论文部分内容阅读
The Tooth Fairy(牙仙女)
The American children’s ritual(仪式)of hiding a lost tooth under a pillow stems from an old German tradition of placing a lost tooth in a mouse or rat hole so that when a new tooth grew in, it would possess the strong dental（牙齿的）qualities of a rodent’s（啮齿的）tooth. In America the “tooth rat” was replaced by the “tooth fairy”, who would compensate（补偿）the child with money for surrendering a tooth to her.
美国小孩子把脱落的牙齿藏到枕头下的习俗来自一个古老的德国传统，即把脱落的牙齿放在老鼠洞里，以便新的牙齿长出来时能够像啮齿类动物的牙齿那样坚固。在美国，“牙老鼠”被“牙仙女”所替代，小孩子把脱落的牙齿交给“牙仙女”，“牙仙女”会付钱给孩子作为补偿。
Hazing(捉弄新生)
Hazing，the submitting（屈服）of initiates（新生）to indignities（捉弄）at the hands of upperclassmen（高年级学生），is a part of a tradition of rites（仪式）of passage. As a pledging，（宣誓） initiates or fraternity（兄弟会）pledges，prove their worthiness（有价值的）to be members of that particular body，by partaking（参加）in and going along with ridiculous（可笑的）, self-debasing（自贬）acts. By doing so they show that they can and will conform to（服从）the authority（领导）that governs（领导）that body.
新生活动，即让新生遭到高年级学生的捉弄，这一活动是一项传统的成长仪式。作为宣誓仪式，新生或新加入兄弟会的成员要参与和做一些可笑的或出丑的事，以此来证明他们有资格加入该团体并成为其中一员。通过这些活动向团体的领导者表明他们能够并且愿意服从领导。
Marking X for Kisses(X记号代表吻)
The use of an X at the end of a letter to signify(表示)a kiss goes back to（追溯到……）the Ages，when an illiterate（文盲）person signed his or her name to marked documents and contracts with an X (which in church stands for Christ) and kissed the markin the presence of(当着……的面) witnesses（证人）to affirm his or her sincerity（诚挚）. The kiss and the cross became synonymous（同意的），and this early link has now become a universal（普遍的）shorthand（速记）of love and affection.
在信的末尾用X代表吻, 这一做法可追溯到中世纪。那时候，不识字的人用X在文件或合同上签名（X在教会里代表基督），并且当着人们的面吻这个记号以表明自己的诚挚。吻和X这个符号变成了同义词。吻和X符号之间的这种早期的联系现在已成为人们普遍接受的用来代表爱的一种速记形式。
A Game of Bingo(宾果游戏)
The game of bingo is an ongoing（常见的）American custom（风俗）that is encouraged by civic groups（民众团体）， and is condoned by the churchas well，in exchange for the needed income the game provides. It is customary（惯例的）for players to get together in an atmosphere free from the chaos（喧嚣）of modern society and where they can interact on（相互作用）a social，congenial（意气相投）basis. Since the stakes(赌注)are usually a dollar a card，bingo is considered a low-risk game and thus poses no threat of economic difficulties for the players.
宾果游戏是一种常见的美国风俗，不仅受到民众团体的鼓励，而且也得到了教会的宽恕，因为它能带来一些必要的收入。参加者通常聚集在远离城市喧嚣的地方，社会地位和兴趣等方面都相似的人会在一起玩。因为赌注通常是一美元一张卡，所以宾果游戏被看作是危险性低的赌搏，因而不会给参加者造成经济上的负担。
Chewing Gum(口香糖)
An American inventor，Thomas Adams，bought some chicle（糖胶树胶）（gum resin）from a Mexican（墨西哥）dictator（独裁者）and sold it as gum balls to a candy store in New Jersey. At a time when tobacco（烟草）chewing was ever popular in America，the gum balls caught on（流行） quickly and the chewing gum industry was born. In the 1980s William Wrigley made the gum into flat（扁平状）sticks and added special flavors（气味）. Today Wrigley’s Spearmint gum and Juicy Fruit gum are among the most popular in America. During the war American soldiers overseas（海外的）gave the gum to people they met. Thus，gum became as popular all over the world as it was in the United States.
一位美国发明家托马斯·亚当斯从一位墨西哥独裁者那里买了一些糖胶树胶（树胶树脂），并且将其作为口胶球卖给了新泽西州的一家糖果店。美国当时很盛行嚼烟草，口胶球很快就被接受，口香糖工业由此诞生。在19世纪90年代，威廉·里格利将口香糖做成了扁平状，并且在口香糖里加上了特殊的香料。现在，里格利的绿薄荷口香糖和果汁口香糖在美国非常受欢迎。在战争期间，去海外的美国士兵将口香糖送给他们遇到的人。这样，口香糖就像在美国一样受到全世界人们的欢迎。
Demolition Derbies(撞车比赛)
Demolition derbies（撞车比赛）are large-scale（大型）automobile rodeos（技术表演）that take place in large arenas（竞技场）. The entrants(参加者)pay a fee(费用)to drive their dilapidated（破旧的）autos into each other，and the last moving car is declared the winner. Demolition（破坏）derbies reflect the Americans’fascination（迷恋）with cars and provide a form of entertainment（娱乐）whose main appeal（吸引力）is the entrants can destruct freely.
撞车比赛指的是在很大的竞技场上举行的大型汽车驾驶技术表演。参加者在支付一定的费用后，驾着他们各自的旧车互撞，最后一辆未被撞毁的车获胜。撞车比赛反映了美国人对车的迷恋，也给人们提供了一种娱乐形式，它的主要吸引力是人们可以任意地、不受限制地进行破坏。
记忆词卡（开通基础词汇）
pillow 枕头
tradition 传统
document 文件
contract 合同
affirm 证实
link 联系
bingo 宾果
income 收入
The American children’s ritual(仪式)of hiding a lost tooth under a pillow stems from an old German tradition of placing a lost tooth in a mouse or rat hole so that when a new tooth grew in, it would possess the strong dental（牙齿的）qualities of a rodent’s（啮齿的）tooth. In America the “tooth rat” was replaced by the “tooth fairy”, who would compensate（补偿）the child with money for surrendering a tooth to her.
美国小孩子把脱落的牙齿藏到枕头下的习俗来自一个古老的德国传统，即把脱落的牙齿放在老鼠洞里，以便新的牙齿长出来时能够像啮齿类动物的牙齿那样坚固。在美国，“牙老鼠”被“牙仙女”所替代，小孩子把脱落的牙齿交给“牙仙女”，“牙仙女”会付钱给孩子作为补偿。
Hazing(捉弄新生)
Hazing，the submitting（屈服）of initiates（新生）to indignities（捉弄）at the hands of upperclassmen（高年级学生），is a part of a tradition of rites（仪式）of passage. As a pledging，（宣誓） initiates or fraternity（兄弟会）pledges，prove their worthiness（有价值的）to be members of that particular body，by partaking（参加）in and going along with ridiculous（可笑的）, self-debasing（自贬）acts. By doing so they show that they can and will conform to（服从）the authority（领导）that governs（领导）that body.
新生活动，即让新生遭到高年级学生的捉弄，这一活动是一项传统的成长仪式。作为宣誓仪式，新生或新加入兄弟会的成员要参与和做一些可笑的或出丑的事，以此来证明他们有资格加入该团体并成为其中一员。通过这些活动向团体的领导者表明他们能够并且愿意服从领导。
Marking X for Kisses(X记号代表吻)
The use of an X at the end of a letter to signify(表示)a kiss goes back to（追溯到……）the Ages，when an illiterate（文盲）person signed his or her name to marked documents and contracts with an X (which in church stands for Christ) and kissed the markin the presence of(当着……的面) witnesses（证人）to affirm his or her sincerity（诚挚）. The kiss and the cross became synonymous（同意的），and this early link has now become a universal（普遍的）shorthand（速记）of love and affection.
在信的末尾用X代表吻, 这一做法可追溯到中世纪。那时候，不识字的人用X在文件或合同上签名（X在教会里代表基督），并且当着人们的面吻这个记号以表明自己的诚挚。吻和X这个符号变成了同义词。吻和X符号之间的这种早期的联系现在已成为人们普遍接受的用来代表爱的一种速记形式。
A Game of Bingo(宾果游戏)
The game of bingo is an ongoing（常见的）American custom（风俗）that is encouraged by civic groups（民众团体）， and is condoned by the churchas well，in exchange for the needed income the game provides. It is customary（惯例的）for players to get together in an atmosphere free from the chaos（喧嚣）of modern society and where they can interact on（相互作用）a social，congenial（意气相投）basis. Since the stakes(赌注)are usually a dollar a card，bingo is considered a low-risk game and thus poses no threat of economic difficulties for the players.
宾果游戏是一种常见的美国风俗，不仅受到民众团体的鼓励，而且也得到了教会的宽恕，因为它能带来一些必要的收入。参加者通常聚集在远离城市喧嚣的地方，社会地位和兴趣等方面都相似的人会在一起玩。因为赌注通常是一美元一张卡，所以宾果游戏被看作是危险性低的赌搏，因而不会给参加者造成经济上的负担。
Chewing Gum(口香糖)
An American inventor，Thomas Adams，bought some chicle（糖胶树胶）（gum resin）from a Mexican（墨西哥）dictator（独裁者）and sold it as gum balls to a candy store in New Jersey. At a time when tobacco（烟草）chewing was ever popular in America，the gum balls caught on（流行） quickly and the chewing gum industry was born. In the 1980s William Wrigley made the gum into flat（扁平状）sticks and added special flavors（气味）. Today Wrigley’s Spearmint gum and Juicy Fruit gum are among the most popular in America. During the war American soldiers overseas（海外的）gave the gum to people they met. Thus，gum became as popular all over the world as it was in the United States.
一位美国发明家托马斯·亚当斯从一位墨西哥独裁者那里买了一些糖胶树胶（树胶树脂），并且将其作为口胶球卖给了新泽西州的一家糖果店。美国当时很盛行嚼烟草，口胶球很快就被接受，口香糖工业由此诞生。在19世纪90年代，威廉·里格利将口香糖做成了扁平状，并且在口香糖里加上了特殊的香料。现在，里格利的绿薄荷口香糖和果汁口香糖在美国非常受欢迎。在战争期间，去海外的美国士兵将口香糖送给他们遇到的人。这样，口香糖就像在美国一样受到全世界人们的欢迎。
Demolition Derbies(撞车比赛)
Demolition derbies（撞车比赛）are large-scale（大型）automobile rodeos（技术表演）that take place in large arenas（竞技场）. The entrants(参加者)pay a fee(费用)to drive their dilapidated（破旧的）autos into each other，and the last moving car is declared the winner. Demolition（破坏）derbies reflect the Americans’fascination（迷恋）with cars and provide a form of entertainment（娱乐）whose main appeal（吸引力）is the entrants can destruct freely.
撞车比赛指的是在很大的竞技场上举行的大型汽车驾驶技术表演。参加者在支付一定的费用后，驾着他们各自的旧车互撞，最后一辆未被撞毁的车获胜。撞车比赛反映了美国人对车的迷恋，也给人们提供了一种娱乐形式，它的主要吸引力是人们可以任意地、不受限制地进行破坏。
记忆词卡（开通基础词汇）
pillow 枕头
tradition 传统
document 文件
contract 合同
affirm 证实
link 联系
bingo 宾果
income 收入