Lesson 96 The dead return
【New words and expressions】（3）
festival n. 节日
lantern n. 灯笼
spectacle n. 景象，壮观，场面
★drift
① vi. 漂流，漂移
Thousands of lanterns slowly drift out to sea.
The boat drifted gently across the water.
② vi. 漂泊，游荡
He has lost his job and just drifts in the city all day long.
He drifted from France to Italy.
★guide
① vt. 给……领路
The old man guided the explorers through the forest.
These lanterns will guide the dead on their return journey to the other world.
② vt. 指导（……的行动）；影响（……的决策等）
We should be always guided by truth. 我们应该永远受真理的指导。
Don’t let your wife’s opinion guide your actions.
【Text】
A Festival for the Dead is held once a year in Japan. This festival is a cheerful occasion, for on this day, the dead are said to return to their homes and they are welcomed by the living. As they are expected to be hungry after their long journey, food is laid out for them. Specially-made lanterns are hung outside each house to help the dead to find their way. All night long, people dance and sing. In the early morning, the food that had been laid out for the dead is thrown into a river or into the sea as it is considered unlucky for anyone living to eat it. In towns that are near the sea, the tiny lanterns which had been hung in the streets the night before, are placed into the water when the festival is over. Thousands of lanterns slowly drift out to sea guiding the dead on their return journey to the other world. This is a moving spectacle, for crowds of people stand on the shore watching the lanterns drifting away until they can be seen no more.
参考译文
日本每年过一次“亡灵节”。这个节日是个欢乐的日子，因为在这一天，据说死去的人要回到他们的家里来，活着的人则对他们表示欢迎。因为预料到他们在经过长途旅行之后会感到饥饿，所以为他们摆放好了食品。特制的灯笼挂在各家的门外，为的是帮助亡灵看清道路。整个夜晚人们载歌载舞。一大早，人们便把为死者摆放的食品扔进河中或海里，因为人们认为活着的人吃了这些东西是不吉利的。在靠海的城镇中，头天夜里挂在大街小巷的小灯笼在节后就放在了水里。成千上万只灯笼慢慢漂向大海，指引着亡灵返回另一个世界。这是一个感人的场面，人们成群地伫立在海岸上，注视着灯笼远去，直到再也看不见为止。
【课文讲解】
1、A Festival for the Dead is held once a year in Japan.
The dead和the living均为“定冠词+形容词”结构，表示某类人。
2、As they are expected to be hungry after their long journey, food is laid out for them.
lay out 摆放，展示，摆设，摊开
Don’t lay out your clothes on the bed. Put them away.
3、All night long, people dance and sing.
all night long 整夜（long为副词，表示“整个，在整段期间中”，常与all连用）
It snowed all day long.
She stayed with her grandfather all summer long.
4、Thousands of lanterns slowly drift out to sea guiding the dead on their return journey to the other world.
the other world 另一个世界，即阴间
She believes that she will meet her dead parents in the other world.
the next world = the world to come 来世
5、This is a moving spectacle, for crowds of people stand on the shore watching the lanterns drifting away until they can be seen no more.
moving adj. 动人的，感人的
a moving spectacle 一个感人的场面
文章的第一句话“The Festival for the Dead is held once a year in Japan.”是主题句，它为读者提供了整段文字的中心思想。接下来的支撑句详细描述了节日的习俗和活动，如“food is laid out for them”和“Specially-made lanterns are hung outside each house”。
在描述节日活动时，文章使用了被动语态，如“food is laid out for them”和“the tiny lanterns which had been hung in the streets the night before, are placed into the water”。被动语态在英语中常用于强调动作的接受者或者使动作发生的原因。
文章中使用了现在简单时态来描述每年重复发生的节日活动，如“is held”和“are hung”。现在简单时态在英语中常用于描述习惯性动作或者普遍真理。
文章中使用了形容词和副词来描述节日的氛围和活动，如“cheerful occasion”、“hung outside”和“slowly drift out”。这些词汇增加了文本的描述性和生动性。
文章中构建了一些名词短语来具体说明节日的特点，如“A Festival for the Dead”、“the dead”和“the other world”。名词短语是英语中表达具体概念的重要结构。
文章中使用了连词“for”和“as”来引导原因状语从句，如“for on this day, the dead are said to return to their homes”和“as it is considered unlucky for anyone living to eat it”。连词在英语中用于连接句子或句子成分，使文章结构更加清晰。
文章中使用了多种动词来描述节日中的活动，如“held”、“lay out”、“hung”、“dance”、“sing”、“throw”、“placed”和“drift”。这些动词展示了英语中丰富的动词用法，使得叙述更加生动和具体。