7-6 7月4日——沃尔顿火种节（在线收听）

July 4-- Whalton Baal¹ Fire

This annual rite² in the Northumbrian village of Whalton takes its name from either the Celtic³ word bel, meaning “bright,” the Anglo-Saxon⁴ bail, meaning “ fire,” or from the name of the old British sun god.

Today the bonfire⁵ is lit in the customary⁶ corner of the village green at 7:30 p.m., and it blazes hotly while villagers watch and morris⁷ dancers leap and stamp⁸ in the pulsating⁹ shadows. In former times the ritual was more intricate¹⁰. The Reverend¹¹ J. Walker, vicar¹² of Whalton, wrote in 1903 that “every year on the 4th of July as the sun goes down a huge bonfire is made and lighted.” The firewood, he wrote, had been gathered by a select group of youths over the past several weeks in a nearby forest. It was loaded into “a long cart ... and with much noise and shouting, with the blowing of a horn by one seated on top of the load, it is brought into the village. The pile is carefully constructed... As the twilight¹³ deepens, the word is given to ‘ light her.’ Then the children, joining hands, will form a moving circle round the burning pile... As the flame mounts higher... it illuminates¹⁴ the whole village, a fiddle¹⁵ is heard and the young people begin to dance... It was not unknown¹⁶ for some to leap over the fire.”

注释：

1. Baal [5beiEl] n. 太阳神，丰饶之神

2. rite [rait] n. (宗教等的)仪式；礼节；惯例

3. Celtic [5keltik] a. 凯尔特语的

4. Anglo-Saxon [5An^lEuE 5sAksn] a. 盎格鲁-撒克逊人(或其语言、文化)的

5. bonfire [5bCn7faiE] n. 篝火，营火

6.customary [5kQstEmEri] a. 惯常的，习惯上的

7. morris [5mCris] n. 莫里斯舞(英国的一种传统民间舞蹈，舞者通常为男子，身上系铃，扮作民间传说中的人物)

8. stamp [stAmp] vi. 跺脚；踩踏

9. pulsate [pQl5seit] vi. 跳动；搏动；颤动

10. intricate [5intrikit] a. 复杂精细的，错综复杂的

11. reverend [5revErEnd] n. [常作(the)R] (对教士的尊称)大人

12. vicar [5vikE] n. (英国国教等的)教区牧师，教区教堂主持

13. twilight [5twailait] n. 黄昏；黎明

14. illuminate [i5lju:mineit] vt. 照明；照亮；照射

15. fiddle [5fidl] n.〈口〉提琴类乐器；小提琴

16. it was not unknown  (据说)曾有过

7月4日--沃尔顿火种节

这是沃尔顿的诺森伯兰村一年一度的节日。节日的名称也许来源于凯尔特语的bel一词，意思是“明亮的”，或是盎格鲁-撒克逊语的bail一词，意思是“火”，或是古代英国太阳神的名字。

    如今，在晚上7点半钟，人们在村公共草地固定的一角点燃篝火。熊熊的烈火燃烧着，村民都在那里观看，还有跳莫里斯舞的人在跳动的火光里弹跳跺脚。而在过去这个仪式却要复杂得多。沃尔顿的约翰·沃克牧师大人在1903年曾这样记载：“在每年的7月4日，太阳落山以后，巨大的篝火就点了起来。”他写道，柴火是由专门挑选的一群青年人，在节前的几个星期里，从附近森林里采集的。他们把柴火装到“一辆长长的大车上……伴随着喧闹声、叫喊声，以及一个坐在柴火顶上的青年吹出的号角声，柴火被拉到了村子里。柴堆经过仔细地搭架……当夜幕降临时，有人发出‘点火’的命令。然后，孩子们就手拉着手围着燃烧的火堆组成一个移动的圈儿……火焰蹿得越来越高……把整个村子都照得通亮。这时，琴声响起，年轻人开始跳舞……据说还有人曾经从火上跳过去。”