英语六级双语美文阅读欣赏

　　双语美文阅读：玫瑰的传说

　　人类有史以来就钟情于玫瑰。 据说，克娄巴特拉宫殿的地面就铺满了娇嫩的玫瑰花瓣，博学的孔子有600册藏书专门讲述如何培育玫瑰。

　　The rose is a legend on its own. The story goes that during the RomanEmpire, there was an incredibly beautiful maiden named Rhodanthe.Her beauty drew many zealous suitors who pursued her relentlessly.Exhausted by their pursuit, Rhodanthe was forced to take refuge from her suitors in the temple of her friend Diana. Unfortunately, Diana became jealous. And when the suitors broke down her temple gates to get near their beloved Rhodanthe, she became angry tuming Rhodanthe into a rose and her suitors into thorns

　　玫瑰本身就是一个传说，在罗马帝国时代，有一个名叫罗丹斯的美丽绝伦的少女。她的美丽引来了无数狂热的求婚者锲而不合地追求她。罗丹斯实在招架不住了，不得不到朋友狄安娜的神庙里躲避她的求婚者。不幸的是，狄安娜产生了嫉妒之心。当求婚者冲进了神庙的大门，要接近他们所爱恋着的罗丹斯时，狄安娜一怒之下将罗丹斯变成了一枝玫瑰花，将她的求婚者变成了花刺。

　　In Greek legend, the rose was created by Chloris, the Greek goddess of flowers. It was just a lifeless seed of a nymph that Chloris found one day in a clearing in the woods. She asked the help of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, who gave her beauty. Dionysus, the god of wine, added nectar to give her a sweet scent, and the three Graces gave her charm, brightness and joy. Then Zephyr, the West Wind, blew away the clouds so that Apollo, the sun god, could shine and made this flower bloom And so the Rose was born and was immediately crowned the Queen of Flowers.

　　在希腊传说中，玫瑰是希腊花神克罗斯创造的。当初玫瑰只是林中一个仙女的尚无生命的一粒种子。一天，花神克罗斯偶然在森林的一块空地上发现了它。克罗斯请求爱神阿佛洛狄特赋予了它美丽的容貌，让酒神狄俄尼索斯浇洒了神酒，使它拥有了芬芳的气味。又有美惠三女神将魅力、聪颖和欢乐赐予了它。随后，西风之神吹散了云朵，太阳神阿波罗用光茫将其照耀并使它开花。玫瑰就这样诞生了，并立即被封为花中之皇后。

　　The frist true primary red rose seen in Europe was"Slater's Crimson China" introduced in 1792 from China, where it had been growing wild in the mountains. Immediately, rose breeders began using it to hybridize red roses for cultivation. Ever since, the quest for the perfect red rose has been the Holy Grail ofrosarians: a fragrant, disease-resistant, long-lasting, Iong-stemmed, rebloaming, perfectly formed rose with a clear non-fading vivid red color. Absolute perfection still hasn't been attained, and of course never will!

　　欧洲见到的第一枝真正的原色红玫瑰叫做“斯莱特中国深红”，于1792年从中国引进。当时，它.直生长在中国山区的野地里口玫瑰培育者马上开始用它进行杂交种植。从此，寻求完美的红玫瑰一直是玫瑰栽培者所追求的理想。这种玫瑰应具有芳香的气味、抵御疾病的能力，持久的花期、修长的花茎、反复开花的本领、优美的体态以及不褪色的纯鲜红颜色。然而，绝对的完美却始终未达到，当然也永远无法达到!

　　There is a special rose language invented as a secret means of communication between lovers who were not allowed to express their love for one another openly. In the mid 18th century the wife of the British ambassador in Constantinople described this in her letters, which were published after her death. These letters inspired many books on the language of flowers, each describing the secret message hidden in each flower. A red rose bud stands for budding desire.An open white rose asks "Will you love me?" An open red rose means "I'm full o flove and desire",while an open yellow rose asks "Don't you love me any more?"

　　人们发明了_一种特殊的玫瑰语言，作为不被允许公开示爱的情侣间秘密交流的方式。18世纪中期，英国驻君士坦丁堡大使的夫人在信中对此做了描述。这些信件激发了许许多多关于花草语言书籍的问世，每一本书都对每种花所隐藏的信息进行了描述。一朵红玫瑰花蕾代表萌发中的情欲，一枝盛开的白玫瑰则是在探问：“你会爱我吗?井一枝绽开的红玫瑰的含义是：“我对你满怀着爱意和渴望竹，而一枝开放的黄玫瑰则是在询问：“你是不是不再爱我了?”

　　双语美文阅读：情人节的由来

　　There are varying opinions as to the origin ofValentine's Day. Some experts state that it originated from St. Valentine, a Roman who was martyred for refusing to give up Chrishanity. He died on February 14, 269 A.D., the same day that had been devoted to love lotteries.

　　关于情人节的起源有许多种说法。有关人士认为情人节是一个名叫圣瓦伦丁的人士发起的。他是罗马人，因拒绝放弃____而惨遭杀害。他去世的时间是公元前269年2月14日，这一天也正好是全城专心于爱情抽签的日子。

　　Legend also says that St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer's daughter, who had become his lover, and signed it "From Your Valentine". Other aspects of the story say that Saint Valentine served as a priest at the temple during the reign of Emperor Claudius. Claudius then had Valentine jailed for defying him. In 496 A.D. Pope Gelasius set aside February 14 to honour St. Valentine.

　　而另外一种说法更具有传奇色彩，相传圣瓦伦丁曾留下一本日记给了狱卒的女儿，署名为“你的情人”，据说这名狱卒的女儿就是圣瓦伦丁的情人。还有其他的说法也颇为有趣。比如说有人认为在克劳狄君王统治时期，圣瓦仑丁曾经是一名神父，因为公然挑战克劳狄君王的权威而身陷囹圄。所以，公元前496年罗马教皇基拉西乌斯特意将2月14日作为一个特别的日子以纪念圣瓦伦丁。

　　Gradually, February 14 became the date for exchanging love messages and St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers. The date was marked by sending poems and simple gifts such as flowers.There was often a social gathering or a ball.

　　此后2月14日就成为了_一个具有特殊意义的日子。这天人们向自己心仪的人传递信息以示爱意。圣瓦仑丁也理所当然地成为了为恋爱中的男女们牵线搭桥的人。人们这一天会特意做诗或者将一些小礼物，如鲜花送给自己心爱的人。而且人们还会组织各种各样的聚会来庆祝这个特殊的节日.

　　In the United States, Miss Esther Howland is given credit for sending the first valentline cards. Commercial valentines were introduced in the 1800's and now the date is very commercialised. The town of Loveland,Colorado, does a large post office business around February 14. The spirit of 800d continues as valentines are sent out with sentimenkl verses and children exchange valentine cards at school.

　　埃斯特·豪兰小姐是美国第一位因为发送情人节卡片而受到荣誉奖励的人。早在19世纪初，情人节就已初露商业化的端倪，而如今情人节已经完全被商业化了，比如每当每年2月14日来临的时候，在科罗拉多的拉夫兰这样的城镇里，人们都要派送大量的为情人节特别准备的卡片.而在这天人们往往吟歌做诗并且把这些写入卡片中送给自己喜欢的人以表达自己的爱意，学校里孩子门也喜欢互赠贺卡