基础英语轻松学：你知道“万圣节”的由来吗？

文章作者 100test 发表时间 2007:11:28 14:20:36
来源 100Test.Com百考试题网

本课您将学到：in exchange for（作为……的交换）句型，不可小看的冠词

　　Halloween（万圣节） was called Samhain by the Irish. Samhain took place on October 31 through to November 1. During this period（时期）, it was believed that the boundaries（分界线） between our world and the world of the dead were weakened（减少）, allowing spirits（灵魂） of the recently dead to cross over（跨过） and possess（拥有） the living.

　　To celebrate the festival, the Irish would dress up in bizarre（奇异的） costumes and parade（游行） through their villages，causing destruction（破坏） and saying "Trick-or-Treat", in-groups scare（吓唬） off any recently departed（往昔的） souls who might be prowling（四处寻觅） for bodies to inhabit（居住于）. Irish immigrants brought several customs with them, including one of the symbols（标志） most commonly associated with Halloween —— the "Jack Lantern". （灯笼）

　　According to Irish folklore（传说）, there once lived a man named Jack who was known for being a drunk and a prankster（爱恶作剧的人）. One night Jack tricked（哄骗） the devils（魔鬼） into climbing a tree, and quickly carved（刻） an image of a cross（十字架） on the trunk（树干）, trapping（捉住） the devil. Jack then made him promise that, in exchange for letting him out of the tree, the Devil would never tempt（引诱） him to sin again. He reluctantly（勉强地） agreed, but was able to exact his revenge upon（报仇） Jacks death. Because of his mischievous（调皮的） ways in life, Jack was barred（被堵塞的） from entering heaven and because of his earlier trick, he was also barred from hell. So he was doomed（注定） to wander the earth until the end of time, with only a "Jack Lanterns" to warm him.

　　「读书笔记」

　　爱尔兰人管万圣节叫Samhain，每年的10月31日到11月1日，人们都庆祝这个节日。人们相信万圣节这天,阴阳的界限会淡去，（that the boundaries between our world and the world of the dead were weakened）新近去世的鬼（spirits of the recently dead）会还魂，附在活人的身上。（possess the living）

　　节日里，村民们就自己扮成鬼魂精灵，（dress up in bizarre costumes）游走村外，（parade through their villages）到处捣乱，（causing destruction）嘴里说着“Trick-or-Treat”（接受我的恶作剧还是给我糖果），成群结队，吓唬（scare off any recently departed souls）在黑暗中寻找活人的鬼魂。（who might be prowling for bodies to inhabit）爱尔兰移民将节日的各种风俗传遍各地，其中包括人们都知道的万圣节标志（one of the symbols most commonly associated with Halloween）“杰克灯笼”。

　　“杰克灯笼”起源于爱尔兰的一个传说。传说，爱尔兰曾经有一个名叫杰克的爱恶作剧的酒鬼。（who was known for being a drunk and a prankster）一天晚上，他把一个魔鬼骗上树，然后在树干上刻了个十字架，（quickly carved an image of a cross）让魔鬼下不来。后来魔鬼不得不保证，以后再也不会引诱杰克去做坏事，（would never tempt him to sin again）杰克这才让它下来。杰克死后，魔鬼报复了，（was able to exact his revenge upon Jacks death）它让杰克上天不得入地无门，（Jack was barred from entering heaven and because of his earlier trick, he was also barred from hell）只能在阳间满无目的流浪，手里只有一盏灯笼取暖。

　　「句型留言板」

　　今天的句型是in exchange for作为……的交换

　　比如下面这个大学生，就和同学作了一次小交易：

　　What would you give me in exchange for my recorder?
　　我把我的录音机给你,那你用什么作为交换呢?

　　东西可以交易，知识可不可以呢？看看下面这个人的做法吧：

　　She is giving me piano lessons in exchange for（交换） her English classes.
　　我教她英语，她教我弹钢琴。

　　「语法小教室」

　　下面两句话中的take place，意思一样吗？

　　When did this conversation take place?
　　会谈什么时候举行？

　　Electric train has now taken the place of steam trains in England.
　　在英国电力火车已经取代了蒸汽火车。

　　如果读懂了上面的句子，大家一定会发现，这take place和take the place差别可是很大的呢！take place 意思是“发生；举行”，而take the place则是“代替；接替”的意思。差哪呢？对了，就差一个the！

　　英语中有不少词组，从形式看好象只有冠词之差，而实际上却是意义完全不同的新词组。今天的语法小教室，就给大家列举几个常用的例子：

　　in front of 在……（外）的前面
　　in the front of 在……（内）的前面

　　Theres a garden in front of the classroom.
　　教室前面是一个花园。

　　Theres a blackboard in the front of the classroom.
　　教室的前面有一块黑板。

　　in charge of 掌管；负责
　　in the charge of 在……负责之下

　　An experienced worker is in charge of the project.
　　在这项计划中，需要一名经验丰富的员工。

　　The project is in the charge of an experienced worker.
　　这相计划由一位资深的员工负责。

　　by day 白天；日间
　　by the day 按日计

　　He works in an office by day.
　　他白天在办公室工作。

　　Cleaning women in big cities get paid by the day.
　　大城市中的清洁工按日取筹。

　　好了，一口气说了这么多，我要歇歇了。其实，英语中像这样的情况还有很多，请大家在阅读和使用时多多留心，有新的发现，记得告诉我们哦！我们下次再见吧！