guy fawkes night

　　when november 5 th comes, many people feel that they should give their dog a sedative, for some dogs get very nervous when they hear loud bangs, and the evening of guy fawkes day is sure to be noisy if there are children living in your neighborhood in england.

　　november 5 th is a day on which, traditionally, children are allowed, under proper supervision, to let off fireworks, to make a bonfire and burn on it the figure of a ragged dummy ( a‘guy2 ’) made of old clothes, straw, and — if possible — one of father’s oldest hats. even the smaller children are allowed to stay up until it is really dark, so that they can admire the rockets that burst in the sky and send down a shower of many-colored sparks.

　　the origin of this custom lies in the gunpowder plot of 1605 . in that year king james i3 was on the throne . harsh measures had been taken against members of the roman catholic faith and certain catholics plotted to blow up the houses of parliament4 on november 5th , when the king was to open parliament and when, of course , all the members would be present. the plotters had hired premises adjoining the house of lords, and had been able to obtain access to a vault beneath the house. there, they had stored thirty-six barrels of gunpowder. these were to be blown up, when the time came , by a very brave, cool-headed man, guy fawkes. unfortunately, according to the traditional account, the plot was discovered when one of the plotters wrote to warn a relation. on november 4 th the vaults were searched , and guy fawkes was found and arrested. it is said that he had been warned that the plot had been discovered, but he gallantly persisted in his purpose, hoping against hope 5 that he might be favored by chance and be able to rid his country of6 men whom he considered evil. he was condemned to be hanged, along with others of his fellow conspirators. he met his death with great fortitude .

　　it is the failure of this man, who was staunch in his faith though perhaps misguided in actions, that is perpetuated by the children’s fireworks of november 5 th . it is a poor tribute to fawkes’s courage that his christian name7, guy, was long used in english to denote a person who is a figure of fun chiefly because of his odd dress.

　　閱讀自測

　　Ⅰ. fill in each blank according to the article :

　　1. children are allowed, under proper supervision, to _________( 燃放) fireworks, to make a _________( 篝火) and burn on it the figure of a _________( 衣衫襤褸的) dummy.

　　2. certain catholics _________( 密謀, 策劃) to ( 炸毀) the houses of parliament on november 5 th .

　　3. he was_________ ( 判刑) to be_________ ( 絞死) , along with others of his fellow _________( 陰謀者) .

　　4. he met his death with great_________ ( 剛毅, 堅忍) .

　　5. it is the failure of this man, who was ( 堅定的) in his faith though perhaps misguided in actions, that is _________( 使不朽) by the children’s fireworks of november 5 th.

　　Ⅱ. choose the item which best explains the meaning of the underlined word :

　　1. they’ve long been plotting to kill him.

　　a. 構思情節b. 密謀c. 標出⋯⋯的位置

　　2. the newly built apartment house blocks our view.

　　a. 視野b. 觀點c. 視圖

　　3. they condemned him for his treacherous behavior.

　　a. 判刑b. 譴責c. 迫使( 某人) 陷于不幸的境地

　　參考答案

　　Ⅰ. 1. let off / bonfire / ragged 2. plotted / blow up 3. condemned / hanged / conspirators 4. fortitude 5. staunch / perpetuated

　　Ⅱ. 1. b 2. a 3 . b

　　參考譯文

　　蓋伊·福克斯節之夜

　　每 逢11 月5 日, 許多人就會想到: 該給狗服鎮靜藥了。這是因為狗一聽到震耳欲聾的 爆竹聲, 就會緊張不安, 嚇得魂飛魄散。在英國, 要是鄰家住有小孩的話, 蓋伊· 福克斯節 之夜就一定十分喧鬧。

　　按照傳統的習慣, 11 月5 日這天, 孩子可以在大人的監護下放煙花, 點篝火, 還可以把 一個衣衫襤褸的假人像( 蓋伊像) 放在上面燒, 它是用舊衣服、稻草、以及父親的舊帽子( 如 果弄得到的話) 做成的。在那天, 甚至年齡很小的小孩也準許玩到很晚, 這樣孩子就可以觀 賞直沖天空的花炮和五彩繽紛的煙花了。

　　這一風俗起源于1605 年的“ 炸藥事件”。那年, 詹姆士一世國王在位。當時, 他對羅馬 天主教徒采取了殘酷的鎮壓手段, 于是, 一些天主教徒密謀策劃于11 月5 日這天, 趁全體 議員到會國王宣布議會開幕之時, 炸掉議會大廈。密謀者租借了與上議院相鄰的屋子, 他 們還找到了通往上議院地下室的路。在那里, 他們貯藏了36 桶炸藥。等時間一到, 就由一 位非常勇敢、頭腦冷靜的名叫蓋伊· 福克斯的人將炸藥點燃。據說, 不幸的是有一個密謀 者預先寫信警告了他的一位親戚, 以致事情敗露。11 月4 日, 議會大廈的所有地下室都被 搜查, 蓋伊· 福克斯被發現并遭逮捕。據說, 事先有人警告過他計劃已經被人發覺, 但他仍 然勇敢地堅持自己的目標, 希望能僥幸成功, 把國家從他視為惡魔的那些人手中解救出來。 他和他的同謀者一起被處以絞刑。面對死亡, 他毫無懼色。

　　蓋伊的失敗因每年11 月5 日孩子們的煙火而被人們永遠記了下來。盡管他在行動時 可能受了錯誤指引, 可他對自己的信念是堅定不移的。蓋伊是福克斯的教名, 長期以來, 蓋 伊這個詞在英語中主要是指因穿著古怪而顯得滑稽的人, 這對于贊頌福克斯的勇氣并不合 適。

　　閱讀導評

　　正如中國的春節一樣, 在英國, 每到11 月5 日那一天, 孩子們就可以過足點鞭炮、放煙 046 花的癮。與此同時, 孩子們還會用火燒一個假人像———“ 叛國賊”蓋伊·福克斯的模擬像。 也許人們今天已忘卻當年蓋伊·福克斯為了信仰而舍生取義的壯舉, 甚至懷疑其行為的正 義性, 但為紀念蓋伊·福克斯的節日卻流傳了下來, 成為英國一個重要的傳統節日。

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