走进耶鲁大学 第19期:骷髅会(2)

 Over the years, Bones has included presidents, cabinet officers, spies, Supreme¹ Court justices, captains of industry, and often their sons and lately their daughters, a social and political network like no other.

这些年来， 骷髅会的成员包括总统、内阁成员、间谍、最高法院法官、商界精英，以及他们的子女。 这样一个社会政治关系网是别的团体无法与之相比的。

The emblem² of Skull³ and Bones is a skull with crossed bones, over the number "322". One legend is that 322 stands for "founded in '32, 2nd corps⁴"，referring to a first Corps in an unknown German university. Others suggest that 322 refers to the death of Demosthenes.

骷髅会的会标是一个人类头盖骨和两节肢骨，上面撰写着阿拉伯数字"322"。一个传说是"32"表示成立于1832年，后面的"2"表示德国骷髅会的第二部分。 另外一种说法是"322"代表着德伯斯梯尼死亡的时间。

During the senior year each Skull and Bones class meets every Thursday and Sunday night. The goal of the activities is to develop deep friendship and connections with your fellow members and to explore ideas that allow for personal and collective growth. There are innumerable human skulls⁵ and bones in the，tomb which of course is illegal under Connecticut law. Bones members are reported to be forced to reveal their innermost secrets and their "sexual biography" to one another. It has been suggested that this may be used for blackmailing⁶.

骷髅会的成员在大四的时候每周四和周日的晚上都要见面。活动的目的是为了使会员之间发展深厚的友谊并增强联系，通过彼此交流意见促进个人和集体的发展。在骷髅会的墓中有很多的头骨和肢骨，这是康州的法律所不允许的。据称骷髅会的成员必须向其他成员报告自己内心深处的秘密以及性史。有人认为之所以这样做是为了便于日后成员间可以相互威胁。

Members are assigned nicknames . "Long Devil" is assigned to the tallest member. Many of the chosen names are drawn⁷ from literature ("Hamlet")，from religion and from myth. George H. W. Bush was "Magog," a name reserved for a member considered to have the most sexual experience. George W. Bush, unable to decide, was temporarily called "Temporary"，and the name was never changed.

会员都有自己的绰号。例如，个子最高的会员被叫做"长魔"，很多的绰号都是从文学作品（如哈姆雷特）、宗教或神话中得来的。老布什的绰号是"梅格戈"。据称, 最会跟异性打交道的人才能获得这个绰号。至于小布什，他当时无法决定叫什么绰号, 于是人们就称他为"临时"。这个称号就一直保留了下来。

Skull and Bones' place in popular culture is significant, since, although it is a "secret society"，it is probably the best known college secret society in America, as can be seen from the recurring⁸ references to it in all kinds of media.

尽管骷髅会是一个秘密组织，但是它在大众文化中却占有非常重要的地位。它可能是美国最为知名的大学秘密团体，受到很多媒体的密切关注。

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 emblem   

n.象征，标志；徽章

参考例句：

• Her shirt has the company emblem on it.她的衬衫印有公司的标记。
• The eagle was an emblem of strength and courage.鹰是力量和勇气的象征。

3 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。

4 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

5 skulls   

颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜

参考例句：

• One of the women's skulls found exceeds in capacity that of the average man of today. 现已发现的女性颅骨中，其中有一个的脑容量超过了今天的普通男子。
• We could make a whole plain white with skulls in the moonlight! 我们便能令月光下的平原变白，遍布白色的骷髅！

6 blackmailing   

胁迫，尤指以透露他人不体面行为相威胁以勒索钱财( blackmail的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The policemen kept blackmailing him, because they had sth. on him. 那些警察之所以经常去敲他的竹杠是因为抓住把柄了。
• Democratic paper "nailed" an aggravated case of blackmailing to me. 民主党最主要的报纸把一桩极为严重的讹诈案件“栽”在我的头上。

7 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

8 recurring   

adj.往复的，再次发生的

参考例句：

• This kind of problem is recurring often. 这类问题经常发生。
• For our own country, it has been a time for recurring trial. 就我们国家而言，它经过了一个反复考验的时期。