英語(yǔ)聽(tīng)力頻道為大家整理的可可英語(yǔ)聽(tīng)力網(wǎng)海外文化篇：情人節(jié)的黑暗傳說(shuō)，供大家參考:)
Valentine’s Day is a time to celebrate romance and love and kissy-face fealty. But the origins of this festival of candy and cupids are actually dark, bloody — and a bit muddled.
現(xiàn)代情人節(jié)意味著浪漫、愛(ài)情和海誓山盟。然而，這個(gè)充滿甜蜜和愛(ài)情的節(jié)日來(lái)歷，卻很黑暗、血腥——還有點(diǎn)混亂。
Though no one has pinpointed the exact origin of the holiday, one good place to start is ancient Rome, where men hit on women by, well, hitting them.
盡管沒(méi)有節(jié)日起源的確切說(shuō)法，最可能源自古羅馬，那里的男人碰上女人，嗯，打上女人。
Those Wild and Crazy Romans
野蠻瘋狂的羅馬人
From Feb. 13 to 15, the Romans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia. The men sacrificed a goat and a dog, then whipped women with the hides of the animals they had just slain.
從2月13日到15日，羅馬人舉辦路盆卡利亞狂歡節(jié)。男人們要宰殺一只山羊和一條狗，獻(xiàn)作犧牲，然后剝下獸皮鞭打女人。
The Roman romantics “were drunk. They were naked,” says Noel Lenski, a historian at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Young women would actually line up for the men to hit them, Lenski says. They believed this would make them fertile.
羅馬人的浪漫是“醉醺醺，赤**”，歷史學(xué)家諾爾.棱斯基說(shuō)。他來(lái)自波爾德的科羅拉多大學(xué)。棱斯基說(shuō)，女人們排隊(duì)讓男人們打。他們認(rèn)為這樣做，女人更能生育。
The brutal fete included a matchmaking lottery, in which young men drew the names of women from a jar. The couple would then be, um, coupled up for the duration of the festival – or longer, if the match was right.
殘酷狂歡節(jié)日還有抽獎(jiǎng)活動(dòng)，年輕男子從罐子里抽取女人的名字。然后配對(duì)，嗯，至少在節(jié)日里配對(duì)——如果對(duì)上眼，配對(duì)的時(shí)間要長(zhǎng)一些。
The ancient Romans may also be responsible for the name of our modern day of love. Emperor Claudius II executed two men — both named Valentine — on Feb. 14 of different years in the 3rd century A.D. Their martyrdom was honored by the Catholic Church with the celebration of St. Valentine’s Day.
古羅馬人還給現(xiàn)代“愛(ài)情”提供名字。公元3世紀(jì)，克勞迪斯二世皇帝在不同的年份，都是2月14日，分別處死了叫瓦倫汀的人。天主教會(huì)為紀(jì)念他們的殉難，建立了圣瓦倫汀節(jié)。
Later, Pope Gelasius I muddled things in the 5th century by combining St. Valentine’s Day with Lupercalia to expel the pagan rituals. But the festival was more of a theatrical interpretation of what it had once been. Lenski adds, “It was a little more of a drunken revel, but the Christians put clothes back on it. That didn’t stop it from being a day of fertility and love.”
不久后，到了5世紀(jì)，教皇格拉西斯一世本想驅(qū)除異教徒的活動(dòng)，將圣瓦倫汀節(jié)和路盆卡利亞節(jié)合并，實(shí)則添亂。這個(gè)節(jié)日比以前更加夸張。棱斯基說(shuō)：“比醉醺醺的狂歡好一點(diǎn)，基督徒們穿上了衣服。然而，關(guān)于生育和愛(ài)的節(jié)日，并沒(méi)有改變?！?BR> Around the same time, the Normans celebrated Galatin’s Day. Galatin meant “l(fā)over of women.” That was likely confused with St. Valentine’s Day at some point, in part because they sound alike.
差不多同時(shí)，諾曼人慶?？m汀節(jié)。咖蘭汀的意思是“女人的情人”。 因?yàn)榘l(fā)音有點(diǎn)象，在某種程度上，可能與圣瓦倫汀節(jié)混淆了。
Shakespeare In Love
愛(ài)情里的莎士比亞
As the years went on, the holiday grew sweeter. Chaucer and Shakespeare romanticized it in their work, and it gained popularity throughout Britain and the rest of Europe. Handmade paper cards became the tokens-du-jour in the Middle Ages.
時(shí)光流逝，這節(jié)日變得甜蜜了。喬叟和莎士比亞在作品里，都進(jìn)行了美化，這節(jié)日在英國(guó)和歐洲其他地方流行開(kāi)了。中世紀(jì)的時(shí)候，手工制作的卡片成了節(jié)日的象征。
Eventually, the tradition made its way to the New World. The industrial revolution ushered in factory-made cards in the 19th century. And in 1913, Hallmark Cards of Kansas City, Mo., began mass producing valentines. February has not been the same since.
最后，這個(gè)傳統(tǒng)流傳到了新世界。19世紀(jì)，工業(yè)革命開(kāi)啟了批量生產(chǎn)的大門(mén)。到了1913年，密蘇里州堪薩斯城的賀氏公司開(kāi)始批量制作情人節(jié)賀卡。2月份從此不一樣了。
Today, the holiday is big business: According to market research firm IBIS World, Valentine’s Day sales reached $17.6 billion last year; this year’s sales are expected to total $18.6 billion.
現(xiàn)在，情人節(jié)是大買(mǎi)賣(mài)：根據(jù)IBIS世界公司的市場(chǎng)調(diào)查，去年情人節(jié)的銷(xiāo)售額達(dá)到176億美元；今年有望達(dá)到186億美元。
But that commercialization has spoiled the day for many. Helen Fisher, a sociologist at Rutgers University, says we have only ourselves to blame.
但商業(yè)化很大程度上破壞了這個(gè)節(jié)日。盧杰斯大學(xué)的社會(huì)學(xué)家海倫.費(fèi)雪說(shuō)，這只能怪我們自己。
“This isn’t a command performance,” she says. “If people didn’t want to buy Hallmark cards, they would not be bought, and Hallmark would go out of business.”
“這不是必須的儀式，”她說(shuō)，“如果人們不想買(mǎi)，就不用買(mǎi)，賀氏公司就關(guān)門(mén)了?！?BR> And so the celebration of Valentine’s Day goes on, in varied ways. Many will break the bank buying jewelry and flowers for their beloveds. Others will celebrate in a SAD (that’s Single Awareness Day) way, dining alone and binging on self-gifted chocolates. A few may even be spending this day the same way the early Romans did. But let’s not go there.
情人節(jié)的各項(xiàng)慶?；顒?dòng)照常進(jìn)行。許多人為了心愛(ài)的人，會(huì)傾囊購(gòu)買(mǎi)珠寶盒鮮花。有些人想到自己形單影只，黯然神傷，獨(dú)自吃飯，獨(dú)自消受自己買(mǎi)的一堆巧克力。一小撮人的過(guò)節(jié)方式，甚至?xí)裨缙诹_馬人那樣。但我們還是離得遠(yuǎn)一些吧。
Valentine’s Day is a time to celebrate romance and love and kissy-face fealty. But the origins of this festival of candy and cupids are actually dark, bloody — and a bit muddled.
現(xiàn)代情人節(jié)意味著浪漫、愛(ài)情和海誓山盟。然而，這個(gè)充滿甜蜜和愛(ài)情的節(jié)日來(lái)歷，卻很黑暗、血腥——還有點(diǎn)混亂。
Though no one has pinpointed the exact origin of the holiday, one good place to start is ancient Rome, where men hit on women by, well, hitting them.
盡管沒(méi)有節(jié)日起源的確切說(shuō)法，最可能源自古羅馬，那里的男人碰上女人，嗯，打上女人。
Those Wild and Crazy Romans
野蠻瘋狂的羅馬人
From Feb. 13 to 15, the Romans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia. The men sacrificed a goat and a dog, then whipped women with the hides of the animals they had just slain.
從2月13日到15日，羅馬人舉辦路盆卡利亞狂歡節(jié)。男人們要宰殺一只山羊和一條狗，獻(xiàn)作犧牲，然后剝下獸皮鞭打女人。
The Roman romantics “were drunk. They were naked,” says Noel Lenski, a historian at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Young women would actually line up for the men to hit them, Lenski says. They believed this would make them fertile.
羅馬人的浪漫是“醉醺醺，赤**”，歷史學(xué)家諾爾.棱斯基說(shuō)。他來(lái)自波爾德的科羅拉多大學(xué)。棱斯基說(shuō)，女人們排隊(duì)讓男人們打。他們認(rèn)為這樣做，女人更能生育。
The brutal fete included a matchmaking lottery, in which young men drew the names of women from a jar. The couple would then be, um, coupled up for the duration of the festival – or longer, if the match was right.
殘酷狂歡節(jié)日還有抽獎(jiǎng)活動(dòng)，年輕男子從罐子里抽取女人的名字。然后配對(duì)，嗯，至少在節(jié)日里配對(duì)——如果對(duì)上眼，配對(duì)的時(shí)間要長(zhǎng)一些。
The ancient Romans may also be responsible for the name of our modern day of love. Emperor Claudius II executed two men — both named Valentine — on Feb. 14 of different years in the 3rd century A.D. Their martyrdom was honored by the Catholic Church with the celebration of St. Valentine’s Day.
古羅馬人還給現(xiàn)代“愛(ài)情”提供名字。公元3世紀(jì)，克勞迪斯二世皇帝在不同的年份，都是2月14日，分別處死了叫瓦倫汀的人。天主教會(huì)為紀(jì)念他們的殉難，建立了圣瓦倫汀節(jié)。
Later, Pope Gelasius I muddled things in the 5th century by combining St. Valentine’s Day with Lupercalia to expel the pagan rituals. But the festival was more of a theatrical interpretation of what it had once been. Lenski adds, “It was a little more of a drunken revel, but the Christians put clothes back on it. That didn’t stop it from being a day of fertility and love.”
不久后，到了5世紀(jì)，教皇格拉西斯一世本想驅(qū)除異教徒的活動(dòng)，將圣瓦倫汀節(jié)和路盆卡利亞節(jié)合并，實(shí)則添亂。這個(gè)節(jié)日比以前更加夸張。棱斯基說(shuō)：“比醉醺醺的狂歡好一點(diǎn)，基督徒們穿上了衣服。然而，關(guān)于生育和愛(ài)的節(jié)日，并沒(méi)有改變?！?BR> Around the same time, the Normans celebrated Galatin’s Day. Galatin meant “l(fā)over of women.” That was likely confused with St. Valentine’s Day at some point, in part because they sound alike.
差不多同時(shí)，諾曼人慶?？m汀節(jié)。咖蘭汀的意思是“女人的情人”。 因?yàn)榘l(fā)音有點(diǎn)象，在某種程度上，可能與圣瓦倫汀節(jié)混淆了。
Shakespeare In Love
愛(ài)情里的莎士比亞
As the years went on, the holiday grew sweeter. Chaucer and Shakespeare romanticized it in their work, and it gained popularity throughout Britain and the rest of Europe. Handmade paper cards became the tokens-du-jour in the Middle Ages.
時(shí)光流逝，這節(jié)日變得甜蜜了。喬叟和莎士比亞在作品里，都進(jìn)行了美化，這節(jié)日在英國(guó)和歐洲其他地方流行開(kāi)了。中世紀(jì)的時(shí)候，手工制作的卡片成了節(jié)日的象征。
Eventually, the tradition made its way to the New World. The industrial revolution ushered in factory-made cards in the 19th century. And in 1913, Hallmark Cards of Kansas City, Mo., began mass producing valentines. February has not been the same since.
最后，這個(gè)傳統(tǒng)流傳到了新世界。19世紀(jì)，工業(yè)革命開(kāi)啟了批量生產(chǎn)的大門(mén)。到了1913年，密蘇里州堪薩斯城的賀氏公司開(kāi)始批量制作情人節(jié)賀卡。2月份從此不一樣了。
Today, the holiday is big business: According to market research firm IBIS World, Valentine’s Day sales reached $17.6 billion last year; this year’s sales are expected to total $18.6 billion.
現(xiàn)在，情人節(jié)是大買(mǎi)賣(mài)：根據(jù)IBIS世界公司的市場(chǎng)調(diào)查，去年情人節(jié)的銷(xiāo)售額達(dá)到176億美元；今年有望達(dá)到186億美元。
But that commercialization has spoiled the day for many. Helen Fisher, a sociologist at Rutgers University, says we have only ourselves to blame.
但商業(yè)化很大程度上破壞了這個(gè)節(jié)日。盧杰斯大學(xué)的社會(huì)學(xué)家海倫.費(fèi)雪說(shuō)，這只能怪我們自己。
“This isn’t a command performance,” she says. “If people didn’t want to buy Hallmark cards, they would not be bought, and Hallmark would go out of business.”
“這不是必須的儀式，”她說(shuō)，“如果人們不想買(mǎi)，就不用買(mǎi)，賀氏公司就關(guān)門(mén)了?！?BR> And so the celebration of Valentine’s Day goes on, in varied ways. Many will break the bank buying jewelry and flowers for their beloveds. Others will celebrate in a SAD (that’s Single Awareness Day) way, dining alone and binging on self-gifted chocolates. A few may even be spending this day the same way the early Romans did. But let’s not go there.
情人節(jié)的各項(xiàng)慶?；顒?dòng)照常進(jìn)行。許多人為了心愛(ài)的人，會(huì)傾囊購(gòu)買(mǎi)珠寶盒鮮花。有些人想到自己形單影只，黯然神傷，獨(dú)自吃飯，獨(dú)自消受自己買(mǎi)的一堆巧克力。一小撮人的過(guò)節(jié)方式，甚至?xí)裨缙诹_馬人那樣。但我們還是離得遠(yuǎn)一些吧。