解释) 其中一个跟雷神的弟弟洛基有关As the story goes, Baldur, the son of the god Odin was prophesied(预言) to die one day. 听到自己的儿子被预言死亡，他的母亲，the goddess of love, Frigg， went to all the animals and plants to secure² an oath（誓言） that they would not harm him. 她让所有自然中的动物和植物都发誓不伤害自己的儿子。却忽略了谦虚低调的榭寄生mistletoe.于是，Loki就用mistletoe做了一支箭，并用这支箭伤了Baldur.（Baldur和雷神，洛基是兄弟）后来，有记载道Baldur并没有向预言中一样死去。他复活之后，Frigg then declared（宣布） mistletoe a symbol（标志） of love and vowed³ to plant a kiss on all those who passed beneath（下面） it.

　　这就是我们为什么要在榭寄生下接吻的原因之一。古代欧洲人们相信mistletoe有着神秘的力量，能帮助人们开启一段浪漫又有活力的事情。最后就演变成在神奇的槲寄生下接吻的习俗。

　　The kissing tradition appears to have first caught on among servants（仆人） in England before spreading to the middle classes. 腐国人民又做了件好事As part of the early custom, men were allowed to steal a kiss from any woman caught standing⁴ under the mistletoe, and refusing was viewed as bad luck.

　　So 男童鞋们，如果你喜欢的女孩恰巧站在Mistletoe下面，她可能是在等你吻她哦。Girls, 如果一直不敢吻心仪的男生，把他带到mistletoe下面吧。不过，记得先给他听这期节目哦，不然，他可能站在底下也不知道该干什么。嘻嘻 Don’t forget to tell us your story about your standing under the mistletoe.

　　Wish all of you find your true love and merry Christmas.

 

1 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

2 secure   

adj.无虑的，安心的，安全的；adj.牢靠的，稳妥的；vt.固定，获得，使...安全；vi.(海上工作人员)停止工；vi.(船)抛锚，停泊

参考例句：

• He found a secure foothold and pulled himself up.他找到了一个稳固的踏脚处并爬了上去。
• Extra men are needed to secure the camp against attack.需要增加兵力以保护军营免受攻击。

3 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。