10 生日快樂與生日蛋糕(doc)
10、Happy Birthday and Birthday Cakes The song “ Happy birthday to you” is sung all over the world just before the birthday boy or girl blows out the candles on the cake. It is so simple in melody1 and lyric that children as young as three can sing it without hesitation. The song, with its original title “ Good Morning to You” , was written in 1893 by the two sisters, Mildred and Patty Smith Hill. They were the daughters of a progressive2 Kentucky couple, who believed in female education at a time--the mid-nineteenth century-- when it was still a novel idea and who trained their two daughters to be schoolteachers. They were long involved in elementary3 education, and Patty, in particular. She achieved considerable prominence4 as a pioneer in kindergarten5 education, and for several decades a major spokesperson for preschool education. She taught at Columbia University's Teachers College from 1905 to 1935,and at her retirement became one of the first women to be named a professor emeritus6 by Columbia. A birthday cake with burning candles is also indispensable7 at one's birthday party. It may derive, distantly, from8 the ancient Greek practice of offering to Artemis, goddess of the hunt and of the moon, a round honey cake into which a candle was stuck. After German bakers invented the modern birthday cake in the Middle Ages, a similar custom was adopted for the invocation9 of good spirits at birthdays. The cake, ready by morning, would be surrounded by burning candles, in a kind of protective fire circle, and they would be kept lit all day, until dessert time at the evening meal. The candle-blowing-out custom may be associated with candles' dual10 meaning at birthdays. Some people believe that each birthday is another step toward the end, and what we celebrate at birthday gatherings is not only our growth, but our transience11.Thus,candles at birthdays are symbols of duality,life and death,hopes and fears, increase and loss, and so on. “生日快樂”與生日蛋糕 全世界過(guò)生日的男孩和女孩在吹滅生日蛋糕上的蠟燭之前都有人唱“祝你生日快樂”這 首歌。它的詞和曲都很簡(jiǎn)單上口，連三歲的小孩都能毫不猶豫地唱出來(lái)。這首歌原來(lái)叫 “早安”，是米爾德里德和帕蒂·史密斯·希爾兩姐妹在1893年創(chuàng)作的。她們的父母是一對(duì) 非常開明的肯塔基州夫婦。他們堅(jiān)信女子教育——在19世紀(jì)中期這還是個(gè)很新奇的觀點(diǎn)—— 并把兩個(gè)女兒培養(yǎng)成教師。姐妹倆，尤其是帕蒂，長(zhǎng)期從事基礎(chǔ)教育。作為幼兒教育的 先驅(qū)，帕蒂取得了顯著成就，并且?guī)资陙?lái)一直是學(xué)前教育領(lǐng)域的主要發(fā)言人。從1905 年到1935年，她在哥倫比亞大學(xué)師范學(xué)院任教，退休時(shí)成為哥倫比亞大學(xué)最早的榮譽(yù)退 休女教授之一。 　　生日聚會(huì)上還一定要有插著點(diǎn)燃著的蠟燭的生日蛋糕。這可能是源于古希臘用插著 一支蠟燭的一個(gè)圓形蜂蜜蛋糕來(lái)拜祭月亮和狩獵之神阿爾特宓斯的習(xí)俗。德國(guó)的面包師 在中世紀(jì)發(fā)明了現(xiàn)代的生日蛋糕以后，人們就采用了類似的一種習(xí)俗，在生日祈求福神 。早上做好的蛋糕點(diǎn)上一圈蠟燭，像是一個(gè)保護(hù)性的火環(huán)。蠟燭整天都點(diǎn)著，一直點(diǎn)到 晚飯吃甜點(diǎn)的時(shí)候。 　　吹蠟燭的習(xí)慣也許跟生日蠟燭的雙重意義有關(guān)。有人相信每一個(gè)生日都表示離死亡 又近了一步。我們?cè)谏站蹠?huì)上慶祝的不僅是我們的成長(zhǎng)，還有生命的短暫。因此，生 日蠟燭象征著雙重含義：生命與死亡，希望與恐懼，得到與失去等等。 1.melody [5μελΕδι]n.(音)旋律，曲調(diào) 2.progressive [πρΕ5⊥ρεσιπ]adj.進(jìn)步的 3.elementary [7ελι5μεντΕρι]adj.基礎(chǔ)的 4.prominence [5πρΡμΙνΕνσ]n.杰出，顯著 5.kindergarten [5κινδΕ7⊥Β:τν] adj.幼兒園的 6.emeritus [ι:5μεριτΕσ]adj.榮譽(yù)退職的 7.indispensable [7ινδισ5πενσΕβλ]adj.必需的 8.derive [δι5ραιπ]vi.(與from搭配)起源 9.invocation [7ινπΕυ5κειΦΕν]n.祈禱 10.dual [5δφυ:Ελ]adj.雙重的 11.transience [?τρ“νζΙΕνσ]n.短暫
10 生日快樂與生日蛋糕(doc)