Take Away English-Valentine's Day 情人节

Red roses are a traditional gift on Valentine's Day

It’s that time of the year when couples show their love for each other by sending cards, flowers and chocolates. But Valentine’s Day is not only about public displays of affection, in recent years it has also become big business.

In the UK alone, more than £20 million is spent on flowers, whilst in the United States over $1 billion is forked out on chocolates.

Although Valentine’s Day has become a global industry with more than 80 million roses sold worldwide, the origins of the day are unclear and hidden in the mists of time. Nobody knows exactly who St Valentine was, although some historians suggest he was a Roman martyred in the third century AD by a Roman Emperor.

It is said that the first recorded Valentine’s card was sent by the imprisoned¹ Duke of Orleans in 1415. It is believed that he sought solace² from his confinement³ by writing love poems to his wife.

Valentine’s Day, or its equivalent, is now celebrated⁴ in many countries around the world. However, the traditions often differ from place to place. In Japan, for example, it is customary for the woman to send chocolates to the man, whilst in Korea April 14th is known as ‘Black Day’ and is when the unfortunate men who received nothing on Valentine’s Day gather to eat noodles and commiserate⁵ with each other.

Technological⁶ developments have also played their part in keeping Valentine’s Day relevant in the 21st century. Valentine’s e-cards have been all the rage in recent years. However, internet security experts urge web users to be wary⁷ as malicious⁸ hackers⁹ could use e-cards to spread viruses and spyware.

Valentine’s cards can also be used for less than romantic purposes. This year police in the UK city of Liverpool sent Valentine’s cards to criminals who failed to appear in court or have not paid fines. The cards contained the verse, “Roses are red, violets are blue, you’ve got a warrant, and we’d love to see you.”

Who says romance is dead?

GLOSSARY 词汇表
public displays of affection 公开表示爱意 the mists of time 历史上无记载 third century AD 公元三世纪 sought solace 寻找安慰 equivalent 等值的, 同义词 commiserate 怜悯, 同情 all the rage 流行 malicious hackers 存心不良的电脑 spyware (电脑上的)反间谍工具 verse 诗句, 诗篇	forked out 花销,购买 martyred 殉教 imprisoned (被)关押, (被)监禁 confinement 监禁 customary 通常的, 照惯例的 e-cards 电子贺卡 wary 谨慎 viruses 病毒 fines 罚金 warrant 搜查证, 拘票

 

1 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

2 solace   

n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和

参考例句：

• They sought solace in religion from the harshness of their everyday lives.他们日常生活很艰难，就在宗教中寻求安慰。
• His acting career took a nosedive and he turned to drink for solace.演艺事业突然一落千丈，他便借酒浇愁。

3 confinement   

n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限

参考例句：

• He spent eleven years in solitary confinement.他度过了11年的单独监禁。
• The date for my wife's confinement was approaching closer and closer.妻子分娩的日子越来越近了。

4 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

5 commiserate   

v.怜悯，同情

参考例句：

• When I lost,he commiserated with me.我落败的时候，他向我表示同情。
• I commiserated with her on the loss of her job.她失去了工作，我很同情她。

6 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

7 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

8 malicious   

adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的

参考例句：

• You ought to kick back at such malicious slander. 你应当反击这种恶毒的污蔑。
• Their talk was slightly malicious.他们的谈话有点儿心怀不轨。

9 hackers   

n.计算机迷( hacker的名词复数 )；私自存取或篡改电脑资料者，电脑“黑客”

参考例句：

• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Arranging a meeting with the hackers took weeks againoff-again email exchanges. 通过几星期电子邮件往来安排见面，他们最终同意了。 来自互联网