骑士精神是否已经死去？ Is chivalry dead?

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I’m Neil…
大家好，欢迎收听六分钟英语，我是尼尔。
… And I’m Alice. My chair feels [audibly shifts about in her chair] uncomfortable today. How does yours feel?
我是爱丽丝。今天我的椅子坐起来很不舒服。你的怎么样？
Um… mine is fine - very comfortable, thank you.
我的椅子很好，很舒服，谢谢。
Well, it would be nice if you offered to give me your chair, Neil.
如果你能把你的椅子给我坐就更好了，尼尔。
What? No chance. Well, I would be uncomfortable then, wouldn’t I?
什么？不可能。那我坐起来也不舒服。
You should give me your seat, Neil.
你应该把你的椅子换给我，尼尔。
Should I? Well, now might be a good time to mention that chivalry is the subject of today’s show.
应该？好吧，我觉得是时候提醒一下，今天我们节目的主题是骑士精神。
Chivalry these days means polite behaviour usually by men towards women.
如今的骑士精神是指男性对待女性时礼貌的行为举止。
Though in the past it referred to a code of behaviour followed by knights in the Middle Ages.It was all about honour and courage in battle – and only later on about being polite to the ladies. Well, we aren’t living in the Middle Ages any more, are we?
但在过去，这是指中世纪骑士需要遵守的行为准则。刚开始是指战斗中表现出的尊严和勇气，之后指对女士有礼貌。但我们现在并不生活在中世纪，不是吗？
No comment. Let’s go for our traditional question.I have a literary one for you today: Who wrote the novel Don Quixote, about a 50-year old man travelling Spain in search of knightly adventures in rusty armour and a cardboard helmet?Was it…a) Miguel de Cervantesb) Leo TolstoyOr c) William Shakespeare?
不做评论。按照惯例，回答今天的问题吧。我有一个文学问题要问你：哪位作家写了小说《堂吉诃德》，讲述了一位穿着锈迹斑斑的盔甲，戴着纸做的头盔的50岁老人，幻想自己是骑士，去西班牙冒险的故事？a) 塞万提斯b) 列夫托尔斯泰还是c)莎士比亚?
I think - I’m going to get it right today, Alice– I’m going to say a) Miguel de Cervantes.
我觉得我今天一定能答对，爱丽丝。我选a) 塞万提斯。
Well, we’ll find out later on in the show if you were right or not. But first, do you think chivalry is dead, Neil?
好的，节目的最后我们再看你回答得是否正确。尼尔，你觉得骑士精神已经死去了吗？
No, not at all – these traditions are alive and kicking – in Poland at any rate.If something is alive and kicking it means it’s active.The BBC reporter Adam Easton saw it with his own eyes and is going to describe it for us.
没有，并没有，至少在波兰这些传统依然存在。alive and kicking意思是依然存在，生龙活虎。BBC记者Adam Easton亲眼看到这一点，让他为我们描述一下。
Medieval knights’ tournaments or battle re-enactments are popular across Europe. But there’s something about dressing up as a knight that particularly appeals to people here in Poland.In the summer there’s events every weekendand here in Malbork Northern Poland home to Europe’s largest medieval castle there’s one of the biggest of the season.There’s archery, crossbow, jousting, other horse skills,and more than a hundred thousand people come to watch these tournaments.
乔装上演的中世纪骑士比武大会如今在欧洲十分盛行。但是骑士装扮对波兰人尤其具有吸引力。夏天波兰每周都会举办这样的盛会，而在波兰北部马尔堡——欧洲最大的中世纪城堡所在地，会举办最大规模的骑士比武。箭术、弩、马上长矛比武还有其他马术技能都会在这里展示，十万多人都前来观看这一盛事。
The BBC reporter Adam Easton.By the way, what’s a re-enactment, Neil?
上述是BBC记者Adam Easton的报道。顺便问一下，尼尔，什么是重新上演？
It’s where you perform the actions of a past event.And in Malbork in Poland they stage battle re-enactments every weekend apparently – at least in the summer months!
就是重新演绎过去发生的事件。在波兰马尔堡，他们每周都会举办骑士比武，至少夏天那几个月每周都有！
Mmm… it doesn’t sound like my cup of tea– and that means it doesn’t sound like something I would enjoy doing – how about you, Neil?
听上去不是我的菜，也就是说不是我会喜欢的东西。你呢？
Well, I’m not sure about the archery, crossbow and jousting.It all sounds like too much hard work. But I’d definitely enjoy the dressing up.
我对箭术、弩、马上长矛比武不太感兴趣。听上去都很费力气。但是我很喜欢装扮。
Excellent! Well, jousting is where two people fight on horseback using a lance– or long pole – to try to knock the other person off their horse, especially as part of a tournament – or sporting event. So with the dressing up, Neil – I’m curious.I can’t imagine you as a knight in shining armour, to be honest…
不错！马上长枪比武是指两个人在马背上使用长矛，将对方击下马，这是比武盛会的一部分。说到装扮，尼尔，我很好奇。老实说我不能想象你穿着明盔亮甲扮成骑士的样子。
Come on, Alice. I’d look very appealing to any damsel in distress.A damsel in distress is a young unmarried woman in need of help.
得了吧，尼尔。我穿上一定很吸引落难少女的注意力。落难少女是指需要帮助的未婚少女。
OK. You might make a very fetching – or attractive – knight, Neil.But you should get used to actually helping the ladies … maybe offering me your seat.I’m still sitting uncomfortably here…
好吧。也许你是个非常迷人的骑士。但是你应该习惯帮助女性，也许应该把椅子让给我。我现在坐着很不舒服。
Come on, Alice, a knight needs to sit comfortably too.We’ve always been the ones with battles to fight!
得了吧，骑士也要坐着舒服。我们可是要在战场上战斗的！
But at some point in the history of chivalry – prowess – or skill – on the battlefieldbecame combined with a set of conventions – or rules – governing other aspects of behaviour.This included a knight’s moral and religious duties and how to conduct their love affairs.Professor Laura Ashe at Oxford University explains.
但是在历史的某个阶段，战场上的骑士精神或者说其英勇能力，与一套套约定俗成捆绑在一起，约束着他们其他方面的行为。包括一名骑士的道德和宗教职责，以及如何处理情感关系。牛津大学Laura Ashe教授会进一步解释。
The really strange thing is the idea that love should somehow make you a better knight. I mean, this is what is suddenly claimed in the late 12th centuryand it makes very little sense, you know, if you imagine a footballer telling his teammates that being in love makes him a better footballer.
很奇怪的是有种观点认为爱让你成为更好的骑士。我的意思是在12世纪末突然之间出现这种观点，我觉得这完全说不通，这就像一名足球运动员告诉他的队友，恋爱可以让他成为更好的运动员。
That was Professor Laura Ashe. And I agree with her.What has being a great footballer or a great warrior got to do with love?
上述是Laura Ashe教授的观点。我很赞同。成为一名更好的足球运动员或更好的骑士和爱有什么关系呢？
Well, courtly love was a social code governing behaviour between aristocratic men and womenthat developed at the same time and amongst the same people as chivalry and the two became intertwined – or hard to separate – from then on.
宫廷爱情成为一种社会准则，约束了贵族男女的行为举止，与骑士精神在同一时间兴起，同样约束了骑士，二者至此难舍难分，交织在一起。
And aristocrats are people of high social rank. OK Alice, I think it’s time you told us the answer to today’s quiz question.
贵族是指社会地位很高的人。好了，爱丽丝，我觉得是时候公布今天问题的答案了。
Good idea. OK. I asked: Who wrote the novel Don Quixote, about a 50-year old man travelling Spain in search of knightly adventures in rusty armour and a cardboard helmet? Was it… a) Miguel de Cervantes, b) LeonTolstoy or c) William Shakespeare?
好的。我的问题是：哪位作家写了小说《堂吉诃德》，讲述了一位穿着锈迹斑斑的盔甲，戴着纸做的头盔的50岁老人，幻想自己是骑士，去西班牙冒险的故事？a) 塞万提斯b) 列夫托尔斯泰 还是c)莎士比亚?
And I said a) Miguel de Cervantes.
我选的是a) 塞万提斯。
And you were right! Well done! Don Quixote was written by Miguel de Cervantes and published in 1605. It’s a comic novel which describes what happens to an elderly knight who, his head muddled by reading too many romances, sets out on his old horse with his companion Sancho Panza, to seek adventure.
你答对了！做得好！《堂吉诃德》由塞万提斯所著，发表于1605年。这是一部喜剧小说，讲述了一个沉迷于骑士小说，幻想自己是骑士的老人，骑着自己的老马，与同伴Sancho Panza一同冒险的故事。
Very interesting, Alice. Now can we hear the words we learned today?
非常有意思。我们再来听一下今天的单词吧？
Sure, they are:
好的，今天学到的单词有：
chivalry
骑士精神
alive and kicking
活跃，依然存在
re-enactment
重演
my cup of tea
我的菜，符合兴趣
jousting
马上长枪比武
lance
长矛
tournament
比赛
fetching
迷人的
damsel in distress
落难少女
prowess
英勇
conventions
约定
courtly love
宫廷式爱情
intertwined
相互交错
aristocrats
贵族
Well, that’s the end of today’s 6 Minute English. Please join us again soon.And… by the way, Alice, would you like my chair? It’s very comfortable…
今天的六分钟英语就到这里。我们下次再会！顺便说一下，爱丽丝，还需要我的椅子吗？非常舒服哦。
Oh, thank you - now that the programme is over, Neil!
谢谢，节目都结束了！尼尔！
Better late than never.
迟做总比不做好。
Bye.
再见！