名人教你讲英文：他们纷纷向我们撒米和五彩碎纸

名人教英文：他们纷纷向我们撒米和五彩碎纸

They're all throwing confetti and rice over us
他们纷纷向我们撒米和五彩碎纸

Rachel: Look, there's my Auntie Jane in that ridiculous hat. Everyone at our wedding couldn't stop laughing at it.
雷切尔：看，这个是我的珍姑母，戴着那顶滑稽帽子。我们婚礼上的亲友看见，都笑个不停。

Barney: I know. It looked as if she was wearing a turkey on her head.
巴尼： 是啊，她看来就像戴了只火鸡在头上。

Rachel: This photo is of you and me standing at the front of the church. I wonder who took that. It wasn't the official photographer.
雷切尔：这张照片，是你和我站在教堂前。不知是谁拍的。不是我们约定的摄影师。

Barney: Ah, but look at this one. This is you and me coming out of the church.
巴尼： 看这一张，是你和我从教堂里走出来。

Rachel: And they're all throwing confetti and rice over us. Do you remember?
雷切尔：他们还纷纷向我们撒米和五彩碎纸。记得吗？

Barney: Yes of course. And it took you ages to get it all out of your hair and dress afterwards.
巴尼： 当然记得。事后，你花了很久，才把头发、衣服上的米和碎纸清除。

西方婚礼上，往往有人向新郎、新娘撒五彩碎纸，有时还会撒米。五彩碎纸英文是confetti，可有令你联想到confection（糖果）、confectionery（糖果店）等字？这三个字同出一源。
Confetti本是意大利文，指“糖果”。从前，意大利人在嘉年华会上，会互撒或真或假的糖果。这习俗传到英国之后，糖果渐渐由碎花纸取代，所以今天欢乐场合中撒的碎花纸，叫做confetti。这是个不可数名词，和单数形式动词连用，例如：Confetti was all over the place（整个地方撒满五彩碎纸）。

雷切尔说：Look, there's my Auntie Jane in that ridiculous hat。查第七版《牛津高阶英汉双解词典》，ridiculous和absurd同样解作“荒唐的”、“荒谬的”。两字有什么分别？
按absurd指乖违情理、常识，语气颇重；ridiculous所说的荒谬没有absurd那么严重，可能只是愚蠢而已，例如∶(1) It is absurd to say that patriotism consists in supporting a dictatorial regime（“支持独裁政权等于爱国”的说法，非常荒谬）。(2) It is ridiculous to believe that breaking a mirror brings bad luck（“打破镜子会招来噩运”的想法，十分荒谬）。

西方文学有所谓the theatre of the absurd（荒谬剧），以荒谬的剧情刻划荒谬的人情世态。假如改称为the theatre of the ridiculous，那么，戏剧内容就应较为肤浅。