VOA常速英语2016--纽约市民庆祝中国传统新年

纽约市民庆祝中国传统新年

According to ancient legend, a mythical¹ beast would emerge on the night before new year, and devour² the inhabitants of a small Chinese village.

相传，每到除夕一头中国古代神话中的怪兽就会出现，并在一座小乡村吞食牲畜伤害人命。

That is, until one of the villagers realized that the monster was afraid of bright light, the color red, and sounds of thunder.

直到一位村民察觉这头怪兽害怕亮光、红色及雷声才将其驱赶。

Today, the beast, known as the Nian Monster-has become a major symbol of the Chinese New Year.

现如今这头名为“年”的怪兽已成为中国新年的主要标志。

Across China and in cities around the world, there are joyous³ celebrations including in New York city, home to more than 500,000 Chinese-Americans where Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a public school holiday in observance.

中国及世界各地的城市都会举行喜庆的庆祝活动，纽约也是如此，这座城市有超过50万的美籍华人，纽约市市长白思豪宣布了一项公立学校的庆祝节日。

Historically, however, authorities have not always been so accommodating.

然而纵观历史，政府当局却并非一直这样友好。

In the late 19th century, the US Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion⁴ Act which until 1943 banned Chinese immigration into the United States.

在19世纪末，美国国会通过了禁止国人移民美国的《排华法案》，而直到1943年这项法案才被废除。

And in Hollywood, the discrimination made its way to the silver screen where Chinese were cast only by non-Chinese actors to portray⁵ villains⁶.

而在好莱坞，由非华人演员饰演恶棍的歧视也被搬上了大银幕。

New York's Museum of Chinese in America , MOCA, displays the harsh contrast between America's treatment of Chinese citizens then and now.

纽约美国华人博物馆（MOCA）展示了美对华态度的显著区别。

“It's vast difference. There is so much more interest in Chinese culture, in US-China relations, in Chinese food, in Chinese arts.”

“这是天壤之别。他们现在对中国文化非常感兴趣，还有中美关系、中餐、中国的艺术也是如此。”

Today, in New York's Chinatown neighborhood, kids of all ethnic⁷ groups gathered at MOCA to learn about the culture while making colorful lanterns to scary away the Nian Monster.

今天，在纽约的唐人街社区，各民族的小朋友们来到美国华人博物馆学习了解中国文化，制作五颜六色的灯笼驱赶怪兽“年”。

“Awareness of it brings them out to kind of explore whether they are, you know, celebrating at their homes or whether they're coming out to these bases to learn about the customs and traditions behind the holiday.”

“这样的意识使他们萌生出一些探索精神，你知道，是选择在家中欢度这个节日还是来到这里了解节日背后的习俗及传统。”

Apart from the lanterns, another mythical creature, the lion, is part of the festivities.

除了灯笼，另一个神话动物狮子也是庆典的一部分。

 

Performing a traditional dance, the lion not only keeps Nian away, but also brings good fortune and prosperity to all.

舞狮这种传统舞蹈，不仅能够把“年”赶跑，而且还能带给人们新一年的好运和昌盛。

1 mythical   

adj.神话的；虚构的；想像的

参考例句：

• Undeniably,he is a man of mythical status.不可否认，他是一个神话般的人物。
• Their wealth is merely mythical.他们的财富完全是虚构的。

2 devour   

v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷

参考例句：

• Larger fish devour the smaller ones.大鱼吃小鱼。
• Beauty is but a flower which wrinkle will devour.美只不过是一朵，终会被皱纹所吞噬。

3 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。

4 exclusion   

n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行

参考例句：

• Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
• He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球，其他运动一概不参加。

5 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

6 villains   

n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼

参考例句：

• The impression of villains was inescapable. 留下恶棍的印象是不可避免的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some villains robbed the widow of the savings. 有几个歹徒将寡妇的积蓄劫走了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。