常春藤解析英語 89 Taboo 禁忌異域

Taboo 禁忌異域

by Matthew Brown

What is normal and acceptable in one culture can seem bizarre and scary to outsiders.

一個文化中被視為理所當然的習俗，在外人眼里可能顯得既怪異又恐布。

Traveling to a new place with a culture very different from your own can result in some shocking new experiences. This month, National Geographic Channel brings you an exciting series called Taboo. For this series, NGC travels the world to examine practices that are normal for some, but scary and strange to the rest of the world.

"Taboo: Initiation Rituals" looks at the way some cultures celebrate the passage from one phase of life to another. For example, teenage boys in a part of Brazil have to go through a ritual that you are unlikely to see in our part of the world. In order to be seen as men by the tribe, they have to put their hands into gloves filled with hundreds of giant stinging bullet ants. Despite the excruciating pain, and probably a certain amount of fear, they must put their hands into the gloves again and again.

Other tribes around the world have their own initiation rites. In one area of Papua New Guinea, boys have to swallow about 60 centimeters of raw cane down their throat. By completing this task, the boys symbolically die as boys and are reborn as men.

Skin decorating has become more mainstream in many parts of the world in recent years. For many tribespeople, however, marking the body has long been a normal and traditional practice. "Taboo: Skin Deep" looks at some cultures that practice scarification. In one violent initiation practice, also taking place in New Guinea, teenage boys have their skin cut over a thousand times. After their chests, backs, arms, legs, and buttocks have been sliced over and over, their skin looks similar to a crocodile's hide.

Normal practices can be amazingly different from one culture to the next. Tune in to Taboo to find out how different your life could have been if you had been born somewhere else!

1. Based on what the article says, what does the Taboo series show us?

(A) Different cultures have their own ways of doing things.

(B) Everything is normal in cultures all over the world.

(C) Some cultures do violent things for no reason.

(D) Some cultures punish boys for growing up.

2. Why do some tribes force boys to be stung by ants?

(A) It is basically a fun game.

(B) If the ants sting them, that means they are human.

(C) It shows that they like pain.

(D) It shows they are ready to be adults.

3. What does the article say about the experience of the boys who must put their hands into ant-filled gloves?

(A) They get a little bit hurt, and they feel terror.

(B) They feel like men, and they feel no fear.

(C) They feel pride and a lot of pain.

(D) They get badly hurt, and they probably feel rather afraid.

4. What difference between popular skin decorating and skin decorating in tribes is mentioned in the article?

(A) Popular skin decorating has no meaning.

(B) In tribes, skin decorating has been going on for a very long time.

(C) In tribes, skin decorating is only used for rites of passage.

(D) Popular skin decorating is painless.

單字小鋪

1. taboo n. 禁忌

2. shocking a. 駭人聽聞的

3. examine vt. 檢查，檢視

4. initiation n. 成年儀式

5. passage n. 通過，經過

6. phase n. 階段，時期

7. stinging a. 會螫人的

sting vt. 刺，螫，叮(三態(tài)為：sting, stung , stung。)

8. bullet ant n. 子彈蟻

9. excruciating a. 非常痛苦的;難以忍受的

10. rite n. 儀式

rite of passage 　　為進入人生新階段的儀式;(尤指)成年儀式

11. raw a. 生的，未煮過的

12. cane n.(竹、藤、甘蔗等的)莖;藤

13. mainstream n. & a. 主流(的)

14. tribespeople n. 部落成員

15. scarification n. 劃痕;疤痕紋身

16. buttock n. 屁股(常用復數(shù))

17. crocodile n. 鱷魚

18. hide n. 皮革

19. amazingly adv. 令人驚奇地

20. basically adv. 基本上

21. terror n. 恐怖

22. painless a. 不痛的

詞組小鋪

1. be unlikely to V　　不可能(做)……

be likely to V　　可能(做)……

2. in order to V　　為了(做)……

3. take place　　發(fā)生(= occur vi.)

4. A looks/is similar to B　　A(看起來)與 B 相似

5. be based on...　　根據(jù)……

精解字詞詞組

1. be different from...　　與……不同

= differ from...

例: This toothbrush is different from the one I used to use.

(這支牙刷和我之前用的那支不一樣。)

2. result in...　　導致∕造成……

result from...　　起因于……

例: The head injury resulted in a headache.

(頭部受傷造成了頭痛。)

例: Sarah's bankruptcy resulted from her bad investments.

(莎拉的破產是因她投資不當所致。)

3. practice n. 習俗，慣例;實行;練習

in practice　　實際上

= in reality

in theory　　理論上

例: Your idea sounds good in theory, but I doubt it will work in practice.

(你的點子聽起來很不錯，但我懷疑實際是否可行。)

4. go through...　　經歷……

例: Rita went through a difficult time after she broke up with her boyfriend.

(瑞塔和男友分手后經歷一段艱辛的日子。)

5. be seen as...　　被視為……

= be viewed as...

= be regarded as...

= be looked upon as...

= be thought of as...

例: Tim is seen as the best player on the team.

(提姆被視為隊上最棒的球員。)

6. be filled with...　　裝滿……

= be full of...

例: The father was filled with joy at his son's wedding.

(這位父親在兒子的婚禮上十分開心。)

7. despite + N/V-ing　　盡管∕雖然……

= in spite of + N/V-ing

例: Despite having a broken rib, Matthew decided to go surfing.

(盡管斷了一根肋骨，馬修仍決定去沖浪。)

8. again and again　　一再地

= over and over (again)

= time and again

例: He tried over and over again to lift the heavy table.

(他一再嘗試想把桌子抬起來。)

9. symbolically adv. 象征性地

symbolic a. 象征的

be symbolic of...　　象征……

例:The color white is symbolic of purity.

(白色象征純潔。)

10. tune in to...　　收看∕收聽……

例: Mr. Lin tunes in to that TV talk show every night.

(林先生每晚都會收看那個談話性節(jié)目。)

11. punish sb for...　　為了……而處罰某人

例: My girlfriend is punishing me for forgetting to call her.

(我女朋友因為我忘了打電話給她而懲罰我。)

12. be ready to V　　準備好做……

= be all set to V

例: When you are ready to go, give me a call.

(當你準備好要出發(fā)時，打個電話給我。)

13. pride n. 自豪;驕傲

take pride in...　　以……為榮

= be proud of...

例: My friend John takes pride in his ping-pong skills.

(我的朋友約翰對自己的桌球技術很自豪。)

中文翻譯&標準答案

到一個文化迥異的地方來趟新奇之旅可能會有令人震撼的新體驗。這個月，國家地理頻道要為您獻上刺激的《禁忌異域》系列節(jié)目。本系列節(jié)目將前進世界各地，仔細瞧瞧某些人習以為常的習俗，在他人眼中卻是如此驚世駭俗。

"Taboo: Initiation Rituals" 單元看看某些文化中，人生從某個階段進入另一個階段的慶?；顒印Ｅe例來說，巴西有個地方的男孩必須通過一個儀式，這可是你在所處的世界不太可能見識到的儀式。為了讓族人認同他們已經是成年人，這里的男孩子必須把雙手放進裝滿上百只子彈蟻的手套里，這些子彈蟻不但大只而且還會咬人。盡管被咬得痛徹心扉，可能還得面對某種程度的恐懼，男孩子仍必須不斷把手放進手套里。

世上其它的部落也有自己的成年儀式。在巴布亞新幾內亞的某個地區(qū)，男孩子必須把 60 公分長的生竹藤吞進喉嚨。藉由完成這項任務，象征原本的小男孩已死，并重生為成年男子。

身體刺青近年來在世界各地漸登上主流的地位。然而對于許多部落的人來說，這是一項他們奉行已久的正常傳統(tǒng)習俗。"Taboo: Skin Deep" 單元探索一些進行疤痕紋身的文化。地點同樣發(fā)生在新幾內亞，另一項血腥的成年禮正在上演。青少年的皮膚會被割上 1 千多次，先從胸部開始，接下來是背部、手臂、雙腿，最后是臀部，一再地被千刀萬剮，使他們的皮膚看起來就像鱷魚皮一樣粗糙。

一般的習俗可能因文化不同而有天壤之別。敬請準時收看《禁忌異域》系列節(jié)目，看看你如果出生在其它地方，生活會有多么不同。

1. 根據(jù)文章敘述，《禁忌異域》系列做了哪些介紹?

(A) 不同的文化有不同的處事方法。

(B) 世界上各個文化的面向都很普通。

(C) 有些文化沒來由地就很殘暴。

(D) 有些文化為了讓男孩成長而處罰他們。

題解: 根據(jù)第一段，《禁忌異域》系列節(jié)目將前進世界各地，仔細瞧瞧某些人習以為常的習俗，在他人眼中卻是如此驚世駭俗，與選項 (A) 意思相近，故選之。

2. 為何有些部落強迫男孩被螞蟻咬?

(A) 其實這是個有趣的游戲。

(B) 如果螞蟻咬他們，就表示他們是人。

(C) 這表示他們喜歡疼痛。

(D) 這表示他們準備好要轉大人了。

題解: 根據(jù)第二段，為了讓族人認同他們已是成年人，巴西一些地方的男孩子在儀式中，必須把雙手放進裝滿上百只子彈蟻的手套里，故選 (D)。

3. 文章如何描述男孩必須把手伸進螞蟻手套的經驗?

(A) 會有一點痛，感覺很恐怖。

(B) 覺得自己像男人，一點也不怕。

(C) 覺得很自豪，但也很痛。

(D) 被咬得很嚴重，大概也蠻害怕的。

題解: 根據(jù)第二段，盡管被咬得痛徹心扉，可能還得面對某種程度的恐懼，男孩仍得不斷把手放進手套里，可知 (D) 為正選。

4. 文章中提到一般的人體刺青和部落的人體刺青有何不同?

(A) 一般的人體刺青沒有意義。

(B) 部落里的刺青已經實行一段很長的時間。

(C) 部落里的刺青只在成年禮時舉行。

(D) 一般的人體刺青不會痛。

題解: 根據(jù)第四段，身體刺青近年來在世界各地漸登上主流的地位，但對許多部落來說，這是一項他們奉行已久的正常傳統(tǒng)習俗，可知應選 (B)。

標準答案: 1. (A) 2. (D) 3. (D) 4. (B)

For Your Information

泰雅族男女在成年之時，都要在臉上刺青，表示成年的象征，也是一種美的表現(xiàn)。黥面是泰雅族最具特色的古俗，最常見的面部紋飾。

泰雅族人大約在 5 歲至 15 歲左右必須完成黥面禮俗，這等于是成年禮，男子必須狩獵多次成功后，才可以在額頭上及下巴刺青;女子則須學會織布才得刺臉紋。完成黥面之男女從此方可論婚嫁;未曾黥面者，則很難找到理想的配偶。

泰雅族的黥面文化不僅是個人生命禮俗中最重要的過程，也是傳統(tǒng)宗法制度中的重要規(guī)定。在祖靈的信仰之下，黥面所關系的，還包括整個部落的吉兇。泰雅族認為不黥面，祖靈會降懲罰，社內常會有人病亡。與沒有黥面的女子結婚，不但不能生育，整個家族都會遭受禍害。