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第1章 Sock Burning Welcomes Spring“烧袜子仪式”迎春天

In sailingcrazy Annapolis, boaters celebrate the first day of spring with a ceremonial—burning of the Socks.

Sock Burning Welcomes Spring

In sailingcrazy Annapolis, boaters celebrate the first day of spring with a ceremonial ceremonial n.仪式adj.正式的 —burning of the Sockssock n.短袜, 鞋内衬底, 轻软鞋, 一击, 零食, signifyingsignify vt.表示, 意味vi.要紧, 有重要 it will soon be warm enough to wear shoes without socks.

在“航海之乡”安纳波利斯,船工们会在春季的第一天举行烧袜子仪式,以庆祝春天的到来。

“烧袜子仪式”迎春天

在“航海之乡”安纳波利斯(美国马里兰州首府),船工们会在春季的第一天举行烧袜子仪式,以庆祝春天的到来。这标志着不久之后天气就会变暖,他们就可以光脚穿鞋了。

The tradition began in the mid1980s, when an employee employee n.职工, 雇员, 店员 at Annapolis Yacht Yard tired of his winter days doing engine maintenance maintenance n.维护, 保持, 生活费用, 扶养 on yachts and power boats. He stripped off his stinky socks, put them in a paint can with some lighter fluidfluid n.流动性,流度 adj.流动的,不固定的,可改变的,可另派用场的,流畅的 and drank a beer while looking forward to warmer days ahead.

“Theres a whole industry industry n.工业, 产业, 行业, 勤奋 of people who work all winter long on peoples boats so that theyll be in shape for their owners to go out and play all summer,” said Jeff Holland, director of the Annapolis Maritime Museum.

But the sockburning ritualritual n.典礼, (宗教)仪式, 礼节adj.典礼的, (宗教)仪式的 now draws more than boatyardboatyard n.船坞,造船厂,修船厂. workers.

烧袜子迎春的传统始于20世纪80年代中期,当时安纳波利斯游艇修理场里有一个工人实在是厌倦了在游艇和汽艇上维修发动机的漫漫冬日。于是,他脱下臭不可闻的袜子,把它们扔进一个装有一些液体燃料的涂料罐里,又喝了罐啤酒,期待着温暖日子的到来。

安纳波利斯海事博物馆馆长杰夫·霍兰德说:“这个行业、所有的人整个冬天都在别人的船上工作,这样船只才能做好准备供船主外出游玩一夏天。”

但是烧袜子习俗现在已经不再是修船工人的“专利”了。

Even wealthy sailboat owners delight in throwing tube socks and panty panty (=panties)童裤 女裤 hose on the flames in this town, whose residents have a special disdain disdain n.轻蔑, 以高傲的态度对待vt.蔑视, 鄙弃 for socks. Waterfront restaurants that serve big crab feasts draw men wearing leather loafers sans socks.

Annapolis resident Michael Busch, the speaker of the Maryland House, joked that socks constitute formal wear around here. The most hardcore sock haters refuse to wear them from the spring equinox equinox n.昼夜平分点, 春分或秋分 until the first day of winter.

“The uniform uniform n.制服adj.统一的, 相同的, 一致的, 始终如一的, 均衡的vt.使成一样, 使穿制服 is deck shoes and khaki khaki adj.黄褐色n.卡其布 pants in winter. The uniform is deck shoes and khaki shorts in summer,” Holland said with a laugh.

甚至连小镇上富有的船主也会高兴地把长筒袜和连裤袜扔进火堆。镇上的居民对袜子有一种特殊的蔑视。提供螃蟹大餐的码头餐馆还专门招揽那些穿着皮质懒汉鞋、不穿袜子的男人。

安纳波利斯小镇居民麦克尔·布切是马里兰州众议院的发言人。他开玩笑说,在这里,袜子是一种正式的穿着。那些最坚决的讨厌穿袜子的人从春分开始一直到立冬都不会穿袜子。

霍兰德笑着说道:“冬天船工的制服是甲板鞋和卡其布长裤;到了夏天就成了甲板鞋和卡其布短裤”。

The sock bonfire, he said, is a way of remembering Annapolis bygone days of workingclass watermen who brought in crabs crab n.螃蟹, 类似螃蟹的动物, 脾气乖戾的人, 吹毛求疵vi.捕蟹, 偏航, 发牢骚vt.使偏航, 发脾气, 破坏 in the summer and scraped the paint off wooden vessels vessel n.船, 容器, 器皿, 脉管, 导管 in the winter.

These days, the bonfire bonfire n.大篝火, 营火 revelers retire for crab cakes and oysters oyster n.[动]牡蛎, 蚝, 沉默者 after burning their socks.

他说,袜子篝火是纪念安纳波利斯船工们旧日生活的一种方式。过去,船工们夏天出海打回螃蟹,冬天就在木船上把船体上的漆一点点的刮下来。

如今,围着篝火狂欢的人们烧完袜子后,都会纷纷去吃蟹肉饼和牡蛎。

每一个节日都有它特定的涵义,春天是一年四季的开始,是万物复苏的开始,“一年之计在于春”,因此春天也就成为人们最喜欢的季节,人们通过各种方式纪念它,比如我国的春节和本文中的“烧袜子”。虽然表现方式不同,但人们对春天的喜爱之情却是相同的。