翻译资格考试英语口译中级模拟题：情人节的由来

　　情人节的由来

　　每年二月，全国各地相爱的人们都以圣·瓦伦丁的名义互赠糖果、鲜花和礼物。这位神秘的圣徒到底是谁?而我们又缘何庆祝圣·瓦伦丁节(情人节)?虽然情人节的历史——以及这位情人节的守护圣徒瓦伦丁其人其事——已笼罩在神秘的帷幕之中，但是我们都知道，二月是个浪漫之月。而今天的情人节，同时有着基督教传统和古罗马传统的影子。那么，圣·瓦伦丁究竟是谁?他和这古老的节典有何关联?

　　有一种说法认为，瓦伦丁是公元3世纪罗马的一位神职牧师。当时，罗马皇帝克劳迪亚斯二世认定未婚的士兵比有妻儿家室的士兵更善战，于是他宣布年轻男子——他未来的兵源——结婚是非法的。瓦伦丁觉得这项法令是非正义的，便违抗皇帝的命令，继续秘密地给年轻恋人主持婚礼。克劳迪亚斯发现后，便下令处死瓦伦丁。

　　还有些说法认为，瓦伦丁是因为帮在罗马监狱里遭受酷刑的基督教信徒越狱，而被处以极刑的。

　　还有一种说法是，瓦伦丁就是第一位发送“瓦伦丁”(情人)问候的人。他在牢狱中，和一位探视他、也许是典狱长的女儿的年轻女子坠入了爱河。据说他被处死前，给这位女子写过一封信，署名“你的瓦伦丁”(你的情人)，该署名延用至今。尽管事恃的真相仍然扑朔迷离，但这些传说无不将瓦伦丁塑造成一位悲天悯人、英勇无畏的人物，更重要的是，他充满了浪漫情怀。所以，到了中世纪的时候，瓦伦丁已经成为在英法两国最受爱戴的圣徒。

　　有些人相信，情人节在2月中旬过是为了纪念瓦伦丁大约在公元270年逝世或入殓之日。还有些人则宣称，基督教把2月中的日子定为瓦伦丁节庆祝，也许是为了将异教徒的牧神节基督教化。在古罗马，2月为春天之始，也被认定是进行“净化仪式”的时间。这时，家家户户都要正式地清扫屋子，并在屋内撒上盐和一种叫斯佩尔特的小麦。牧神节，2月15日开始，是纪念罗马农牧之神福纳斯的节日，同时也是纪念罗马的创立者罗穆卢斯和瑞摩斯的日子。

　　庆典开始时，罗马牧神团的成员们聚集在圣洞前，人们相信罗马的建立者罗穆卢斯和瑞摩斯，在襁褓中时曾在此洞中受到一头母狼的哺育之恩。牧师们会献祭一头山羊，以求丰收、繁衍，另进献一只狗，以示净化。

　　然后，孩子们把山羊皮切割成条，蘸上祭血，跑到街上，轻轻地抽打女人们和田里的庄稼。罗马的女人们并不害怕，相反她们很乐意被打，因为据说山羊皮能增强她们来年的生殖能力。据传，那天下午，城里的所有年轻女子都把自己名字写好放进一个钵里，城里的羊身汉们便从钵里抽出一个名字，并在这一年里与此名女子结为伴侣，这些情侣后来多结为夫妻。大约在公元498年教皇格拉修宣布2月14日为圣·瓦伦丁节，罗马的“抽签”配对的风俗被认为不符合基督教义而被定为非法。到了中世纪，法兰西和英格兰人普遍相信鸟儿的交尾期始于2月14日，从而更加坚信2月中的瓦伦丁节应当是浪漫的日子。在现存的资料中，“瓦伦丁”一词最早出现在一首诗里。该诗是在阿金库尔战役中被俘的奥尔良公爵查尔斯被囚禁在伦敦塔中时写给他妻子的。

　　在英国，情人节大约从17世纪开始流行。到了18世纪中叶，无论贵族还是平民，朋友还是恋人，都在这一天互赠爱意小卡或手写的便笺。到了18世纪末，随着印刷技术的发展，第十三单元节日祝贺Festivals人们开始互送印制的卡片，替代手写的书信。在直抒心意不受鼓励的年代，现成的卡片便成了人们表达情感的便利方式。低廉的邮寄费用，也使互送情人卡愈加普遍。

　　参考译文

　　The Origin of Valentine's Day

　　Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday? The history of Valentine's Day - and its patron saint - is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman traditions. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men - his crop of potential soldiers.

　　Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

　　Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured. According to another legend, Valentine actually sent the first "valentine" greeting himself.

　　While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl - who may have been his jailor's daughter - who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed "From your Valentine," an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.

　　While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial - which probably occurred around A. D. 270 - others claim that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to "christianize" celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival . In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their interiors. Lupercalia, which began at February 15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus . To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests/, would gather at the sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would then sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification.

　　The boys then sliced the goat's hide into strips, dipped them in the sacrificial blood and took to the streets, gently slapping both women and fields of crops with the goat hide strips. Far from being fearful , Roman women welcomed being touched with the hides because it was believed the strips would make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city's bachelors would then each choose a name out of the urn and become paired for the year with his chosen woman.

　　These matches often ended in marriage. Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around A. D. 498. The Roman "lottery" system for romantic pairing was deemed un-Christian and outlawed. Later, during the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds' mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of February - Valentine's Day - should be a day for romance. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. In Great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the seventeenth century. By the middle of the eighteenth century, it was common for friends and lovers in all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By the end of the century, printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology.

　　Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one's feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's Day greetings.