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今天看一篇上周《经济学人》中国板块的文章：关于中国的婚闹习俗。 标题为： Will you mortify me? 副标题是 Officials are trying to curb an old custom that has got out of hand. mortify 这个词最初的含义是 to kill, or destroy the life of ,其实就是“杀死，使死亡”。 15世纪，它出现了宗教上的含义，即通过禁食让身体自然死亡。 直到17世纪，mortify 才有了to humiliate “羞辱”的含义。 标题这里，就是取了“羞辱”的含义。 副标题中，curb 最先出现的是名词的含义，指勒马绳。 从名词“勒马绳”到动词“遏制，控制”就非常容易理解了。 勒马绳一勒，马就会停下来，就被控制了。 This would cut colds spreading and may curb asthma symptoms.-这会减少感冒传播，还会抑制哮喘症状的出现。 go out of hand 失控，无节制 His drinking had got out of hand.-他喝酒无节制 Nerves are common in the run-up to nuptials. Couples in some parts of China must brace for torment. In a ritual called naohun, or“disturbing the wedding”, guests haze them. 婚礼上紧张是人之常情。但在中国某些地方，新婚夫妻还要准备迎接折磨。在一个名为“闹婚”的仪式上，新婚夫妻常被宾客们搞得混沌不堪。 nuptial n 婚礼 这个单词即有名词词性，又有形容词词性。做名词时，常用复数形式nuptials 婚前、婚后协议 就是pre-nuptial/post-nuptialagreement brace v 为……做准备 torment n 痛苦，折磨 haze v 使糊涂 来自美国的学生中流行的俚语，给某人恶作剧，就是我们俗称的“整人”。 当然了，haze 还有名词薄雾的意思。 Often this involves forcing the man tostrip to his underwear and don stockings or a bra. Friends then tie him to something and slather his body with sticky substances such as soy sauce and eggs. 通常，这个习俗包括逼迫男性脱下内衣，穿上长筒袜或者戴上胸罩。朋友们会把他绑在某些东西上，然后往他的身体上涂上厚厚的粘糊糊的东西，如豆瓣酱或者鸡蛋液。 slather v 厚厚地涂 Firecrackers, taped to flesh, are sometimes set off; injuries ensue. Women can be targeted, too. Naohun allows people to kiss the bride and bridesmaids and even to grope them. 有时会把鞭炮贴在肉上，然后点燃。一般都会受伤。女性也会成为婚闹的对象。这一习俗中，人们可以亲新娘或者伴娘，甚至可以摸她们。 grope v 摸索，触摸 Naohun rites were not always intended to humiliate. They began centuries ago with the aim of helping to put newlyweds—who often barely knew each other—at ease. Relatives would gently tease the couple in their bridal chamber,alluding to intimate acts. This served as a form of sex education. Rituals involving the groom’s father, such as making him carry his daughter-in-law on his back, were once cheered as a sign that she would be well-treated by herhusband’s family. bridal chamber 洞房 But in recent times, naohun has become anexcuse to be rowdy, lewd or even physically abusive. In 2017 NetEase, an internet giant, found 142 cases in the previous five years ofhazing so outrageous that it had featured in stories in China’s media. Half ofthe incidents involved binding and beating. In 80% of them, grooms were the victims. Only five involved hazing of the bride, but cases of sexual harassment may often go unreported. rowdy adj粗暴的 lewd adj 猥亵的 The custom has faded in big cities but remains popular elsewhere. In the NetEase sample, the provinces of Shandong and Yunnan accounted for 60% of cases. The practice upsets the government, which wants to create “civilised cities”. Last year it called for an end to“unhealthy marriage practices”. These included naohun, “extravagance and waste” at parties and “sky-high” caili—cash given by the groom to the bride’s family. In April the central authorities designated 15 areas in ten provinces as pilot zones for wedding reform. extravagance and waste 铺张浪费 Local governments have responded with a flurry of directives. In Inner Mongolia, in the north, weddings must now be hosted by local “red-and-white councils” run by Party branches (red stands forweddings, white for funerals). In some provinces, newlyweds must sign a pledge to eschew “uncivilised” naohun. A county in Henan province has capped caili at30,000 yuan ($4,600)—less than a third of the going rate. Others have limited the size of banquets to 30 tables. Fines have been specified for rule-breakers. directive n 指示 eschew v 避免 cap v 限制 rule-breaker 违纪者 Even before the central government began its campaign, the city of Dali, a popular wedding spot in Yunnan, had begun stationing urban-management officers at well-known naohun locations. Yang Pinkang, a 26-year-old local who got married in October, had no naohun. “My friends were disappointed,” Mr Yang says. “But am I not meant to look my best for my wife on my wedding day?” He says residents have gone cool on naohun since the drowning of a groom who was thrown into a lake. Mr Yang recalls how his uncle set his aunt’s wedding dress on fire after friends dared him to crawl under it and light matches. station v 驻扎，配置 No more such recklessness in Shandong province, officials hope. “Let us all be more polite,” one city there, Zouping, decreed in March. “Help weddings go back to being warm and romantic.” Consider it a marriage demand, not a proposal. decree v 颁布法令 这篇文章理解不难，可以看一下外国人是怎么解释中国特有的词汇的，比如闹婚，洞房。 |
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