考研英語復習閱讀長知識：貝德格勒特文化背景
Beddgelert CULTURAL BACKGROUNDBeddgelert is a Welsh folktale about a faithful dog who sacrifices his life in service to his master. There is, in fact, a town in Wales named Beddgelert in honor of his heroic deed. Welsh culture is steeped in myth and legend. For instance, the country’s national symbol is the dragon, a mythical beast. True to Welsh tradition, the narrative history of nearly every mountain, river and lake, as well as many farms and villages is associated with the legend of fairies, magical properties or fearful beasts.
Wales is known as the land of poets and singers. The traditions of Welsh literature and music are among the oldest in Europe and date back more than 1,000 years to the bards of the Middle Ages. The legendary British hero King Authur, as well as the famed magician Merlin are claimed by the Welsh along with other characters who people the famous collection of medieval Welsh tales entitled the Mabinogion. Traditional Welsh culture has laid great stress on the spoken, as well as the written word in both poetry and prose. Vocal music, particularly choral singing, has also played a great part in the cultural heritage of the country.The Welsh take great pride in their heritage. Though united with England for more than 400 years, they have kept alive their own language, literature and traditions.
Wales occupies the western portion of the island of Great Britain and is one of four countries of the United Kingdom. The Welsh name for Wales is Cymru, meaning a fellow countryman. Cardiff is the capital and largest city of Wales.
The people of Wales number nearly 3 million. Some Welsh are descended from prehistoric peoples of continental Europe who colonized Wales thousands of years ago. Many others trace their ancestry to such late settlers as the Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Normans and English. Today, Wales has two official languages Welsh and English. Welsh, one of the oldest languages in Europe, is still the daily language spoken in many sections of western and northern Wales.
Wales is a mountainous country interspersed with lakes and valleys. In fact, the country is well known for its farmlands, mountains, valleys and rivers considered to be of such scenic beauty that one-fifth of the country is classified as national parkland. The highest mountain in Wales, Mount Snowdon is located in the northwest. The country boasts no large towns or cities. Most people live in the towns, cities and industrial areas of south Wales noted for its coal mines. The remainder of Wales is mainly rural and is, therefore, only sparsely populated for those areas which are too mountainous and rugged to grow many crops. Apart from coal and of course agriculture the only other natural resources of Wales are water and the woodlands.
In rural areas, many people live in whitewashed stone cottages and farmhouses consisting of only one or two rooms. Today many picturesque old cottages have been turned into vacation homes. Housing in the coal-mining areas generally consists of row houses with slate and stone walls. The Welsh are known for their long tradition of sheep farming. Sheep freely roam the hillsides and the valleys which were once woodlands. Throughout the United Kingdom dogs have long been used to help farmers and hunters in their work. Like the hero of our tale, Beddgelert, dogs are also traditionally very popular as pets.
Family and kinship are extremely important to the Walsh who lavish affection on their children. Most families of today have between one and three children. Welsh families spend a lot of time at home. Special occasions are spent with members of the extended family. However, life in rural areas tends to be very insular. On Sunday, many people attend church; afterward they have Sunday dinner, the most important meal of the week. For ordinary casual and formal occasions, the Welsh wear typical Western-style clothing.
Dating from the 18th century, one of the most popular aspects of traditional Welsh culture is the National Eisteddfod, a festival in which performers compete. The festival is held annually but alternates between North and South Wales. Participants compete in all aspects of music, literature, drama and art during one week in August. In addition, there are a series of dramatic performances and concerts all conducted in the Welsh language with simultaneous English translations.
貝德格勒特文化背景
貝德格勒特是威爾士的一個民間故事，故事的主人公是一只舍命救主人的義犬。事實上，威爾士有一個小鎮(zhèn)的名字就叫貝德格勒特，為的是紀念這只狗的英雄事跡。威爾士的文化里充滿了神話與傳說。例如，這個國家的象征就是火龍，一種神話中的動物。在威爾士的民族傳統(tǒng)中，每座山、每條河、每個湖、還有很多農場和村莊的歷史都確實跟仙女，魔法或者恐怖怪獸的傳奇有關系。
威爾士以詩人和歌手之鄉(xiāng)聞名于世。威爾士文學和音樂的傳統(tǒng)是歐洲最古老的傳統(tǒng)之一，可以追溯到1,000多年前中世紀的吟游詩人。威爾士人把不列顛的傳奇人物亞瑟王和著名的魔術師墨林，跟中世紀威爾士著名的《傳說故事集》中里的人物相提并論。傳統(tǒng)的威爾士文化十分強調口述或文字形式的詩歌和散文。聲樂，尤其是合唱，也在這個國家的文化遺產中扮演著重要角色。
威爾士人深為自己的文化傳統(tǒng)而自豪。雖然與英格蘭合并已有400多年，威爾士自己的語言、文學和傳統(tǒng)仍舊保持著活力。
威爾士位于大不列顛島的西部，是聯(lián)合王國的四個成員之一。在威爾士語里，威爾士被稱作 “辛姆如”，意思是“同胞”。加的夫是威爾士的首府，它也是威爾士最大的城市。
威爾士的人口將近三百萬。部分居民是幾千年前居住于歐洲大陸、而向威爾士殖民的史前民族的后代。許多其他的居民的祖先可以追溯到后來的移民，如凱爾特人、羅馬人、盎格魯-撒克遜人、諾曼人和英格蘭人。今天，威爾士有兩種官方語言：威爾士語和英語。作為歐洲最古老的語言之一的威爾士語，至今仍是威爾士西部和北部很多地方的日常用語。
威爾士多山，山巒之間散布著湖泊和谷地。事實上，這個國家以農場、山谷和河流而聞名于世，它們的風景是如此之美,以至于威爾士五分之一的疆土都被辟作國家公園。威爾士最高的山是位于西北部的斯諾登山。這個國家引以自豪的一點就是沒有大城市，大多數威爾士人住在鎮(zhèn)上、小城市里，或者盛產煤礦的南部工業(yè)區(qū)。其他的威爾士人主要是鄉(xiāng)間居民，人口分布稀疏。因為多山和地勢崎嶇不平而不適合大量種莊稼的地區(qū)。威爾士的自然資源，除了煤炭和當然會有的農業(yè)之外，剩下的就只有水和林地了。
在鄉(xiāng)村地區(qū)，很多人住在用石灰涂墻的石頭農舍里，或者僅有一兩個房間的農場住房里。今天，很多優(yōu)美如畫的古老農舍已被改為度假屋。煤礦區(qū)的住房基本上由一排排用石板和石頭砌墻的房子所組成。威爾士人以悠久的牧羊傳統(tǒng)而著稱。羊群在曾經被森林覆蓋的山坡上和山谷里自在地游蕩。在聯(lián)合王國各地，狗長期以來被用作農場主和獵人的幫手。就像我們這個故事中的主人公貝德格勒特一樣，狗作為寵物傳統(tǒng)上也頗受人們的喜愛。
家庭和親情對于那些疼愛孩子的威爾士人來說是格外重要的。如今，大部分的家庭有一到三個孩子。威爾士家庭在自己的家里度過很多的時光，一家人會同大家庭中的其他成員一起慶祝特別的場合。然而，鄉(xiāng)村地區(qū)的生活總會很有島國的特點。很多人星期天都要去教堂做禮拜，然后享用周日大餐，這是他們一周中最為重要的一頓飯食。在一般的休閑或者正式場合，威爾士人會穿帶有典型西部式樣的衣服。
從18世紀開始，傳統(tǒng)威爾士文化中最為流行的方方面面里，有一面就是全國性的詩歌與音樂比賽會，這是一個由很多表演者參賽競技的節(jié)日。此節(jié)日每年舉行，地點輪流設在威爾士南部和北部。在八月的一個星期里，參賽者進行在音樂、文學、戲劇和藝術方面的競賽。此外，還有一系列完全使用威爾士語，配以英語同聲翻譯的戲劇表演和音樂會。
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