走进耶鲁大学 第18期:骷髅会(1)

Skull¹ and Bones

骷髅会

Skull and Bones is a secret society, which was founded by William Huntington Russell and Alphonso Taft in 1832. President George H. W. Bush, his son President George W. Bush, and the latter's 2004 Presidential opponent Senator John Kerry are members of Skull and Bones.

骷髅会是耶鲁大学的一个秘密组织，1832年由威廉亨廷顿·罗素和阿方索·塔夫脱创立。总统乔治·布什，他的儿子小布什总统，以及2004年小布什的总统竞选的对手--参议员约翰·克里都是骷髅会的成员。

Skull and Bones selects new members every spring as part of Yale University's "Tap Day." The most recent Tap Day was held on April 16，2009. Every year, Skull and Bones selects fifteen men and women of the junior class1 to join the society. Skull and Bones traditionally "tapped" those that it viewed as campus leaders and other notable figures for its membership. Traditionally, groups such as the Delta² Kappa Epsilon fraternity, Yale Political Union, and Yale Daily News were well represented. The president of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity is strongly considered for membership every year (George W. Bush is the most famous example). In addition, captains of various sports teams (football, basketball, crew) are also considered. In recent years, leaders in various Yale cultural organizations have also merited consideration.

骷髅会每年春季招收新的会员，招收新会员是耶鲁大学"选员日"的一部分。最近的一个"选员日"是2009年的4月16日。每年骷髅会从大三学生中挑选15名男女入会。一般而言骷髅会只选择那些在他们看来是校园领导者或其他著名人物的人入会。传统上来讲，Delta Kappa Epsilon集团，耶鲁政治联盟，耶鲁每日新闻这些组织都是优先考虑的对象。 Delta Kappa Epsilon集团的会长是每年最受青睐的人选（小布什就是最好的例子)。另外，各种运动团体（如足球、篮球、划船）的队长也是骷髅会考虑的对象。近几年来，耶鲁各个文化组织的领头人物也成为了骷髅会考虑的对象。

Skull and Bones has developed a reputation; with some as having a membership that is heavily tilted³ towards the "Power Elite⁴". Barack Obama's economic adviser⁵ Austan Goolsbee was initiated⁶ into the club in 1991, the same year the club elected to tap women into the society.

骷髅会因其会员都是精英人士而享有"权力精英"的盛誉。巴拉克·奥巴马的经济顾问奥斯坦·古尔斯比于1991年入会。同年，骷髅会开始招收女性会员。

1 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

2 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

3 tilted   

v. 倾斜的

参考例句：

• Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。

4 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

5 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

6 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。