Merry Christmas

    The winter holiday season is the most festive time of the year in the United States.Students from elementary school through college have about two weeks' vacation,beginning shortly before Christmas and ending soon after New Year's Day.Many families go away for the holidays,but those who stay home have fun,too.There are many parties to celebrate the birth of Christ and the arrival of the New Year.
    In America,the spirit of Christmas arrives about a month before the holiday itself.Late in November,street lights and store windows are decorated with the traditional Christmas colors of red and green.Santa Claus,shepherd and angel scenes appear in shop windows.Winter scenes with snowmen,sleighs,skaters,skiers decorate cards and windows.
    The manufacture and sale of Christmas items is big business.Stores depend on Christmas shoppers for about one-fourth of their annual sales.Smart shoppers buy their gifts far in advance,before the Christmas rush makes shopping a chore.
    Although Americans enjoy the commercial friendliness of Christmas,the most beautiful and meaningful parts of the holiday occur at home.Many families gather around the tree and opentheir gifts.Then they sit down to enjoy a traditional Christmas dinner-turkey or ham,sweet potatoes,vegetables,and cranberry sauce.Dessert is usually fruit cake,plum pudding,or apple pie.
    Most of the Christmas customs which Americans enjoy today are variations of traditions brought here by European immigrants.There are some of the most popular customs:
    Exchanging gifts.The first Christmas gifts were those that the Three Wise Men brought to the infant Jesus.In the United States,it is customary to exchange gifts with family members and close friends.Both children and adults get Christmas presents,although children usually get many more.
    Receiving toys from Santa Claus.Many American children believe that on Christmas Eve.Santa Claus(a fat,cheerful man who wears a red suit,red hat,and long white beard) slides down their chimney to bring them gifts.According to the story,Santa Claus flies through the air in a sleigh pulled by the eight reindeer.Several days or weeks before Christmas,children tell Santa Claus what toys they want by writing him letters or visiting him in a local department store.Then,on Christmas Eve.many youngsters lie awake listening for Santa and his sleigh.
    Where did this legend come from?Santa Claus is the American name for St.Nicholas,a generous fourth-century bishop who lived in what is now Turkey.It was his custom to go out at night and bring gifts to the poor.After his death,his fame spread throughout Europe.Dutch immigrants brought the idea of St.Nicholas to the United States,where the name was mispronounced and finally changed to Santa Claus.Then,in the early 1800s,American artists and authors changed St.Nick's appearance and created the fat man in red that we know today.Santa's sleigh and reindeer came fromd an old Norse legend.So today's Santa Claus is really a blend of several different cultures.
    Hanging a stocking near the chimney.As in Great Britain,American children hang stockings by the fireplace,hoping that Santa will fill them with candy and toys.
    Decorating the home with evergreens.This winter custom began in ancient times.Branches of evergreens were thought to bring good luck and guarantee the return of spring.
    Germans of the 16th century probably started the custom of decorating trees.In the 19th century,the idea spread through Europe and North America.Now,at Christmas time,decorated trees stand in about two-thirds of American homes.The modern American tree is usually covered with colored balls and strings of colored lights.
    In ancient time,a branch of mistletoe was hung over doorways for good luck.Today the custom continues,but now it is for fun.Anyone standing under the mistletoe is likely to be kissed.
    Singing Christmas carols.In the early days of the Christian Church,the bishops sang carols on Christmas Day.Now,everbody sings them.Christmas carols on the radio,on TV,in church,and in school all help fill the winter air with beautiful music.Copying an old English custom,many Americans join with friends and walk from house to house singing the traditional songs of Christmas.
    Sending Christmas cards.This custom began in London in 1843 and came to the United States in 1875.Today,most Americans send dozens of Christmas cards or season's greetings to relatives,friends,and business associates.
    Christmas performances.Among the Christmas traditions are two beautiful theatrical performances that all people enjoy.One of these is a classic work performed annually during the Christmas season.It is the Russian composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker.This is a favorite with children because it tells the delightful story of a little girl's Christmas dream about her toys.Another one is the story A Christmas Carol by the 19th-century English author Charles Dickens.It is traditionally performed as a play(sometimes with music)and tells the tale of a character named Ebenezer Scrooge.Scrooge is a selfish,lonely,rich,old man who,with the help of ghosts from his past,present,and future life,learns to understand and regain the spirit of Christmas-the spirit of caring for and sharing with others.
    　　圣诞快乐
    本篇文章选自由外语教学与研究出版社出版、浙江大学编著的《新编大学英语》第一册。本文是一篇说明体的文章，从整体布局来看，可以把文章划分为两个部分。第一部分是对现代美国人庆祝圣诞节的方式作概括性介绍；第二部分通过列提纲的方式介绍了七种圣诞节习俗。在文章的结尾，作者用精练的语言点出了圣诞精神，升华了中心思想，很有教育意义。
    这篇课文的学习和讲解我们可以从两方面入手：第一，阅读文章的一个重要方面是获取背景知识，通过本文的学习，读者可以更好地了解英美文化；第二，通过对本篇课文词汇的学习，我们可以学到一些掌握英语词汇的策略。
    文章的题目是“Merry Christmas”，我们在第一段中能深切地感受到人们在节日期间的愉悦心情。作者用了festive这个单词。festive在朗文词典中的释义是：of or suitable for a time regularly marked out for publie gaiety and feasting;a religious feast。从释义中我们不难看出，这是一个有着宗教背景的西方重大节日。在段首作者用festive指出这个节日是美国人一年中最快乐的时光，一方面是为了避免重复使用merry：另一方面更是为了突出这个节日的宗教意味。
    在第二段开始，作者首次涉及圣诞精神的说法，为后文做铺垫。从第二段到第四段我们会看到作者为我们勾勒出的一幅更为欢快、美丽、翔实的圣诞图景。可是，只有当我们读到第五段的时候，对圣诞节的文化渊源的了解才有一种豁然开朗的感觉。原来这个节日包含很多约定俗成的习俗，而这些习俗最早是由欧洲移民带到美国的。
    从第六段至文章的结尾，作者采用列提纲的方式让我们了解过圣诞节的基本习俗。首先，在第六段作者再次提出从12月初直到1月的第一个周末的整个圣诞节，人们四处奔波采购，与朋友互赠礼物。其实，现在很多人不知道或者忘记了在圣诞节交换礼物的来源及其内在的含义。文中提到，据《圣经》记载，在耶稣诞生的那天夜里，东方有三位贤士发现天上有一颗新星，他们在这颗星的指引下找到了耶稣和他的母亲玛利亚。他们向圣母玛利亚赠送了黄金、乳香和没（音ｍò）药等贵重礼品，以表达真挚的关切和美好的祝福。现在人们之间互相交换礼物也正是为了向他人表达爱心和美好的祝愿。
    提到圣诞节，我们就不能不想到圣诞老人，文章第七、八段告诉我们，这位老人是人们凭空杜撰出来的呢，还是确有其人？Santa Claus is the American name for St.Nicholas,a generous fourth-century bishop who lived in what is now Turkey.在这里人们不禁会问，为什么圣·尼古拉斯（圣诞老人）这么受人们的喜爱？It was his custore to go out at night and bring giris tO the poor.他受到人们的欢迎，不仅仅是他会给人们带来礼物，而是他关爱弱者，乐于给予的精神感染了人们。在这里作者又做了一个铺垫。最后，在文章结尾处作者揭示了圣诞精神：the spirit of Christmas-the spirit of caring for and sharing with others.
    目前有一种过圣诞就要疯狂消费的错误观念，这篇文章并没有过多的说教，却让我们在增长了许多文化知识的前提下，领悟了圣诞节的精神——关心别人并与别人分享的精神。东方三位贤士送给圣母的乳香和没药具有止痛的作用，正是圣母当时所需要的；而圣诞老人更是为需要帮助的人们解了燃眉之急。这不禁让笔者联想到美国小说家赛珍珠的一篇文章“Christmas Day in the Morning”。在文中她问到：What was the magic of Christmas now？现在人们过圣诞，有部分人附庸风雅、互换礼物，过后却权衡各自的得与失，这绝对不足过圣诞的意义！赛珍珠在其文章结尾指出：Love alone could waken love.这个节日是让我们记住要从心底关爱别人，爱心是圣诞节最好的礼物。
    对于本文词汇的学习，首先，可以介绍利用词缀与词根来帮助记忆。通过学习我们知道Christ表示“基督”的意思，以它作为词根的单词在本文中我们会遇到：Christian（基督徒），Chrstianity（基督教），以及采用拼缀法构成的单词Christmas（圣诞节）。我们再以添加前缀为例：课文中提到immigrant这个词，将它与emigrant做比较，翻译成中文都表示移民，这里有一个规则可以遵循：［in-;il-,im-,ir-(before l;m,b,p;r)means"in,inside";ex-;e-(variation of ex-)means"outside,out"］由此可见，immigrant表示从国外迁至本国的外来人口，emigrant表示从本国迁出的人员。了解这些还不够，我们要学会举一反三，运用到其他类似的词上面。如果你认识下列这些词internal（内部的），interior（内部的），inhale（吸入），introvert（内向性格者），再碰到external,exterior,exhale,extrovert这样的生词，你一定能猜出它们的意思。
    其次，我们应该学会分析多义词不同词义之间的联系，便于记忆。一个单词有多种意义，一般以一种意义为中心，引申出许多次要意义。英语单词的许多次要意义都有典故出处，包含了丰富的文化内容。例如，文章中提到圣诞老人的原型是一位bishop，这个单词的中心意义是“主教”。但是在国际象棋中，这个单词的次要意义是“相”，站在国王身边的明明是一位bishop，但是，我们却习惯地称之为“相”，难道这仅仅是习惯而已吗？当然不是！因为在古代西方社会，由于政教合一的原因，位居国王身旁的地位显赫的职位是“主教”，然而，在古代中国，这个位置赋予官衔谓之“相”，出于这种中西方文化的差别，该词在国际象棋中才被译为“相”。对于一些有文化背景的单词，教师可以稍加指点，更会增添学生学习英语的兴趣。

转载于<< 中学外语教与学 >> 2004年第 12 期