双语新闻：为减轻压力 日本男性重拾花道艺术

 　　Japan's traditional, female-dominated art of flower arranging is returning to its masculine roots, for an entirely¹ modern reason: it's become a way for male employees to prune² away their stress.

　　Ikebana, or "the way of flowers," dates back more than 500 years and first blossomed among male artisans and aristocrats³.

　　Aimed at creating harmony between man and nature as well as heightening the appreciation⁴ of the rhythms of the universe, arrangements are conducted in silence using only organic elements put together in a minimalist style.

　　And it's this creativity and spirituality that has attracted thousands of Japanese men to reclaim⁵ the art form that has more recently been associated with women.

　　"Nowadays there are a lot of people seeking something that makes them feel at ease," said Gaho Isono, a master ikebana instructor⁶ at Sogetsu, founded in 1927 and one of the first schools to offer flower arranging courses to men.

　　"There are many hobbies people can do now and there's no longer the preconception that men cannot arrange flowers. They are free to choose whatever they like and the number of men choosing flowers is actually increasing."

　　Japanese society has traditionally put much emphasis on hard work and employees regularly put in long hours in the office, which increases the risk of depression, mental health organizations say.

　　The nation, which has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, even has a term for death by overwork -- karoshi -- making stress-relieving activities such as ikebana all the more popular.

　　Flower compositions arranged according to the traditional principles of ikebana are said to represent the relationship between heaven, mankind and earth.

　　There are an estimated 3,000 ikebana schools across Japan with some 15 million enthusiasts⁷, most of whom see flower arrangement as an antidote⁸ to their hectic⁹ lives.

　　"Each time when the class starts at first I feel tired from work," said male student Koji Takahashi, 45.

　　Some men have spent years mastering the art form and now teach new students the therapeutic¹⁰ effects of ikebana.

　　日本女性主导的传统插花艺术如今正向其男性源头回归。而其回归的原因则十分“现代”：插花成为男性排解工作压力的一种方式。

　　日本“花道”可追溯到500多年前，最初在男性工匠和贵族中流行。

　　花道旨在加深人们对宇宙韵律的感受，创造人与自然的和谐，插花者以简约为道，采有机素材为原料，在默然之间形成花之道。

　　正是花道的这种创造性和灵性吸引了日本成千上万的男性重拾这一近代以来以女性为主导的艺术形式。

　　创建于1927年的“草月流”插花学校的花道大师矶野雅邦说：“当今社会，很多人都在寻求能让自己身心放松的东西。” 草月流花道学校是最早面向男性开设插花课程的学校之一。

　　“现在人们可以有很多爱好，而且认为男性不应该从事花道的观念也不复存在。他们可以自由选择自己的爱好，而选择花道的男性数量其实正在上升。”

　　心理健康组织说，强调努力工作是日本社会的一大传统，人们一天的大部分时间都在办公室里度过，从而增加了患抑郁症的风险。

　　日本是世界上自杀率最高的国家之一，甚至还出现了一个形容过度工作而致死的词汇——“过劳死”，这让类似花道的减压活动更受欢迎。

　　据说，根据花道传统原则插出的花束象征着天、人、地之间的关系。

　　目前，日本全国估计有三千家插花学校和约1500万名插花爱好者，他们中的大部分人都将插花视为减轻忙碌生活压力的一种方式。

　　45岁的花道学员高桥浩治说：“因为工作原因，每次刚上课的时候，我都感到十分疲倦。”

　　一些男性花费数年时间掌握了这门艺术，现在他们则向新学员们传授花道的治疗功效。

　　Vocabulary:

　　ikebana: Japanese flower arranging, that has strict formal rules (日本)插花术，花道

　　minimalist: an artist, a musician, etc. who uses very simple ideas or a very small number of simple things in their work 极简抽象派艺术家;简约主义者

　　preconception: an idea or opinion that is formed before you have enough information or experience 事先形成的观念;先入之见;预想;成见

　　all the more:更加

　　antidote: anything that takes away the effects of something unpleasant 消除不愉快的事物;矫正方法

　　therapeutic: helping you to relax 有助于放松精神的

1 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

2 prune   

n.酶干；vt.修剪，砍掉，削减；vi.删除

参考例句：

• Will you prune away the unnecessary adjectives in the passage?把这段文字中不必要的形容词删去好吗？
• It is our job to prune the side branches of these trees.我们的工作就是修剪这些树的侧枝。

3 aristocrats   

n.贵族( aristocrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many aristocrats were killed in the French Revolution. 许多贵族在法国大革命中被处死。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• To the Guillotine all aristocrats! 把全部贵族都送上断头台！ 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

4 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

5 reclaim   

v.要求归还，收回；开垦

参考例句：

• I have tried to reclaim my money without success.我没能把钱取回来。
• You must present this ticket when you reclaim your luggage.当你要取回行李时，必须出示这张票子。

6 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

7 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

8 antidote   

n.解毒药，解毒剂

参考例句：

• There is no known antidote for this poison.这种毒药没有解药。
• Chinese physicians used it as an antidote for snake poison.中医师用它来解蛇毒。

9 hectic   

adj.肺病的；消耗热的；发热的；闹哄哄的

参考例句：

• I spent a very hectic Sunday.我度过了一个忙乱的星期天。
• The two days we spent there were enjoyable but hectic.我们在那里度过的两天愉快但闹哄哄的。

10 therapeutic   

adj.治疗的，起治疗作用的；对身心健康有益的

参考例句：

• Therapeutic measures were selected to fit the patient.选择治疗措施以适应病人的需要。
• When I was sad,music had a therapeutic effect.我悲伤的时候，音乐有治疗效力。