英語沙龍十年合集珍藏版第一輯England in the １５００s-１６世紀(jì) 的英國

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England in the １５００s

Here are some facts about the １５００s：

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May，and，still smelled pretty good by June．However，they were starting to smell，so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor1)．

Baths consisted of a big tub2) filled with hot water．The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water，then，all the other sons and men，then，the women and，finally，the children－－last of all the babies．By then，the water was so dirty you could，actually，lose someone in it－－hence the saying，“Don' t throw the baby out with the bath water．

”Houses had thatched3) roofs－－thick straw，piled high，with no wood，underneath．It was the only place for animals to get warm，so，all the dogs，cats，and other small animals（mice，rats，and bugs），lived in the roof．When it rained，it became slippery4) and，some times，the animals would slip and fall off the roof－－hence the saying “It's raining cats and dogs．”

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house．This posed a real problem in the bedroom，where bugs and other droppings could，really，mess up your nice clean bed．Hence，a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top，afforded some protection．That' s how canopy5) beds came into existence．

The floor was dirty．Only the wealthy had something other than dirt，hence the saying “dirt poor．”

The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter，when wet，so，they spread thresh on the floor to help keep their footing．As the winter wore on，they kept adding more thresh until when you opened the door it would all start slipping outside．A piece of wood was placed in the entry way－－hence，a “thresh hold．”

They cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire．Every day，they lit the fire and added things to the pot．They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat．They would eat the stew for dinner，leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and，then，start over the next day．Sometimes，the stew had food in it，that had been there for quite a while－－hence the rhyme，“peas porridge hot，peas porridge6) cold，peas porridge in the pot nine days old．”

Sometimes they could obtain pork，which made them feel quite special．When visitors came over，they would hang up their bacon to show off．It was a sign of wealth that a man “could bring home the bacon．”They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and “chew the fat．”

Those with money had plates made of pewter．Food with a high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food，causing lead poisoning and death．This happened most often with tomatoes，s o，for the next ４００years or so，tomatoes were considered poisonous7)．

Most people did not have pewter8) plate s，but，had trenchers，a piece of wood with the middle scooped out like a bowl．Often，trenchers were made from stale paysan bread，which was so old and hard that they could use them for quite some time．Trenchers were never washed，and，a lot of times，worms and mold got into the wood and old bread．After eating off wormy moldy trenchers，one would get “trench mouth．”

Bread was divided，according to status．Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf，the family got the middle，and guests got the top，or，“upper crust．”

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey．The combination would，sometimes knock them out for a couple of days．Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial．They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up－－hence t he custom of holding a “wake．”

England is old and small，and，they started out running out of places to bury people．So，they would dig up coffins9) and would take the bones to a “bone－house” and reuse the grave．When reopening these coffins，one out of２５coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside，and，they realized they had been burying people alive．So，they thought they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse，lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell．Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night （the “graveyard shift”）to listen for the bell．

１６世紀(jì) 的英國

以下是有關(guān)１６世紀(jì)英國的一些事實：

大多數(shù)人在６月結(jié)婚，因為他們在５月洗一年一次的澡。至６月時，身上氣味還不至難聞。然而因為已經(jīng)有味，所以新娘子手捧一束花來遮掩。

洗澡用一個裝滿熱水的大浴盆。當(dāng)家的男人享有用干凈水洗澡的特權(quán)，然后是兒輩和其他男人，再是女人，接著是孩子，嬰兒排在最后。這盆水洗到這個時候已經(jīng)臟到人進(jìn)去了就找不著的程度。因此有了這個說法：Don' t throw the baby out with the bath water（不要把嬰兒連同洗澡水一起給倒了。）這話用來形容精華和糟粕被一同丟掉。

住房有草頂---堆得又高又厚的草，草下沒有木頭。這是動物惟一取暖的地方，因此，所有的貓、狗和其他動物（小耗子、大老鼠和臭蟲）全都生活在屋頂上。下雨時，屋頂挺滑，有時動物會從頂上滑下來。因而有了用It' s raining cats and dogs（下貓狗）的說法，來形容“傾盆大雨”。

沒法阻止往屋里掉東西，這對臥室是個大問題。臭蟲或別的什么會把干凈的床弄得一塌糊涂。因此出現(xiàn)了有大柱子的床，柱頂撐起一張單子，可以有些防護(hù)。于是就有了Canopy bed（天篷床）這個說法。

屋子地面是臟土。只有富人家不是這樣，因而有了dirt poor（極貧困的）的說法。

富人家有石板地面，冬天受潮后會很滑，因此他們在地上鋪燈芯草，這樣才能走得穩(wěn)。但隨著冬天一天天過去，地上的草越積越多，一開門就往外滑。于是在進(jìn)門處放根木頭來擋?。?/span>hold）草，因此出現(xiàn)了thresh hold（threshold，門檻）這個詞。

人們在廚房里用一個一直懸在火上的大鍋做飯。他們每天點上火，往鍋里添加?xùn)|西。主要吃蔬菜，肉食不多。晚上吃燉煮的食物，剩下的就留在鍋里過夜，第二天再接著煮。有時鍋里的食物能待上很長時間，因而出現(xiàn)了順口溜：Peas porridge hot，peas porridge cold，peas porridge in the pot nine days old（熱豆粥，涼豆粥，鍋里的豆粥九天嘍?。?。

有時人們能吃到豬肉，這使他們感到相當(dāng)不尋常?？腿藖碓L時，他們會掛起熏咸肉炫耀一番。若“能往家捎熏咸肉”，則是財富的象征。他們會切下一點給客人吃，大家都坐著“嚼肥肉”（chew the fat，這個短語逐漸發(fā)展為“閑聊”的意思）。

有錢人使的是用焊錫做的盤子，含酸量高的食物會使一些鉛滲透進(jìn)食物，造成鉛中毒甚至死亡。吃番茄最容易發(fā)生這種事，因此在隨后的４００多年中，番茄一直被認(rèn)為有毒。

大多數(shù)人沒有焊錫盤子，而用木制食盤，即把一塊木頭當(dāng)中挖空成碗狀。這種食盤還經(jīng)常用不新鮮的農(nóng)家自制面包制成。由于時間長了，面包變得特別硬，可以用上許久。食盤從來不洗，寄生蟲和霉菌進(jìn)到木頭和面包中。用這樣的盤子吃東西會得trench mouth（戰(zhàn)壕口炎／壞死性潰瘍性齦炎）。

面包按地位分吃。傭人吃面包的煳底，家人吃當(dāng)中那部分，客人吃最上面的，或稱upper crust（上表層）。日后upper crust就用來表示“上層階級”。

鉛制的杯子用來喝麥芽酒或威士忌。兩者混著喝有時能使人昏迷一兩天。有人在路上見到這樣的人，會以為是死人而準(zhǔn)備下葬。把他放在廚房桌子上一兩天。家人坐在周圍又吃又喝，等著看他能否醒過來，因而就有了holding a wake（守靈）的習(xí)俗。

英格蘭是個小而古老的國家，埋葬人的地方日趨減少。因此，人們挖開棺材，把骨頭拿到“骨房”，再次利用墓穴。在打開這些棺材時，會發(fā)現(xiàn)平均２５個棺材中有一個里面有劃痕，這才明白是把活人給埋了。因此，人們想應(yīng)該在死尸手腕上綁根小繩，穿過棺材和地面，系在一個小鈴上。要有人整晚坐在墓地上聽鈴聲，這叫graveyard shift（“墓地班”，也就是現(xiàn)在的“半夜或凌晨２時開始的夜班”）。