双语趣听精彩世界 第204期:红迷今夏何处去,大观园里走一遭

 　　Filled with more than 400 characters and over 1000 pages long, the Dream of the Red Chamber¹ is one of the Four Greatest Classical Novels in Chinese literature.

　　红迷今夏何处去,大观园里走一遭

　　The story details the rise and fall of the aristocratic Jia family during the Ming Dynasty. In the midst² of it all is a tragic³ love triangle between the main male character Jia Baoyu and his two cousins,Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai. The plot is so complex that it even has its own academic field, known as Redology.

　　The book itself was written back in the 18th century and almost three hundred years later, it is still much loved by Chinese readers. Dream of the Red Chamber was so popular in China that in the1980s, a multi-episode TV series was made based on the book, and Daguanyuan or Grand View Garden, a major setting⁴ in the story, was built in Beijing for this purpose.

　　The garden is located not far from the Forbidden City, on Beijing's second ring road. In the novel, this is where Jia Baoyu and his female⁵ cousins lived. Ma Juntong is a curator for this place, which is also the Beijing Redology Culture Museum.

1 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

2 midst   

n.中部，中间，当中

参考例句：

• The hut is in the midst of the forest.小屋在森林深处。
• There is a thief in our midst.我们当中有小偷。

3 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

4 setting   

n.背景

参考例句：

• The play has its setting in Vienna.该剧以维也纳为背景。
• Where and when a story takes place is called the setting.故事发生的地点和时间称为故事背景。

5 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。