精美英文欣赏:情人节

Americans celebrate Valentine's Day each year on February fourteenth.

美国人在每年的2月14日庆祝情人节。

It is a holiday for lovers¹.

这是情人们的节日。

Valentine's Day is a good day for a man to ask his girlfriend to marry him.

情人节是男士向女友求婚的好日子。

It is also a good day for couples to get married.

同样,情人节也是情人们结婚的好日子。

Other couples might go out for a special meal at a nice restaurant.

其他的夫妇可能会道外面找家优雅的餐厅好好吃上一餐。

The holiday is named for Saint² Valentine.

情人节是以瓦伦丁命名的。

He was an early Christian³ churchman who reportedly helped young lovers.

他是早期的基督教徒，据说他帮助了许多年轻的情侣。

Valentine was executed⁴ for his Christian beliefs on February fourteenth, more than 1,700 years ago.

1700多年前的2月14日，瓦伦丁由于其基督教信仰而被处死了。

But the day that has his name is even older than that.

虽然情人节以瓦伦丁命名，但它的起源比这一时间还要早。

The ancient Romans celebrated⁵ a holiday for lovers more than 2,000 years ago.

2000多年前，古罗马人就开始庆祝情人们的节日。

As part of the celebration,each girl wrote her name on a piece of paper and put it in a large container.

作为情人节庆祝活动的一部分，姑娘们把她们的名字分别写字一张张纸条上，然后把纸条放进一个大盒子里。

Each boy reached into the container and pulled out the name of a girl.

小伙子们把手伸进盒子里抽出姑娘的名字。

That girl became his girlfriend for a year.

被抽中的姑娘就要在接下来的一年中做他的女友。

Lovers still put their names on pieces of paper on Valentine's Day.

如今，情人们仍在情人节这天把她们的名字写在一张张纸条上。

They send each other cards that express their love.

他们互赠情人节卡片，以此表达他们的爱慕之情。

Sometimes they send other gifts, too,like jewelry⁶... or flowers... or candy... or all three!

有时，他们也会送其他礼物，如珠宝，鲜花或是糖果，或者这三种都送。

Americans usually send cards through the mail system or in a computer message.

美国人通常会通过邮局或电子邮件寄送卡片。

But there is another way many Americans send messages of love on Valentine's Day.

在情人节这一天，许多美国人还有另外一种互诉情衷的方式。

They pay to have them printed in a newspaper.

他们花钱把要传达的爱慕之情刊登在报纸上。

Some of these messages are simple and short:Susan, I love you very much. From John.

有的信息简单明了:苏珊，我非常爱你，约翰。

Others say more, like this example:David, roses are red, violets⁷ are blue.I hope you love me as much as I love you. Forever, Mary.

有的信息会长一些，比如:大卫，玫瑰是红色的，紫罗兰是紫色的，我希望你像我爱你那样爱我，直到永远，玛丽。

There is only one problem in sending a Valentine's Day message this way.

这种表达爱意的唯一缺憾是:

It will only reach the one you love if he or she reads the newspaper that day!

如果你的爱人没有读当天报纸中的这栏信息，那么你的爱意就无法传达给对方。

1 lovers   

爱好者( lover的名词复数 )； 情人； 情夫； 情侣

参考例句：

• They were off-screen lovers. 他们是真实生活中的情侣。
• Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet 罗密欧和朱丽叶这一对莎士比亚笔下命运多舛的恋人

2 saint   

n.圣徒；基督教徒；vt.成为圣徒，把...视为圣徒

参考例句：

• He was made a saint.他被封为圣人。
• The saint had a lowly heart.圣人有谦诚之心。

3 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

4 executed   

v.执行（法令）( execute的过去式和过去分词 )；（按计划或设计）作成；履行；演（戏）

参考例句：

• He was executed for treason. 他因叛国罪被处死。
• He was executed in 1887for plotting to assassinate the tsar. 他因密谋暗杀沙皇在1887年被判处极刑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

6 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

7 violets   

n.紫罗兰( violet的名词复数 )；蓝紫色，紫罗兰色

参考例句：

• There are many violets in the garden. 花园里有许多紫罗兰。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The woman carried a bouquet of dried violets. 这个女人拿着一束干枯的紫罗兰。 来自辞典例句