英语沙龙:October 20: Colchester Oyster Feast

October 20: Colchester Oyster1) Feast2)

For nearly two thousand years,people have been cultivating the common British oyster¹ in the lower reaches of England' s Colne River－－ever since the town now known as Colchester was a Roman fortress².The Romans exported boatloads of oysters³ to Italy.

Colchester' s oyster harvest is still a big event.On opening day in late September,the mayor and city council members don3) ceremonial regalia4) and travel via fishing boat to the “oyster－fattening beds.”There the mayor dredges the season' s first oysters and immediately eats one．As is customary in this rite,he chases that with gin5) and ginerbread,toasting the queen's health.

The second oyster ceremony,the Colchester Oyster Feast,has been an institution since before the seventeenth century－－and always on October 20,which was a major occasion for trade fairs.Originally the oyster f east was a  literal free－for－all,with everyone hauling bucketfuls of oysters from the river.Today the feast is a genteel6),controlled function at the Colchester Moot⁴ Hall.At the formal evening banquet,some four hundred diners,often including a Royal or two,consume upwards⁵ of twelve thousand oysters.

10月20日：科尔切斯特牡蛎宴节

近2000年来，自从现名为科尔切斯特的这个镇子成为古罗马的要塞时起，那里的人一直都在英格兰的科恩河下游养殖这种普通的英国牡蛎。古罗马人将大量的牡蛎出口到意大利。

在科尔切斯特，收获牡蛎仍然是一件大事。9月下旬，在开始收获的那一天，市长和市政会的官员们身穿庆典盛装，乘渔船来到牡蛎养肥场。市长捞上当季的首批牡蛎并立即品尝一个。按习俗，他吃了牡蛎之后要接着喝杜松子酒，吃姜饼，并为女王的健康举杯祝酒。

第二个牡蛎庆典，即科尔切斯特牡蛎节，在17世纪之前就已成为一种习俗---而且总是在10月20日。过去那曾是集市贸易的重大日子。起初，牡蛎节完全是自由参加的，人人都可以从河里一桶桶地打捞牡蛎。如今这个节日成了仅限于上流社会人士在科尔切斯特民会会堂参加的活动。在正式的晚宴上，有400名左右的就餐者，常常还有一两位王室成员，共享12000多只牡蛎。

1 oyster   

n.牡蛎；沉默寡言的人

参考例句：

• I enjoy eating oyster; it's really delicious.我喜欢吃牡蛎，它味道真美。
• I find I fairly like eating when he finally persuades me to taste the oyster.当他最后说服我尝尝牡蛎时，我发现我相当喜欢吃。

2 fortress   

n.堡垒，防御工事

参考例句：

• They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。
• The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。

3 oysters   

牡蛎( oyster的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We don't have oysters tonight, but the crayfish are very good. 我们今晚没有牡蛎供应。但小龙虾是非常好。
• She carried a piping hot grill of oysters and bacon. 她端出一盘滚烫的烤牡蛎和咸肉。

4 moot   

v.提出；adj.未决议的；n.大会；辩论会

参考例句：

• The question mooted in the board meeting is still a moot point.那个在董事会上提出讨论的问题仍未决的。
• The oil versus nuclear equation is largely moot.石油和核能之间的关系还很有争议。

5 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。