英语沙龙:England in the 1500s

England in the 1500s

Here are some facts about the 1500s：

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May，and，still smelled pretty good by June．However，they were starting to smell，so brides carried a bouquet¹ of flowers to hide the body odor1)．

Baths consisted of a big tub2) filled with hot water．The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water，then，all the other sons and men，then，the women and，finally，the children－－last of all the babies．By then，the water was so dirty you could，actually，lose someone in it－－hence the saying，“Don' t throw the baby out with the bath water．

”Houses had thatched3) roofs－－thick straw，piled high，with no wood，underneath．It was the only place for animals to get warm，so，all the dogs，cats，and other small animals（mice，rats，and bugs²），lived in the roof．When it rained，it became slippery4) and，some times，the animals would slip and fall off the roof－－hence the saying “It's raining cats and dogs．”

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house．This posed a real problem in the bedroom，where bugs and other droppings could，really，mess up your nice clean bed．Hence，a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top，afforded some protection．That' s how canopy5) beds came into existence．

The floor was dirty．Only the wealthy had something other than dirt，hence the saying “dirt poor．”

The wealthy had slate⁴ floors that would get slippery in the winter，when wet，so，they spread thresh on the floor to help keep their footing．As the winter wore on，they kept  adding more thresh until when you opened the door it would all start slipping outside．A piece of wood was placed in the entry way－－hence，a “thresh hold．”

They cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire．Every day，they lit the fire and added things to the pot．They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat．They would eat the stew⁵ for dinner，leaving leftovers⁶ in the pot to get cold overnight and，then，start over the next day．Sometimes，the stew had food in it，that had been there for quite a while－－hence the rhyme，“peas porridge hot，peas porridge6) cold，peas porridge in the pot nine days old．”

Sometimes they could obtain pork，which made them feel quite special．When visitors came over，they would hang up their bacon to show off．It was a sign of wealth that a man “could bring home the bacon．”They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and “chew the fat．”

Those with money had plates made of pewter．Food with a high acid content caused some of the lead to leach⁷ onto the food，causing lead poisoning and death．This happened most often with tomatoes，s o，for the next 400years or so，tomatoes were considered poisonous7)．

Most people did not have pewter8) plate s，but，had trenchers，a piece of wood with the middle scooped⁹ out  like a bowl．Often，trenchers were made from stale paysan bread，which was so old and hard that they could use them for quite some time．Trenchers were never washed，and，a lot of times，worms and mold got into the wood and old bread．After eating off wormy moldy¹⁰ trenchers，one would get “trench⁸ mouth．”

Bread was divided，according to status．Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf，the family got the middle，and guests got the top，or，“upper crust．”

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey．The combination would，sometimes knock them out for a couple of days．Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial．They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up－－hence t he custom of holding a “wake．”

England is old and small，and，they started out running out of places to bury people．So，they would dig up coffins9) and would take the bones to a “bone－house” and reuse the grave．When reopening these coffins¹²，one out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside，and，they realized they had been burying people alive．So，they thought they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse，lead it through the coffin¹¹ and up through the ground and tie it to a bell．Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard¹³ all night （the “graveyard shift”）to listen for the bell．

１６世纪的英国

以下是有关１６世纪英国的一些事实：

大多数人在６月结婚，因为他们在５月洗一年一次的澡。至６月时，身上气味还不至难闻。然而因为已经有味，所以新娘子手捧一束花来遮掩。

洗澡用一个装满热水的大浴盆。当家的男人享有用干净水洗澡的特权，然后是儿辈和其他男人，再是女人，接着是孩子，婴儿排在最后。这盆水洗到这个时候已经脏到人进去了就找不着的程度。因此有了这个说法：Don' t throw the baby out with the bath water（不要把婴儿连同洗澡水一起给倒了。）这话用来形容精华和糟粕被一同丢掉。

住房有草顶---堆得又高又厚的草，草下没有木头。这是动物惟一取暖的地方，因此，所有的猫、狗和其他动物（小耗子、大老鼠和臭虫）全都生活在屋顶上。下雨时，屋顶挺滑，有时动物会从顶上滑下来。因而有了用It' s raining cats and dogs（下猫狗）的说法，来形容“倾盆大雨”。

没法阻止往屋里掉东西，这对卧室是个大问题。臭虫或别的什么会把干净的床弄得一塌糊涂。因此出现了有大柱子的床，柱顶撑起一张单子，可以有些防护。于是就有了Canopy³ bed（天篷床）这个说法。

屋子地面是脏土。只有富人家不是这样，因而有了dirt poor（极贫困的）的说法。

富人家有石板地面，冬天受潮后会很滑，因此他们在地上铺灯芯草，这样才能走得稳。但随着冬天一天天过去，地上的草越积越多，一开门就往外滑。于是在进门处放根木头来挡住（hold）草，因此出现了thresh hold（threshold，门槛）这个词。

人们在厨房里用一个一直悬在火上的大锅做饭。他们每天点上火，往锅里添加东西。主要吃蔬菜，肉食不多。晚上吃炖煮的食物，剩下的就留在锅里过夜，第二天再接着煮。有时锅里的食物能待上很长时间，因而出现了顺口溜：Peas porridge hot，peas porridge cold，peas porridge in the pot nine days old（热豆粥，凉豆粥，锅里的豆粥九天喽！）。

有时人们能吃到猪肉，这使他们感到相当不寻常。客人来访时，他们会挂起熏咸肉炫耀一番。若“能往家捎熏咸肉”，则是财富的象征。他们会切下一点给客人吃，大家都坐着“嚼肥肉”（chew the fat，这个短语逐渐发展为“闲聊”的意思）。

有钱人使的是用焊锡做的盘子，含酸量高的食物会使一些铅渗透进食物，造成铅中毒甚至死亡。吃番茄最容易发生这种事，因此在随后的４００多年中，番茄一直被认为有毒。

大多数人没有焊锡盘子，而用木制食盘，即把一块木头当中挖空成碗状。这种食盘还经常用不新鲜的农家自制面包制成。由于时间长了，面包变得特别硬，可以用上许久。食盘从来不洗，寄生虫和霉菌进到木头和面包中。用这样的盘子吃东西会得trench mouth（战壕口炎／坏死性溃疡性龈炎）。

面包按地位分吃。佣人吃面包的煳底，家人吃当中那部分，客人吃最上面的，或称upper crust（上表层）。日后upper crust就用来表示“上层阶级”。

铅制的杯子用来喝麦芽酒或威士忌。两者混着喝有时能使人昏迷一两天。有人在路上见到这样的人，会以为是死人而准备下葬。把他放在厨房桌子上一两天。家人坐在周围又吃又喝，等着看他能否醒过来，因而就有了holding a wake（守灵）的习俗。

英格兰是个小而古老的国家，埋葬人的地方日趋减少。因此，人们挖开棺材，把骨头拿到“骨房”，再次利用墓穴。在打开这些棺材时，会发现平均２５个棺材中有一个里面有划痕，这才明白是把活人给埋了。因此，人们想应该在死尸手腕上绑根小绳，穿过棺材和地面，系在一个小铃上。要有人整晚坐在墓地上听铃声，这叫graveyard shift（“墓地班”，也就是现在的“半夜或凌晨２时开始的夜班”）。

1 bouquet   

n.花束，酒香

参考例句：

• This wine has a rich bouquet.这种葡萄酒有浓郁的香气。
• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。

2 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 canopy   

n.天篷，遮篷

参考例句：

• The trees formed a leafy canopy above their heads.树木在他们头顶上空形成了一个枝叶茂盛的遮篷。
• They lay down under a canopy of stars.他们躺在繁星点点的天幕下。

4 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

5 stew   

n.炖汤，焖，烦恼；v.炖汤，焖，忧虑

参考例句：

• The stew must be boiled up before serving.炖肉必须煮熟才能上桌。
• There's no need to get in a stew.没有必要烦恼。

6 leftovers   

n.剩余物，残留物，剩菜

参考例句：

• He can do miracles with a few kitchen leftovers.他能用厨房里几样剩饭做出一顿美餐。
• She made supper from leftovers she had thrown together.她用吃剩的食物拼凑成一顿晚饭。

7 leach   

v.分离，过滤掉；n.过滤；过滤器

参考例句：

• Liquid water can leach soluble materials from the interface.液态水能够从界面溶解出可溶性物质。
• They believe that the humic materials are leached from decaying plant materials.他们认为腐植物料是从腐烂的植物体浸沥而来。

8 trench   

n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕

参考例句：

• The soldiers recaptured their trench.兵士夺回了战壕。
• The troops received orders to trench the outpost.部队接到命令在前哨周围筑壕加强防卫。

9 scooped   

v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等）

参考例句：

• They scooped the other newspapers by revealing the matter. 他们抢先报道了这件事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car. 车轮搅起的石块，在车身下发出不吉祥的锤击声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 moldy   

adj.发霉的

参考例句：

• She chucked the moldy potatoes in the dustbin.她把发霉的土豆扔进垃圾箱。
• Oranges can be kept for a long time without going moldy.橙子可以存放很长时间而不腐烂。

11 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

12 coffins   

n.棺材( coffin的名词复数 )；使某人早亡[死，完蛋，垮台等]之物

参考例句：

• The shop was close and hot, and the atmosphere seemed tainted with the smell of coffins. 店堂里相当闷热，空气仿佛被棺木的味儿污染了。 来自辞典例句
• Donate some coffins to the temple, equal to the number of deaths. 到寺庙里，捐赠棺材盒给这些死者吧。 来自电影对白

13 graveyard   

n.坟场

参考例句：

• All the town was drifting toward the graveyard.全镇的人都象流水似地向那坟场涌过去。
• Living next to a graveyard would give me the creeps.居住在墓地旁边会使我毛骨悚然。