About Valentine’s Day 关于情人节　　

What is Valentine’s Day all about then? What do all the different traditions mean? For instance why is there this custom of sending anonymous cards signed only with “from your valentine”? Well it is said that St. Valentine was a martyr to love. The Roman Emperor had banned the marriage of young men of military age but Valentine had continued performing marriages of young lovers despite this imperial decree. He was eventually discovered and arrested. In prison he refused to renounce what he saw as his mission to sanctify the love of these couples. It is said that while in prison he fell in love with his jailer’s daughter. The night before he was to be thrown to the lions for defying the Emperor’s edict he sent a message to his love. You have probably guessed how he signed it, that’s right “from your Valentine”! Despite the fact that this love story met a rather messy end, ①torn apart by ravenous lions on the sands of the circus in Rome, it has inspired a whole festival and practically an industry and every year ②provides an opportunity for young lovers to get together.

　　情人节都有些什么内容？不同的传统代表了什么不同的意义？举例来说，为什么会有赠送仅署名“来自你的情人”卡片的习惯？据说圣瓦伦丁是一位爱的殉难者。当年，罗马皇帝禁止到了参军年龄的年轻男子结婚，但是圣瓦伦丁仍继续为年轻的恋人们主持婚礼，丝毫不理会皇帝的禁令。为此，他被捕了。在狱中他拒绝放弃为年轻的恋人们主持婚礼的神圣使命。据说他在狱中爱上了狱吏的女儿。在就要因公然反抗皇帝的法令而被狮子咬死的前一个晚上，他写了一张纸条给他的爱人。你或许猜到他如何签名的了,正是“来自你的情人”！虽然这个爱情故事最终以悲剧收场－圣瓦伦丁被罗马马戏团内贪婪的狮子撕裂，这件事却激发了情人节的产生，实际上也创造了一个产业，同时也为年轻的恋人们相聚提供了很好的机会。

　　Valentine Cards 情人节卡片

　　Of course, the fun of Valentine cards is that they are not entirely anonymous. The idea is that you are meant to provide clues in what you write to your Valentine as to your identity. For instance if your Valentine is a colleague then you might say something like: “from your admirer in the fellow sufferer at the hands of Mr. Harris!” In this way you can lay a seed of suspicion in the object of your amorous intention’s heart and they will start to regard you, hopefully, in a whole new light. While it is quite acceptable to say how nice your valentine’s eyes are, do not stray into slightly more risqué complements, Valentine cards are ③meant to be sophisticated.

　　当然，情人节卡片的好玩之处也不完全在于它们都是匿名的。你必须在写给心上人的话语中留下有关你身份的线索。举例来说，如果你的心上人是同事的话，那么你可以写下诸如“仰慕你的人，哈利斯先生手下的受苦受难者！”之类的话。这样，肯定会在你暗恋的对象的心里播下好奇的种子，那么，她/他肯定会多多关注你，甚至于会以一种全新的视角来看待你哦。虽然说赞美你的心上人的眼睛是多么美丽漂亮也是不错的选择，但千万别陷入露骨的赞美中，情人节卡片必须是复杂而又有深意的。

　　Candlelight Dinner 烛光晚餐

　　The other traditional Valentine’s day activity that no girlfriend would tolerate missing out on is of course the candlelight dinner. Preferably taking place in an Italian restaurant with a trio of stringed instruments accompanying your every word, the results of not arranging something special of this nature for your girlfriend can be fatal. It is best to avoid an evening out that does not stand out from the norm. For instance, if you take your partner or valentine to the pub and then for a curry this might also lead to trouble.

　　女孩们一定不愿错过的情人节活动当然是烛光晚餐了。比较完美的是将烛光晚餐设在一家有弦乐三重唱的意大利餐厅内，甜言蜜语可不能少哦。在这种时候，不为你的女朋友安排一些比较别致的场景的话，其结果可能是致命的。最好不要只安排在外面度过一个寻常的夜晚。比如只把情人带到酒吧吃一顿咖喱饭就完事的话，那肯定会造成大麻烦的。

　　Valentine Gifts 情人节礼物

　　Of course, besides the card a gift is very much expected. So what are the traditional valentine gifts? Naturally everyone knows that roses and chocolates are practically ④synonymous with valentine’s day. Sending someone roses, according to the traditional interpretation of the meanings of flowers is “I love you”. Other flowers have different meanings, for example a carnation expresses fascination or a woman’s love, a daffodil expresses unrequited love, a yellow hyacinth expresses jealousy and a yellow tulip says “There’s sunshine in your smile”. Beware however that the white lily is a flower often used at funerals, also I am reliably informed that a yellow rose indicates the desire to break up! Jewelry is another popular gift for Valentine’s day, some kind of necklace or ear-rings perhaps. Of course many men choose to ask their girlfriend to become their wife on Valentine’s day, in which case they will offer her a ring. Many people are rejecting the more conventional gifts and instead opting for more exciting options. One type of present that men are increasingly giving their girlfriends is lingerie, naturally this gift is something a couple can enjoy together. Soft toys are also a fashionable gift choice often carrying a card with some sort of love quote on it. It is also becoming popular to give your lover a poem, either written yourself or selected from famous poems about love.

　　当然，除了卡片之外还有一个礼物是恋人们都有所期待的。传统的情人节礼物是什么？自然啦，每个人都知道玫瑰和巧克力是情人节的同义词。依照传统的花语，送某人玫瑰表示“我爱你”，而送其它的花则有不同的意义了。比如，一朵康乃馨代表迷恋或代表女人的爱情；一朵水仙花色传达没有回报的爱；一朵黄色的风信子表达妒忌；黄色的郁金香则表示“你的微笑充满阳光”。然而，要注意哦，白色的百合通常是在葬礼上使用的。此外，我也很确定地被告知过一朵黄色的玫瑰意味着想要分手哦！珠宝类，比如项链或者耳环是另一类很受欢迎的情人节礼物。当然了，有许多男人会选择在情人节当天向自己的恋人求婚，若成功的话，他们会送上一枚戒指。现在许多人都舍弃了传统的情人节礼物，更倾向于其它比较令人兴奋的选择。越来越多的男人们喜欢送给女朋友女式内衣，自然，这件礼物是恋爱双方都能共同享用的啦。绒毛玩具也是时尚的礼物，通常会附上一张写满了爱情格言卡片一并送出。给爱人献上一首诗也很流行哦，可以是自己亲笔创造的，也可以选自著名的爱情诗。

　　⑤In terms of what not to give as a Valentine’s present it is on the whole fairly obvious. Avoid giving things that are too practical such as a book required for your girlfriend’s job, while of course it might be valuable for her career there isn’t an ounce of romance in it. Men are less bothered by this and giving a man a new drill to do DIY with will probably be met with as much joy as a beautifully finished edition of love poetry.

　　至于什么是不应该在情人节送出的礼物则是很明显的了。千万不要送一些太实际的东西，比如应女朋友的工作需要为她送上一本书,虽然它可能对她的工作有些许帮助，但却一点都不浪漫。在礼物方面，男人们是不大在意的。送给男人一个新的钻孔机，让他们自己动手做些创造与献给他们一首美丽的诗篇所能带来的欢乐是一样的。

　　However, in my opinion one can discard all these irrelevant trappings that accompany Valentine’s Day. If too much emphasis is placed on what gifts to give and what you hope to receive, then the essential element of the festival is lost. If all you are worried about is where you will spend Valentine’s Day, whether it is at a fashionable restaurant or a cool event, then you are missing the point. Valentine’s Day is about love and love does not take tallies of gifts and their appropriateness. This is a festival that provides us with an opportunity in our busy modern lives to take time out for the person we love and express our feelings to them directly and unambiguously. It is an opportunity to reaffirm our relationship and strengthen it for the next year.

　　然而，依我之见，人们可以舍弃所有这些不相干的情人节束缚。如果太过于注重送给恋人什么礼物或将会收到什么礼物的话，这个节日就失去了它的真谛。如果你所担心的都是在哪里度过情人节呢，是在一家时尚的餐馆度过呢还是安排一些特别的节目呢之类的问题的话，那么你也就没有理解情人节的本意。情人节是与爱情相关的，爱情是不能用礼物的大小以及礼物合适与否来衡量的。这个节日给忙碌的现代人提供了一个机会，让大家得以抽出时间来与心爱的人相聚，并对他们直接表达自己的感受。它也给我们提供了一个加强双方关系的机会。

　　关键词

　　anonymous / / adj.匿名的

　　martyr / / n.烈士；殉教者

　　imperial / / adj.皇帝的

　　decree / / n.法令；政令

　　ravenous / / adj.贪婪的；渴望的

　　suspicion / / n.猜疑；怀疑

　　trappings/ / n.服饰；马饰

　　reaffirm / / v.重申；再肯定

　　好用句

　　① tear apart扯开, 把……痛苦地分开

　　A: Why do you look so depressed?

　　你为什么看上去这么沮丧？

　　B: Oh, my heart was torn apart by her refusal to my proposal.

　　她拒绝了我的求婚，我的心都被撕裂了。

　　② provide an opportunity for为……提供机会

　　A: Thank you for providing an opportunity for me.

　　谢谢你给了我机会。

　　B: Don’t mention it. You deserve that.

　　不客气，这是你该得的。

　　③ meant to be必须；得要

　　A: Please remember graduation thesis is meant to be serious.

　　请记住毕业论文必须是严肃的。

　　B: Thank you. I will bear that in mind.

　　谢谢，我会记牢的。

　　④ synonymous with 与……同义

　　A: In China, Spring Festival is synonymous with the happiest time through a year.

　　在中国，春节等同与一年中最快乐的时光。

　　B: It is just like Christmas in the West.

　　这就象西方的圣诞节。

　　⑤ in terms of根据；按照,

　　A: In terms of salary, I think my job is OK.

　　就薪水而言，我的工作还不错。

　　B: So what are you dissatisfied with?

　　那么你不满意什么呢？