Valentineʼs Day
Humans pair up periodically, originally for procreation and now mostly for sport. This is the day to get your chosen person a piece of thick, folded paper, some food, or a very old rock. A mutant flying baby also shoots people, but just metaphorically.
情人节背景介绍：Valentine's Day is celebrated annually on February 14. Originating as a Western Christian feast day honoring one or two early saints named Valentinus, Valentine's Day is recognized as a significant cultural, religious, and commercial celebration of romance and romantic love in many regions around the world, although it is not a public holiday in any country.【摘自维基百科】
大意：人类周期性地进行配对，最初是为了繁衍后代，现在大部分是为了进行床上运动。情人节是求婚的热门节日，所以情人节卡片，美食，以及钻戒，这些都是为另一半准备的最佳礼物，也是情人节出镜率最高的。情人节也是爱人们互相表白日子，古罗马神话中被丘比特之箭射中的情侣就会坠入爱河。
【pair up】to join together temporarily with another person in order to do something 配对
If people pair up or are paired up, they form a pair, especially in order to do something together.
例句：Boys and girls pair up todance. 姑娘小伙们结对跳舞。
【periodically】in a way that is repeated after a particular period of time 周期性的
例句：The tree of liberty must be watered periodically with the blood of tyrants and patriots alike.
——Thomas Jefferson （American 3rd president，Author of the Declaration ofIndependence）
自由之树需要定期用暴君和爱国者的鲜血来浇灌。
【procreate】to produce young 繁衍后代
procreate：动词；procreation：名词
例句：Some people believe that sex should only be for the purpose of procreation.
God’s chosen person：天选之人（源于在英雄联盟，绝地求生等游戏中运气好，一路躺赢，0杀吃鸡）
your chosen person：你的真命天子（女）
a piece of thick, folded paper：这里指情人节卡片
a very old rock：一块非常古老的石头，这里指钻戒
A mutant flying baby：指爱神Cupido
Veterans Day and Memorial Day
These days are different, but both are about people whom we send to murder other, theoretically worse, people. We all agree that murder is bad, but somehow we have not figured out a way to avoid it. Processed meats are eaten on these days as well. On Memorial Day, people often stand in the street and watch more famous people go by on a platform and scream at them.
背景介绍：Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is an official United States public holiday observed annually on November 11, honoring military veterans, that is, persons who have served in the United States Armed Forces. 美国退伍军人节
Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering the people who died while serving in the country's armed forces. 美国阵亡将士纪念日
纽约客文章赏析
【theoretically worse】：理论上更坏的人，此处的含义更接近于汉语中“所谓的…”
美国退伍军人节和阵亡将士纪念日有所不同，但又不尽相同。不同的是时间，相同的是这些节日都是关于同一类人，这些人被送去战场，谋杀我们所谓“理论上更坏的人”。我们都同意杀戮不对，但又无法避免。
【Processed meats are eaten on these days as well. 】
5月的最后一个星期一是美国的阵亡将士纪念日，美国人在这天会举行许多纪念活动，向为国捐躯的阵亡将士致敬，同时一连三天的小长假也产生了美国人的一个习俗，那就是利用阵亡将士纪念日的假期在家里烤肉。所以文章里这句话就暗指在阵亡将士纪念日这一天吃烤肉的传统。
On Memorial Day, people often stand in the street and watch more famous people go by on a platform and scream at them.
这里是指在阵亡将士纪念日这一天，会有名人在公共场合做相关的演讲，所以民众会对其欢呼呐喊，可能是因为名人效应。（不确定）
New Yearʼs Eve
Human life is terribly short, so on this day we celebrate staving off death for another revolution around the sun. Lots of people smash their mouths together and drink poison. Our nationʼs largest clump of people drops a big, shiny ball that costs more than a million dollars—and itʼs not even a bomb!
背景知识：In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve (also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries), the last day of the year, is on 31 December which is the seventh day of Christmastide. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated at evening social gatherings, where many people dance, eat, drink alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the new year. Some Christians attend a watchnight service. The celebrations generally go on past midnight into New Year's Day, 1 January.
【stave off】：If you stave off something bad, or if you stave it off, you succeed in stopping it happening for a while.
人的一生短暂的可怕，所以在新年的前夜，人们庆祝欢呼，又一年平安的过去了，死亡被我们阻挡在外。
Smash their mouths together and drink poison：这里指大家一起疯狂激吻，喝酒庆祝。
【Our nationʼs largest clump of people drops a big, shiny ball that costs more than a million dollars—and itʼs not even a bomb!】
这句话背后涵盖的意义是美国关于Time Square Ball的传统，Time Square Ball是位于美国纽约城时代广场的一个时间球，球位于一个时代广场的屋顶上，是时代广场新年前夜庆祝活动的重要组成部分，通常被称为“the ball drop”，球在60秒内以特殊设计的旗杆下降141英尺（43米） ，从晚上11:59:00开始，并在午夜休息，以表示新的一年的开始。
网友评论