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莎士比亚
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背景介绍
威廉·莎士比亚（1564—1616),是英国文学史上最杰出的戏剧家。他流传下来37部戏剧。莎士比亚的四大悲剧为《哈姆雷特》《奥赛罗》《李尔王》和《麦克白》,四大喜剧为《威尼斯商人》《仲夏夜之梦》《皆大欢喜》和《第十二夜》。
情景对话
Sarah: It looks like Stratford-upon-Avon isn't far from here. Shall we stop in on our way home?
Nathan: Why? What's there?
Sarah: Well, it's Shakespeare's birthplace, so there's his birthplace and Anne Hathaway's Cottage…
Nathan: Who is Anne Hathaway? Isn't she an American celebrity?
Sarah: Yes, you're right, there's a Hollywood star that goes by the same name, but it's not her cottage. Anne Hathaway is also Shakespeare's wife — so the cottage in Stratford-upon-Avon is the place where she grew up.
Nathan: I see. Is there anything else to do there?
Sarah: There's plenty. We could go see a Shakespeare play at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre or visit the Holy Trinity Church…
Nathan: We're not church-goers; why would we go to church on our way home?
Sarah: It's the oldest building in Stratford and it's the place where William Shakespeare was baptismed and buried. It's steeped in history.
Nathan: I’m not sure that I’m interested in seeing yet another church, and I doubt we have time to see a play on our way home…
Sarah: OK, well, we'll have to come back another time to do that. Which Shakespeare play is your favourite?
Nathan: I’ve always been a fan of Hamlet , myself.
Sarah: ‘To be, or not to be, that is the question.’
Nathan: That's the one. That's got to be one of Shakespeare's most famous quotations from his plays.
Sarah: That and ‘Oh Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? ’
Nathan: What does that mean, anyway?
Sarah: You mean, ‘To be or not to be? ’ I think it's debatable but it seems to be asking the question ‘why live? , right? Life might be bad, but death might be even worse.
Nathan: That's so pessimistic.
Sarah: That's quite rich, coming from you!
Nathan: What's that supposed to mean?
Sarah: Nothing, it's just that you're not the most optimistic person in the world!
Nathan: Now, now, give a guy a chance! Just a thought — is the Globe theatre in Stratford?
Sarah: No, that's in London, but obviously, the one that is in London now is just a replica — and it's called ‘Shakespeare's Globe'. The original burnt down hundreds of years ago.
Nathan: Oh, well, there goes that idea then!
萨拉： 看起来埃文河畔的斯特拉特福似乎离这里不远。我们在回家的路上要不要去看看？
内森： 为什么去那里？那儿有什么呢？
萨拉： 哦，那是莎士比亚的故乡，那里有他出生的地方和安妮·海瑟薇的农舍。
内森： 安妮·海瑟薇是谁呀？是一位美国名媛吗？
萨拉： 你说对了，是有一个好莱坞明星叫这名字，不过这不是她的农舍。安妮·海瑟薇是莎士比亚的妻子，埃文河畔的斯特拉特福的农舍是她长大的地方。
内森： 我明白了。在那里还有其他事情可做吗？
萨拉： 有很多事可做呀。我们可以去皇家莎士比亚剧院看莎士比亚的戏剧，或者去参观圣三一教堂 ……
内森： 我们不是经常去教堂的人呀，为什么回家路上要去教堂呢？
萨拉： 那是斯特拉特福最古老的建筑，莎士比亚是在那里接受了洗礼，也是在那里安葬的。那里有丰富的历史。
内森： 我不知道我是否会有兴趣去看一座教堂，也怀疑我们在回家的路上是否有时间去看戏剧 ……
萨拉： 那好吧，那我们以后再去看吧。你最喜欢莎士比亚的哪一部戏剧？
内森： 我个人一直都喜欢《哈姆雷特》。
萨拉： “活着或者死去，这是一个问题。”
内森： 就是那句。那是莎士比亚戏剧中最著名的一句引语。
萨拉： 还有那句“噢，罗密欧，罗密欧，为什么是你呀，罗密欧？”
内森： 那究竟是什么意思呢？
萨拉： 你是问“活着还是死去？”那一句吗？我觉得这句话有争议性，不过它似乎是在问：“为什么要活着？”生活或许不如人意，但死亡也许更糟糕。
内森： 那太消极了。
萨拉： 就你而言，这句话内涵很丰富！
内森： 那是什么意思呀？
萨拉： 没什么，就是说你不是这世界上最乐观的人！
内森： 就现在，给这家伙一个机会吧！考虑一下——环球剧场在斯特拉特福吗？
萨拉： 不在，是在伦敦。不过显然，现在伦敦的环球剧场只是仿建的——它叫作“莎士比亚环球剧场”。原来的环球剧场在几年前就被烧毁了。
内森： 哦，好吧，那就放弃这个念头吧！
词汇注解
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cottage |
小屋，农舍 |
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steeped |
过高的，丰富的 |
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debatable |
有争议的 |
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pessimistic |
消极的 |
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optimistic |
乐观的 |
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replica |
复制品 |