The Light and the Dark of the Holidays: Saint Nicholas and Krampus 聖誕天使和惡魔：聖尼古拉和坎卜斯 A story about the original Santa and his dark follower. 一個關於原始聖誕老人和他的邪惡隨從的故事。
Saint Nicholas Day is a Christian holiday in Europe that falls on December 6, though some places celebrate on December 19. During this festival, people eat a huge meal, go to church, and young boys dress as priests and give money to the poor. On the night before the holiday, children put out their shoes for Saint Nicholas to put gifts into. Saint Nicholas was a Christian leader who lived in Greece almost two thousand years ago. There are many stories about him performing miracles and secretly giving gifts to those in need, especially to children. Paintings and decorations of Saint Nicholas usually show a tall, old man with a long, white beard who carries a bag full of toys. It is clear from this image that Dutch settlers in America got the idea for Santa Claus from Saint Nicolas. Since then, Santa Claus's popularity has only grown with time. After Santa Claus became the main figure of Christmas, Saint Nicholas Day might have become a mostly forgotten holiday. What has kept the festival going is not Saint Nicholas' miracles or his kindness to children. The new star is the monster that follows Saint Nicolas and punishes the bad children: Krampus.
follower n. 跟班，跟隨者 Sam prefers to be a follower in a group. 在團體中，山姆比較喜歡當隨從。
priest n. 牧師 The priest blessed me with holy water. 牧師以聖水來為我祈福。
secretly adv. 秘密地，偷偷地 Hiding in the woods, the soldiers were able to secretly observe the enemy. 軍人藏身在樹林中，所以能夠秘密觀察敵人。
beard n. 鬍子 Santa Claus has a big, white beard. 聖誕老公公有一大把白鬍子。
settler n. 殖民者；拓荒者 Peter's grandfather was one of the early settlers of Australia. 彼得的祖父是澳州早期拓荒者之一。
kindness n. 善意，仁慈 Is there anything I can do in return for your kindness? 我能做點什麼來回報你的好意嗎？
monster n. 怪物 The witch turned the animal into a monster. 巫婆把那隻動物變成了怪物。
punish vt. 懲罰 If you never punish your son, he'll never learn to behave properly. 如果你從不處罰兒子的話，他永遠都不會守規矩。
『創造奇蹟』怎麼說 本文 "There are many stories about him performing miracles and secretly giving gifts to those in need, especially to children." 中的 perform miracles 表『產生奇蹟式的功效或結果』，等於 work miracles / wonders。例：
That medicine seemed to perform miracles by curing the woman of cancer. （那藥似乎很靈，因為它治好這位女士的癌症。）
Herbal tea works miracles in helping you fall asleep at night. （花草茶對於幫助夜晚入眠有奇效。）
The ginger tea really worked wonders for my cold. I feel much better now. （薑茶對我的感冒真有效。我現在感覺好多了。）
沒有留言:
張貼留言