新外研版

高中英语

第二册

Unit 2

A

Understanding ideas

课文再现

 

 

英汉对照

THE REAL FATHER CHRISTMAS

真正的圣诞老人

1 Many people still remember the magic of Father Christmas from when they were children. As parents, they try to keep that magic alive for their children for as long as they can.

许多人(长大以后)还依然记得来自童年时代的圣诞老人的魔力。为人父母之后，他们也想让自己的孩子尽可能长久地相信这份魔力的存在。

2 That is why Letters from Father Christmas could be the perfect book for those who regard Christmas as a special time of year. The man who wrote these letters is one of the most famous names in English literature—J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings. The letters were Tolkien’s way of keeping Father Christmas alive for his four children, over a period of more than twenty years.

有些人把圣诞节视为每年的特别时光，对于他们，《圣诞老人的来信》可能是一本再合适不过的书了。写这些信的人是英国文坛的一位巨匠——《指环王(魔戒)》的作者J. R. R. 托尔金。二十多年来，托尔金以写信的方式让他的四个孩子相信圣诞老人真的存在。

3 Every Christmas, an envelope with a North Pole stamp arrived. It was addressed to Tolkien’s children. Who could it be from? The children must have been very excited as they opened it. Inside, they would find a handwritten letter from Father Christmas. The letters were also beautifully illustrated—each must have taken its true author, Tolkien, a long time to complete.

每年圣诞节，托尔金的家里都会收到一封贴有北极邮票的信，收件人是托尔金的孩子们。会是谁寄过来的呢？孩子们打开时一定很兴奋。他们会发现里面有一封圣诞老人的亲笔信。信里还配有精美的插图——它们真正的作者托尔金一定花了很长时间去完成每一幅画作。

4 The letters told wonderful stories about Father Christmas’s life and adventures at the North Pole. A regular character in the letters was Polar Bear, who once climbed the North Pole (an actual pole in this case) and fell through the roof of Father Christmas’s house. In another letter, Father Christmas complained about how he could not stop his helpers playing games with the toys instead of wrapping them up. Interestingly, the letters did not contain the usual warnings to children that they might not receive their presents if they were not good. The letters did, however, change as Tolkien’s children got older: ... but if you find that not many of the things you asked for have come, and not perhaps quite as many as sometimes, remember that this Christmas all over the world there are a terrible number of poor and starving people.

这些信里讲述了关于圣诞老人在北极生活和探险的精彩故事。信中经常出现的一个角色是北极熊，它曾经爬上北极（在信中，北极是一根真的杆子），结果摔下来砸穿了圣诞老人家的屋顶。在另一封信中，圣诞老人抱怨说，他那些助手们非但没有把玩具包装起来，反而拿起玩具玩起了游戏，他怎么也没法让他们停下来。有趣的是，信中并没有那些常见的对孩子们的警告，比如表现不好就可能收不到礼物之类的话。不过，随着托尔金的孩子们逐渐长大，信的内容确实发生了一些变化：“……但是，如果你发现自己并没有得到很多你想要的东西，有时甚至所获无几，请记住，在这个圣诞节，世界各地还有很多的贫穷而饥饿的人。”

5 Letters from Father Christmas tells us that as well as enjoying the adventures of Father Christmas, Polar Bear and other characters at the North Pole, we can all share the true spirit of giving at Christmas time. By expressing love for his children in such a special way, Tolkien may indeed have been the real Father Christmas.

《圣诞老人的来信》告诉我们，在圣诞节，除了欣赏圣诞老人、北极熊和其他一些生活在北极的人物的冒险故事之外，我们还可以共同体会真正的奉献精神。托尔金以如此特殊的方式表达了对孩子们的爱，他可以算得上是真正的圣诞老人。

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