世界节假日博览 第109期:全国溜溜球日

 June 6 is National Yo-Yo Day. This is the date of birth of the man who popularized yo-yos in the USA. His name was Donald Duncan and he got into the yo-yo business in 1930. Of course there were ups and downs before yo-yoing became an American pastime¹. Any story about yo-yos would not be complete without a little up-and-down joke. Donald Duncan saw a yo-yo for the first time in the 1920s. A Filipino-American, Pedro Flores, mass-produced the toys in California. Duncan saw the potential to make money and bought Flores’ yo-yo factory. He hired Flores to take the yo-yo all around America. Flores held competitions in all the states he visited. Children loved the yo-yo and Duncan’s business went from strength to strength.

6月6日为全国溜溜球日。这天是溜溜球倡导者唐纳德·邓肯诞辰。1930年，邓肯进入溜溜球产业。但成为美国休闲娱乐之前，溜溜球的发展经历了跌宕起伏。没有点惊涛骇浪，溜溜球发家史也不会完整。20世纪20年代，邓肯第一次见到溜溜球。菲律宾裔美国人佩德罗·弗洛雷斯在加州大量生产溜溜球。邓肯看到市场潜力，并决定买下弗洛雷斯的溜溜球工厂。弗洛雷斯成为邓肯下属，并帮助邓肯将溜溜球在全美传播开来。所到之处开展溜溜球比赛。孩子们热爱溜溜球，邓肯的事业如日中天。

The true history of the yo-yo goes back several thousand years. It is thought to have originated² in China. From there, it travelled to Greece. Records from the ancient Greek empire, around 500BC, describe a circular toy made out of wood. The world’s oldest yo-yo dates to this period. Not all yo-yos were toys. There are reports that the yo-yo was a weapon for over 400 years in the Philippines. Today, the yo-yo is a part of every child’s toy cupboard. Young and old love playing with it and demonstrating their skills. It is perhaps one of the most successful toys ever. All around America, there are yo-yo competitions on June 6. Many yo-yo enthusiasts³ believe it should be an Olympic sport. There is definitely an art and a skill to good yo-yoing.

溜溜球史可追述到几千年前。并一直认为它源于中国。并从中国传入希腊。据古希腊帝国史料记载，大约在公元前500年间，有关于木质原型玩具的记载。世界上最古老的悠悠球诞生于该时期。悠悠球并非都是玩具。有记载称四百多年以来，菲律宾曾将溜溜球用作战争武器。如今，悠悠球已经成为了孩子们的玩具。成为了男女老少的挚爱，人们在溜溜球上展现精彩技艺。它或是史上最叫卖玩具之一。每年6月6日，全美会举办溜溜球大赛。溜溜球爱好者建议将其列为奥运会项目。溜溜球运动定是艺术与技艺的完美展现。

1.ups and downs 沉浮

例句：Like many, my daughter has traversed⁴ her own ups and downs as she moved into her adult years.

像大多数人一样，我的女儿在步入成人期时也经历了她自己的成功与失败。

2.make money 赚钱

例句：Then, how we make money is up to us.

接下来怎么赚钱就是我们的事情了。

3.mass-produce 大量生产

例句：The factory is now able to mass-produce instruments of high quality.

这个厂现在能成批生产高质量的乐器了。

4.made out of 由…制造

例句：The house was made out of stone.

这座房子是用石头修建的。

1 pastime   

n.消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Playing chess is his favourite pastime.下棋是他最喜爱的消遣。
• Baseball is the national pastime.棒球是全民性的休闲运动。

2 originated   

v.起源于，来自，产生( originate的过去式和过去分词 )；创造；创始；开创

参考例句：

• The disease is thought to have originated in the tropics. 这种疾病据说起源于热带地区。
• The art of portrait miniatures was originated in England. 微型画像艺术创始于英国。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

4 traversed   

横越，穿越，横贯( traverse的过去式和过去分词 )； （爬山时）作Z形攀登

参考例句：

• The prospecting team has traversed the length and breadth of the land. 勘探队踏遍了祖国的山山水水。
• He traversed alone the whole continent of Africa from east to west. 他只身长途跋涉，从东向西横穿整个非洲大陆。