最新15篇文章贯通英语四级词汇MP3 Unit7-Part2（在线收听）

[00:00.00]St. Nicholas was an

[00:02.62]early Christian Bishop of Patara

[00:04.91]of the Lycian seaport

[00:06.88](in present day Turkey)

[00:09.40]in the 4th century A.D.

[00:11.26]The Roman Emperor Diocletian,

[00:14.43]who persecuted Christians,

[00:16.73]imprisoned him because the practice

[00:18.70]of Christianity was illegal.

[00:21.54]The first Christian Emperor of Rome,

[00:24.71]Constantine, later released him.

[00:27.77]Nicholas’reputation for generosity,

[00:31.06]kindness and miracles earned him

[00:34.45]a widespread reputation

[00:35.98]and eventually sainthood.

[00:37.73]He is said to have brought back

[00:41.23]life to the children

[00:42.87]who had been chopped into

[00:44.30]pieces by their butcher father.

[00:46.05]He is reputed to

[00:49.00]have placed some gold coins 

[00:50.75]in stockings, hung by a fire 

[00:53.16]to dry by three poor girls.

[00:54.91]He had hoped that the girls 

[00:58.52]would be able to use

[01:00.06]the money to marry to

[01:01.26]avoid living on prostitution,

[01:03.45]the common destiny of such girls

[01:05.63]at that time. From this gesture 

[01:09.46]came the tradition of empty oversize

[01:11.10]stockings hanging on fireplaces

[01:14.38]at Christmas time for Santa 

[01:16.24]to fill with little gifts. 

[01:18.43]From these roots, the presentday 

[01:21.06]Santa Claus seems to have emerged.

[01:23.36]In some European countries, 

[01:27.19]the image of Father Christmas 

[01:29.15]is identified more closely 

[01:31.45]with Saint Nicholas than 

[01:33.53]with Santa Claus. The red and white suit

[01:36.16]Santa wears, is said 

[01:37.91]to have come from 

[01:39.87]the traditional colour of 

[01:41.40]early Christian Bishops’ robes. 

[01:42.94]Santa, flying in a sleigh

[01:45.57]pulled by reindeer, and 

[01:48.52]going down chimneys, originated 

[01:50.60]from an American poem 

[01:52.57]written in the 1820’s 

[01:54.20]by Clement Moore entitled 

[01:56.06]“The Night before Christmas”. 

[01:59.35]In the 1860’s, another American

[02:03.40] made an engraving called 

[02:04.82]“Santa’s Workshop” in which Santa, 

[02:07.00]is portrayed in a lovely sunset, 

[02:09.20]scratching his chin, reading letters

[02:12.37]and checking a list activities 

[02:14.55]which was revived every year 

[02:16.53]in music and  stories 

[02:18.27]told to children 

[02:19.81]during the yuletide(Christmas) season.

[02:21.99] Every year children write letters 

[02:25.72]to Santa Claus before Christmas, 

[02:28.12]asking him to bring favourite toys.

[02:30.86]Santa traditionally navigates

[02:35.78]the frosty night skies December 24th

[02:38.74]without using a compass 

[02:41.36]or a chart to plot his course.

[02:43.76]He, in his sleigh pulled

[02:46.61]by nine reindeer, usually lands 

[02:49.02]on slippery sloped roofs. Clumsily, 

[02:52.74]with his big bag heaped 

[02:55.04]with toys and slung over his shoulder, 

[02:57.55]he jumps down chimneys and

[02:59.85]dumps toys under Christmas trees.

[03:01.60]Gifts often include a doll 

[03:04.77]for a little girl or 

[03:06.63]a train for a little boy. 

[03:08.93]He does all of this 

[03:10.90]without disturbing the inhabitants.  

[03:12.76]Santa then crawls vertically 

[03:16.48]back up the chimney and, 

[03:18.34]without a trace, flies off, 

[03:21.07]exclaiming the resounding phrase,  

[03:23.37]“Merry Christmas to all, good night”. 

[03:26.98]He is back at his home 

[03:30.26]at the North Pole 

[03:31.57]before dawn on Christmas morning, 

[03:33.44]tired but very happy 

[03:35.63]after his very speedy sweep 

[03:37.81]around the world. After a

[03:40.33]big yawn, Santa falls asleep.