我在西双版纳过泼水节丨英文精读丨传统文化丨文娱旅游
昨天我在西双版纳参加了一年一度的傣族泼水节，这场泼水狂欢真的是氛围满满，无比解压，参加泼水节后整个人都松弛了。不知道有没有昨天跟我“交战”过的小伙伴。
Lonely Planet 中有篇文章介绍了西双版纳和傣族泼水节，我们一起来看看：
01
原文
①The lazy flow of the Lancang (Mekong) River belies the pace of modern development in the tropical jungles of Southwest China's Xishuangbanna prefecture. ②Once barely a guidebook footnote as a trailhead for hard-to-reach jungle treks, modern 'Banna has come to the fore as a hub for culture lovers, "sun and more sun" travelers, and those looking to link China into a longer overland Southeast Asia journey.
①Top of most visitors' lists is experiencing the culture of the Dai minority group, the largest in Xishuangbanna, and one of a broad swathe of Tai communities that stretch across international borders from China to Thailand. ②The most popular draw is the Dai Water Splashing Festival in April, a three-day celebration of the Dai New Year where locals and visitors make merry with waterguns, overflowing pots, weaponized squirt bottles, and just about any other conceivable means of washing away the old year's impurities and ill luck to start the new year afresh.
02
精读第一段
①The lazy flow of the Lancang (Mekong) River belies the pace of modern development in the tropical jungles of Southwest China's Xishuangbanna prefecture. ②Once barely a guidebook footnote as a trailhead for hard-to-reach jungle treks, modern 'Banna has come to the fore as a hub for culture lovers, "sun and more sun" travelers, and those looking to link China into a longer overland Southeast Asia journey.
慵懒的澜沧江（湄公河），使人误以为中国西南热带丛林地区的现代发展步伐亦然迟缓。版纳曾经只是旅游指南上的一个注脚，是难以抵达的丛林徒步的起点，而现代版纳已成为文化爱好者、“阳光和更多阳光”旅行者以及那些希望将中国与东南亚陆路交通联系起来的人的心驰神往之地。
Lancang River 和 Mekong River 是同一条河流，在国内被称为“澜沧江”，流入东南亚被称为“湄公河”。澜沧江在傣语里意思是“百万大象繁衍的河流”。The lazy flow of the Lancang (Mekong) River 指“澜沧江（湄公河）流速缓慢”。
belie 意思是：to give someone a false idea about something “使人对…产生错觉、使人对…误解”，看个例句感受一下：
Her pleasant manner belied her true character.
她友善的举止掩饰了她真实的个性。
文中 The lazy flow of the Lancang (Mekong) River belies the pace of modern development 是说，澜沧江流速缓慢，掩饰了这个地方的现代化发展（让人误以为这个地方的发展也很缓慢）。言外之意是，版纳的发展其实很快。
prefecture 指“地方行政区域”，在中国指“自治区（州）”，Xishuangbanna prefecture 就是“西双版纳自治州”的意思，虽然名为州，但行政上属于地级市。
第二句话的主干是：Once barely a guidebook footnote, modern 'Banna has come to the fore.
当代“版纳”曾经只是旅游指南上的一个注脚，而现在已经变得很重要。
footnote 本义是“脚注、注脚”，引申为“不重要的事情/人、次要的事情/人”，看个例句：
I'm afraid that his name will now become a footnote in history.
恐怕他的名字现在会成为历史的注脚。
come to the fore 或 be (at) the fore 是固定搭配，意思是 to be / become important and noticed by people; to play an important part “变得重要(或突出)、起重要作用”，和前面的 footnote 含义相反。看个例句：
The problem has come to the fore again in recent months.
近几个月来这个问题又成为热点。
我们可以从主干中提炼出一个写作句型：
Once barely a…, XX has come to the fore as…
这个句型可用于作文开头，描述事物的迅速发展或巨大变化，我们以“人工智能”为话题，仿写一句话：
Once barely a concept relegated to science fiction novels, artificial intelligence has come to the fore as a transformative force in industries ranging from healthcare to finance.
人工智能曾一度只是科幻小说中的概念，如今已成为医疗保健至金融等多个行业中的一股变革力量。
回到文中来，a guidebook footnote 后面跟了个后置定语，进行补充：as a trailhead for hard-to-reach jungle treks
trailhead 指“小道的起点”，这个词了解即可。
hard-to-reach 是形容词，指“很难达到的”。
trek 指“长途跋涉、远距离行走”，jungle treks 就是“雨林徒步”的意思。
文中 as a trailhead for hard-to-reach jungle treks 则是说，版纳在过去只是难以抵达的丛林徒步的起点。
come to the fore 后面也跟了组修饰补充成分：as a hub for culture lovers, "sun and more sun" travelers, and those looking to link China into a longer overland Southeast Asia journey.
这部分的核心结构是 as a hub for A, B and C. 意思是：它是ABC这三类人群的中心。
其中A是 culture lovers 文化爱好者
B是 "sun and more sun" travelers 喜欢阳光的旅行者
C是 those looking to link China into a longer overland Southeast Asia journey，其中 those 是核心名词，looking to link China into…是现在分词形式的后置定语，修饰 those.
overland 意思是 across the land; by land, not by sea or by air “横跨陆地的、通过陆路的”，如：
an overland route
陆上路线
也可以作副词：
They plan to travel overland to China.
他们计划经陆路去中国。
文中 link China into a longer overland Southeast Asia journey 意思是：将中国与东南亚陆路交通联系起来。
最后整体再回顾一下这句话：
Once barely a guidebook footnote as a trailhead for hard-to-reach jungle treks, modern 'Banna has come to the fore as a hub for culture lovers, "sun and more sun" travelers, and those looking to link China into a longer overland Southeast Asia journey.
版纳曾经只是旅游指南上的一个注脚，是难以抵达的丛林徒步的起点，而现代版纳已成为文化爱好者、“阳光和更多阳光”旅行者以及那些希望将中国与东南亚陆路交通联系起来的人的心驰神往之地。
03
精读第二段
①Top of most visitors' lists is experiencing the culture of the Dai minority group, the largest in Xishuangbanna, and one of a broad swathe of Tai communities that stretch across international borders from China to Thailand. ②The most popular draw is the Dai Water Splashing Festival in April, a three-day celebration of the Dai New Year where locals and visitors make merry with waterguns, overflowing pots, weaponized squirt bottles, and just about any other conceivable means of washing away the old year's impurities and ill luck to start the new year afresh.
西双版纳地区最受游客青睐的活动之一，便是体验傣族文化。傣族是西双版纳最大的少数民族之一，也是跨越从中国到泰国边境、分布广阔的傣泰民族中的一员。最受欢迎的是四月份的傣族泼水节，这是一个持续三天的傣族新年庆祝活动，当地人和游客会用水枪、装满水的盆、武器化的喷水瓶以及其他各种方式来洗去旧年的污秽和厄运，开始新的一年。
Top of the lists is…字面意思是“居名单之首的是…”，可以泛指“最喜欢、最想要、最需要的事情、首先要做的是”等，这也是个写作句型，我们以“无人驾驶”为话题，写一个句子：
Top of the lists is enhancing the safety level of autonomous driving systems to prevent hacking attempts.
首先要做的是，提升无人驾驶系统的安全等级，避免被黑客入侵。
the Dai minority group 指“傣族”。
a broad swathe of Tai communities 中，swathe 指 a long thin area of something, especially land 长条的土地，a broad swathe of...表示某类群体或事物分布广泛。
Tai communities 指傣泰民族，文中 a broad swathe of Tai communities that stretch across international borders from China to Thailand 的意思是：跨越从中国到泰国边境、分布广阔的傣泰民族。
The most popular draw 中，draw 是名词，指“吸引许多人的地方、人、东西”，看个例句：
It is hoped that the new art gallery will be a big draw for visitors.
希望新建的美术馆能吸引大量的参观者。
文中 The most popular draw is the Dai Water Splashing Festival in April 的意思是：最吸引游客的是四月份的傣族泼水节。
后面 a three-day celebration of the Dai New Year 是 the Dai Water Splashing Festival 的同位语，意思是：傣族泼水节是为期三天的傣族新年庆祝活动。
make merry with 指 to enjoy yourself by singing, laughing, drinking, etc “行乐”，看个例句：
Christmas is a time to eat, drink and make merry.
圣诞节是一个吃喝玩乐的时候。
文中 locals and visitors make merry with waterguns, overflowing pots, weaponized squirt bottles 是说：当地人和游客用水枪、装满水的盆、武器喷水瓶（泼水），玩得很开心。
washing away the old year's impurities and ill luck to start the new year afresh 讲的是泼水节的寓意：洗去旧年的污秽和厄运，开始新的一年。
start sth afresh 指“重新开始”，其中 afresh 是副词，指“重新”，这个短语在《傲慢与偏见》中也出现过：
今天就到这里，感谢阅读！
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