熱鬧的元宵，親身體驗老外眼中的鹽水蜂炮! 生動的英文字句，課本裡根本學不到！ Rocket Rage: The Beehives of Yenshui.

Photo by yuan pin

想知道老外眼中的鹽水蜂炮是怎麼一回事?這篇報導有許多鮮活的英文描繪與見解。此文是多年多前被我意外在網路上看見的，作者的文字非常流暢幽默，因為怕大家被單字嚇到，所以教練已經把文章整理好了。好文章值得細讀，一天念一小段都沒有關係，因為只有慢慢讀、反覆複習才會完全吸收。下面先介紹文章裡使用的熱門句型與單字，可以反覆多看幾遍直到完全熟練為止！


1. pyrotechnics events 煙火活動

2. a reckless pandemonium envelops the town 失控的混亂吞噬了小鎮

3. to wreak havoc 肆虐

4. pestilence 瘟疫

5. a full-on experience 完整體驗

6. all hell is about to break loose 一場恐怖的災難即將來臨

7. palanquin 神轎

8. to be inundated with 充滿了

9. a firework display 煙火表演

10. folk arts performance民俗表演

11. tracer bullet 裝有追蹤裝置的子彈

12. to fall off the tourist map 指的是某個景點變得冷清(遊客不再)

13. to find a good vantage point 找一個好的攝影角度拍攝

14. to befriend a local 跟一個當地人搞好交情(當朋友)

15. to do something for kicks 為了找尋刺激而從事某件事情(本文用的動詞是attend參加鹽水蜂炮活動)

ROCKET RAGE: THE BEEHIVES OF YENSHUI

鹽水蜂炮實錄

By Steven Crook Translated by Mei Lee
Photos by Richard Matheson and Pieter Vorster

By global standards, southern Taiwan has few truly exceptional geographical or cultural features. However, it does boast what is probably the most extreme and exciting pyrotechnics event煙火活動 in the world: The Yanshuei Fireworks Festival, also known as the Beehive Rockets Festival.鹽水蜂炮節

The festival includes plenty of pretty explosions in the sky, but this isn't a fireworks display in the conventional sense傳統的煙火或是爆竹活動. It's an audience-participation event. Hundreds of thousands of bottle rockets are fired at, into, and around(這邊要特別注意介係詞的用法) those watching. For those who get close to the action, it's like being in a war zone戰區.

The festival is held once a year in the small Tainan County town of Yanshuei, 15 days after Chinese New Year. A reckless pandemonium失控的大混亂 envelops the town吞噬整個小鎮; for Western visitors used to paying high prices and signing legal disclaimers for carefully managed "extreme" sports experiences, it's a revelation.這一句話非常幽默，充滿戲謔。因為老外比較注重安全與人權，類似鹽水蜂炮這種危險的東西，要是在國外舉行，都會事先讓參與者簽屬一些類似免責書的法律文件(如受傷出人命自行負責這類的)可是在鹽水的蜂炮節，大家直接就上了，完全沒有任何保障或是相關服務，對於老外而言，算是大開眼界。Revelation一字在此指的是全新發現

Almost everyone who gets close to the frontline最前線 at Yanshuei wears a full-face motorcycle helmet全罩式 and thick fireproof clothing. Even then, there are plenty of casualties受傷的人還是不在少數. According to Chinese-language media reports, 19 people required medical attention during the 2006 event. The toll受傷人數 is sometimes close to 100.

Burns燙傷 and bruises瘀青 are very common. There's also a risk of getting trampled被踩踏; the crowd often exceeds 50,000 people, crammed into the old, narrow streets of a town with just 28,000 inhabitants.

以下這一段要講鹽水蜂炮歷史背景
If the results of the festival are bloody, the event's history is undoubtedly gruesome悽慘. The festival reenacts a plague expulsion瘟疫驅逐 rite. More than a century ago, an outbreak of cholera霍亂wreaked havoc肆虐記得後面要加介係詞on) on Yanshuei, which was then a prosperous harbor繁榮的小鎮 town and one of Taiwan four main commercial centers.

Neither physicians nor shamans教僧/巫師 could defeat the epidemic.傳染病 In desperation絕望之下, the local residents called upon their gods to drive out the evil spirits they blamed for the pestilence傳染病或瘟疫. Townsfolk carried through the streets an effigy雕像 of Guan Gon關公, a deified神化的(死後成仙) generally regarded as the Chinese god of brotherhood and righteousness正義. At every turn, they let off masses of firecrackers所行之處都會燃放鞭炮.

The exorcism驅逐病害或是魔害的儀式 worked and the epidemic receded. Ever since, there have been annual parades每年都舉行一次的遊行, sponsored by local businesses and temples. Participation is free; residents cash in by賺大錢 selling snacks, soft drinks, and protective attire.每年蜂炮年的時候，當地居民靠著販賣小吃，飲料與護具可賺進大筆銀子

The festival now includes folk arts performances民俗表演 and other activities spread over two or more days. The fireworks parade, by far the most popular part of the festival, begins around dusk黃昏 on the 15th day of the first lunar month, 農曆初十五and continues until dawn the following day.

For a full-on experience想要完整體驗蜂炮節, stay close to the palanquins神轎   - the sedan chairs on which the religious icons are carried by teams of volunteers放神明雕像的轎子. Pay attention when you see a palanquin carried over a pile of burning ghost money, 紙錢 because all hell is about to break loose.一場恐怖的災難即將來臨，這句形容通常用在很可怕的地方，如被戰爭蹂躪或是軍隊來到大開殺戒這類的形容，大家可以想像蜂炮燃放劇烈的程度。

The crowd will fall silent. You'll hear an eerie詭異的 creaking詭異的嘎吱聲 as the sedan chair is swung back and forth over the flames神轎在火上面前後擺蕩搖晃. Nearby, you'll see final preparations being made to a "beehive"--a wooden frame the size of a truck, packed with tens of thousands of fireworks.
When the beehive erupts爆發/被燃放, fireworks fly into the sky. A few seconds later, rockets will start to shoot horizontally out of the beehive. Wherever you stand, fireworks will scream like tracer bullets像是裝有追蹤裝置的子彈，嗡嗡大聲作響， over your head. The onslaught猛烈攻擊 forces almost everyone to take a few steps back. If you're slow to react, you might find yourself fully exposed in the field of fire. If that happens, you'll be pummelled by 被…的頭打到(這邊當然是指蜂炮)rockets; the physical sensation is akin to很類似 being surrounded by a stone-throwing mob.那種被蜂炮追擊的感覺很像被一群人圍著丟石頭

This is the beehive living up to its name: Like angry bees, rockets scream in every direction, ricochet off 彈飛the houses on either side of the street, and sting any flesh left bare.蜂炮是不長眼睛的，任何沒有穿戴護具的肉身都會成為攻擊的目標

When it's over, do what everyone else does: Shuffle your limbs vigorously for several seconds , to shake loose any smoldering fireworks that might be trapped in folds of your clothing before they can set you alight.四肢要快速的來回擺動，目的是為了將可能停留在防護衣上面的爆竹給抖掉

Your safety is your responsibility. In the hours before the first beehive goes off, small trucks drive around Yanshuei, showing posters and using audio recordings to instruct festival-goers how to dress. However, police - who have enough on their hands本身忙到不可開交 directing traffic, evacuating casualties, and dealing with those who have had their pockets picked-- do not turn away individuals who come unprepared.

In addition to wearing a helmet with an intact visor,此指全罩式安全帽前面的護目片 you should cover your torso with two or more layers of clothing, and bring a pair of gloves. Avoid nylon garments尼龍材質的衣服, for obvious reasons. Strong footwear is essential as your toes will get stomped on.腳會被踩到

Wrap an old towel around your neck to stop rockets bouncing up into your helmet. If you do expect to be on the frontline, leaving no part of your body unprotected. Anything less leaves you vulnerable - something Ariana Lindquist discovered to her cost a few years ago. "My friend and I had decided to head home, so I took my ear plugs耳塞 out," says the American. "Then we went back and stood right in front of a fireworks wall as it went off. A rocket flew up under my helmet and exploded. It took a month for the hearing in one of my ears to fully recover."

What do the authorities think of the event? Yanshuei, which is inundated with充滿了 visitors around the time of the beehives, but falls off the tourist map for the rest of the year過去蜂炮節時會湧入上萬遊客，可是除此之外，一整年小鎮都很冷清, is now marketing itself as a town full of history and antiquity, like Lugang.現在鹽水鎮也像鹿港一樣會宣傳，推動文化觀光產業了

Chen Chi-nan, former Council of Cultural Affairs minister, realized that most people attend for kicks, not because of piety許多人參與鹽水蜂炮節不是因為宗教的虔誠理由，而只是為了找刺激for kicks. In an interview a few years ago he said: "When modern people participate in something like the Yanshuei fireworks, they're looking for fun and excitement, and do not see it as a traditional way of preventing disaster and praying for prosperity."

TAKING PHOTOS WHILE THE BEES ARE BUZZING 蜂中取景小撇步

Yanshuei is a visually spectacular,視覺上非常壯觀 and draws photographers like moths吸引成千上萬的…(大家去想想成千上萬的蛾撲向一個燈泡那種感覺就懂了) to a flame. However, taking good photos at the event is not easy. For a start, there's the matter of protecting your gear from all the projectiles flying around. An underwater housing (a special box photographers use when shooting in water) works well but isn't cheap: some cost NT$10,000. You could do what I have done and build a box using plexiglass塑膠玻璃. But, before going to Yanshuei, test the box to see how the plexiglass affects exposure應該先測試這樣的DIY塑膠保護框對於曝光的影響.

Because the event is at night, you'll need longer exposure times. A monopod單腳腳架 is more convenient than a tripod (三角角架(記得mono是單一的意思，tri是三的意思). As for shooting with a digital or a film camera, the advantage of digital is that you can check the photos right away, and adjust the settings accordingly. However, films will get better results than a low-end digital camera低規格的數位相機. You'll probably be depending on your camera's automatic settings, 數位相機的自動設定裝置 because you'll be wearing gloves (essential, because your hands will be exposed most of the time, and will get repeatedly hit by rockets). If you can, ahead of time scout out巡視 the route of the parade and find good vantage points好的拍攝位置 for photography. Even better, befriend a local跟當地的人搞好交情 and get invited onto a balcony陽台 or rooftop!屋頂