8-4 8月5日——格拉斯米尔灯草节

August 5 -- Grasmere Rushbearing

 

The floors of old stone churches can get pretty cold, a fact well known among churchgoers obliged to kneel upon them. Several centuries ago, the sensible Britons hit upon a solution: They could insulate¹ the chilly¹ floors with coatings² of fresh cut rushes³, straw, or hay. By the early nineteenth century, rushbearings and haystrewings had become lively annual rituals⁴ throughout northwestern England. At such an event, a team of costumed men would pull the heavily laden² “rushcarts.” These were adorned³ with dazzling silver ornaments⁴ and had ropes ingeniously⁵ braided⁶ from rushes. Morris dancers capered⁷ down the street, heralding⁸ the cart’s approach.

 

The region’s best known and longest lived rushbearing is the one at Grasmere, Cumbria, held in honor of Saint Oswald, a seventh century king of Northumbria⁹. At the festival, girls in green pinafores¹⁰ carry the rushes on a broad, handwoven linen⁷ sheet. Other townspeople bring “bearings,” woven rush emblems⁸ in the shape of Oswald’s crown, his hand, and other designs. These are later used to decorate the altar while the rushes from the sheet are spread across the floor. After the service, with its Rushbearing Hymn⁹¹¹, parishioners¹² line up for slices of “Saint Oswald’s gingerbread¹³,” a sort of gingery¹⁰ shortbread.

 

注释：

1. insulate [5insjuleit] vt. 隔离，[物]使绝缘

2. coating [5kEutiN] n. 涂层，外层，覆盖层

3. rush [rQF] n. 灯心草，类似灯心草的植物

4. ritual [5ritjuEl] n. 仪式

5. ingeniously [in5dVi:njEsli] ad. (机器等)制作精巧地

6. braid [breid] vt. 编结，编织

7. caper⁵ [5keipE] vi. 跳跳蹦蹦，雀跃

8. herald⁶ [5herEld] vt. 宣布，报告……的消息

9. Northumbria [nC:5WQmbriE] [英史] 诺森布里亚(中世纪早期七国时代的七国之一，位于今英格兰东岸亨伯湾和苏格兰东岸福思湾之间)

10. pinafore [5pinEfC:] n. [主英] 围裙，围身布

11. hymn [him] n. 赞歌，颂歌

12. parishioner [pE5riFEnE] n. 一教区中的居民

13. gingerbread [5dVIndVEbred] n. 姜饼

 

8月5日 —— 格拉斯米尔灯草节

 

古老的石结构教堂的地面会变得相当冷。对这种情况，去教堂做礼拜的人深有体会，因为他们都得跪在地上。几个世纪以前，细心的英国人想出了一个解决办法：他们在地上铺一层东西来隔冷，将新收割的灯心草、稻草或干草铺在地上。到19世纪初，撒灯心草和干草已经成为英国整个西北部地区每年都要举行的一项欢快的活动。活动中，一队穿特定服装的男人会拉着码得高高的“灯心草车”。这些车都饰有耀眼的银质装饰品，还有用灯心草精巧编成的绳子。跳着莫里斯舞的人雀跃着从街的这一头到那一头，通报灯草车的到来。

在那个地区最有名、延续时间最长的撒灯心草活动，是在坎布里亚郡的格拉斯米尔村，是为纪念7世纪诺森布里亚的圣奥斯瓦德国王而举行的。在这一天，穿绿围裙的女孩子们抬着放在宽大的手织亚麻被单上的灯心草。镇里的另外一些人拿着用灯心草编的奥斯瓦德的王冠、他的手以及其他的“图案”。这些东西过后要用来装饰圣坛，而放在被单上的灯心草则撒在教堂的地上。仪式过后，伴着《灯草节颂歌》，居民们排队领取“圣奥斯瓦德姜饼”，一种姜味白脱甜酥饼。

 

 

1 chilly   

adj.凉快的，寒冷的

参考例句：

• I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
• I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后，寒气逼人。

2 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

3 adorned   

[计]被修饰的

参考例句：

• The walls were adorned with paintings. 墙上装饰了绘画。
• And his coat was adorned with a flamboyant bunch of flowers. 他的外套上面装饰着一束艳丽刺目的鲜花。

4 ornaments   

n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The shelves were chock-a-block with ornaments. 架子上堆满了装饰品。
• Playing the piano sets up resonance in those glass ornaments. 一弹钢琴那些玻璃饰物就会产生共振。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 caper   

v.雀跃，欢蹦；n.雀跃，跳跃；续随子，刺山柑花蕾；嬉戏

参考例句：

• The children cut a caper in the yard.孩子们在院子里兴高采烈地乱蹦乱跳。
• The girl's caper cost her a twisted ankle.小姑娘又蹦又跳，结果扭伤了脚踝。

6 herald   

vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎

参考例句：

• In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。
• Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。

7 linen   

n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的

参考例句：

• The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。
• Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。

8 emblems   

n.象征，标记( emblem的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His emblems are the spear and the burning torch. 他佩带的徽记是长矛和燃烧着的火炬。 来自辞典例句
• Crystal prize, Crystal gift, Crystal trophy, Champion cup, Emblems. 水晶奖牌、水晶礼品、水晶纪念品、奖杯、金属奖牌。 来自互联网

9 hymn   

n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌

参考例句：

• They sang a hymn of praise to God.他们唱着圣歌，赞美上帝。
• The choir has sung only two verses of the last hymn.合唱团只唱了最后一首赞美诗的两个段落。

10 gingery   

adj.姜味的

参考例句：

• You can tell that it' s root ginger, cause It'smells really gingery. 你可以分辨出姜块，因为它闻起来有很重的姜味。 来自互联网