Journey into Scotland
蘇格蘭之旅
by Tina Robinson 翻譯：小虎

Scotland forms the northern part of the island of Great Britain. It is divided into three main 1)regions--the Highlands, the Midland Valley and the Southern Uplands. Scotland is well known for its mountainous scenery and 2)lochs (this name is generally used for lakes in Scotland). Much of the west coast of the country is 3)intersected by Sea Lochs. Perhaps the most well-known of the fresh water lochs is Loch Ness.

We continue our journey from Alnwick Castle to Scotland. Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and the second financial center of the UK. We pass through a 4)succession of 5)residential areas, giving us our first view of Scottish citylife. The residents of this city obviously take great pride in their homes. Whether a Victorian era 6)mansion or a modern high rise apartment, 7)flowerpots and gardens are 8)abundant and well 9)tended.

When we visit Edinburgh Castle, we can see why the early 10)inhabitants of the area made their first settlements here. In the past, man had always sought a safe 11)refuge and the volcanic rock that formed the base of Edinburgh Castle afforded the 12)ultimate 13)defensive position. No visit to Edinburgh is complete without a visit to Edinburgh Castle. Once you have 14)ventured up to the highest parts of the castle, you will be 15)overwhelmed by the spectacular views of Edinburgh.

Edinburgh now is basically built right over the top of the old Edinburgh, so some of the old streets still exist 16)underground. In a little town on the way to Glasgow, we spy a 17)pub and pull in to the car park. The friendly 18)landlord, dressed in a 19)kilt, treats us to his finest 20)Scotch and the traditional Scottish dish--21)Haggis. We are brave enough to try this weighty 22)sausage stuffed with 23)intestine, 24)oatmeal and other spicy goodies. While we are eating Haggis, he tells us about the standard dress for all “Highlanders”--the tartan kilt which has 25)awakened the 26)curiosity of the ladies in our group. The 27)tartan kilt has long been the most recognizable cultural tradition of the Highland Scots. The kilt has its origins in an older 28)garment called the 29)belted plaid. More recognizable tartans seen today are in fact creations of Scottish and English 30)tailors during the 31)reign of Queen Victoria. The patterns and the basic concept of the tartan are used to identify the 32)clan, family or 33)regiment with which the wearer is associated. And the plaid has become more of a fashion experiment for the 34)elite of English society.

Moreover, we learn from the 35)bartender that the commercial production of Scotch whisky began more than 300 years ago. As a rule, Scots do not drink at home other than on special occasions. So Scottish pubs are the 36)mainstay of social life as they have been for many centuries. At lunchtime and between 5 and 7PM, most pubs also become eating places. Afterwards, they 37)stow away the menus and 38)crockery to welcome a more social evening crowd. The Scots are very friendly and down to earth, although I can’t understand a word from some of them are saying!

We continue our journey to Glasgow--39)cradle of the Industrial Revolution and formerly the world’s most important 40)shipbuilding area. Glasgow is Scotland’s largest city. It boasts some of Britain’s finest Victorian 41)architecture, including work by the city’s most famous artist and architect--Charles Mackintosh. Today, Glasgow is a lively cultural and arts center with fine museums and art 42)galleries. Here we find the best shopping center outside London!

It is 43)Halloween--a holiday for children--when we arrive in Glasgow. The kids in Scotland still keep the custom of trick-or-treating which has its roots in the English custom of “soul-caking.” The more soul cakes (made out of square pieces of bread with 44)currants) the beggars would receive, the more prayers they would promise to say on behalf of the dead relatives of the 45)donors--that is to say, you must be kind to dead ancestors or they will play tricks on you. The Irish originally used 46)turnips as their “Jack’s lanterns” but when 47)immigrants came to America in the 1840’s, they found that 48)pumpkins were far more plentiful than turnips. Kids have a really good time--they cut scary faces into 49)hollowed-out turnips and large potatoes; then they place a candle inside them. Children once enjoyed throwing cabbages and turnips at doors during Halloween. Smashing bottles near windows is also done in fun. All in all, a fun-filled holiday to bring back memories of childhood.

蘇格蘭組成了大不列顛島的北部。它分為三大地區(qū)――（北部）高地、中部低地和南部高地。蘇格蘭以山巒景色和湖泊聞名遐爾。其西岸的大部分地區(qū)都被海水湖分割。最出名的淡水湖可能是尼斯湖。

我們從安尼克古堡繼續(xù)前往蘇格蘭。愛(ài)丁堡是蘇格蘭的首府，也是英國(guó)的第二大金融中心。我們一連經(jīng)過(guò)幾個(gè)居民區(qū)，這里為我們展現(xiàn)了首個(gè)蘇格蘭城市生活的景象。顯然，這里的城市居民以他們的家園為傲。無(wú)論是維多利亞時(shí)代的公寓還是現(xiàn)代高建筑住房，總有多姿多彩并被悉心照料的花盆與花園點(diǎn)綴其間。

當(dāng)我們參觀愛(ài)丁堡城堡時(shí)，我們明白了為什么這地區(qū)的早期居民首先在這兒定居。過(guò)去，人們總在尋找一個(gè)安全的庇護(hù)所，而那些形成愛(ài)丁堡城堡底部的火山巖石為城堡提供了最佳的防御位置。沒(méi)有參觀過(guò)愛(ài)丁堡城堡，愛(ài)丁堡之旅就不完整。一旦你敢于爬上城堡的最高處，你將淹沒(méi)在愛(ài)丁堡引人入勝的景色中。

現(xiàn)在的愛(ài)丁堡基本上是建設(shè)在舊的愛(ài)丁堡之上，因此有些老街道仍然保留在地下。在前往格拉斯哥路上的一個(gè)小鎮(zhèn)里，我們發(fā)現(xiàn)了一間酒館，我們把車停在停車場(chǎng)里。那位穿著蘇格蘭方格呢短裙的友善的老板用他最好的蘇格蘭威士忌和傳統(tǒng)的蘇格蘭食品――肉餡羊肚來(lái)招呼我們。我們壯著膽子品嘗了那塞滿羊腸、麥片和其它香料的很有份量的香腸。在我們品嘗肉餡羊肚之余，老板告訴了我們那套給所有“高地男人”穿的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)服飾――那套引起我們旅行團(tuán)里的女士們好奇心的蘇格蘭方格呢短裙。一直以來(lái)蘇格蘭方格呢短裙都是高地蘇格蘭人最被認(rèn)可的文化傳統(tǒng)。蘇格蘭方格呢短裙源自于一種叫束腰彩格呢的古老服裝。今天我們看到很多易于辨認(rèn)的格子呢實(shí)際上是在維多利亞女王統(tǒng)治期間蘇格蘭和英格蘭裁縫的創(chuàng)作品。格子呢的圖案和基本概念是用來(lái)辨認(rèn)氏族、家族和穿著者所屬的軍團(tuán)。在更大程度上彩格呢格子圖案已成為英國(guó)社會(huì)精英們的時(shí)尚試驗(yàn)品。

此外，我們從酒吧男招待口中得知蘇格蘭威士忌的商業(yè)生產(chǎn)在300多年前便已經(jīng)開始了。通常，蘇格蘭人都不在家喝酒，除非是特殊節(jié)日。因此，數(shù)世紀(jì)以來(lái)蘇格蘭酒館一直是社交生活的主要場(chǎng)所。在午飯時(shí)間和下午5點(diǎn)至7點(diǎn)之間，大部分酒館都成為吃飯的地方。之后，他們收拾菜譜和器皿，迎接晚上更多喜愛(ài)社交的客流。蘇格蘭人非常熱情和實(shí)際，盡管我完全不明白他們中有些人在說(shuō)什么！

我們繼續(xù)行程，前往格拉斯哥――工業(yè)革命的搖籃和曾經(jīng)是世界上最重要的造船地區(qū)。格拉斯哥是蘇格蘭最大的城市。它以擁有一些不列顛最好的維多利亞式建筑而自豪，包括城里最出名的藝術(shù)家和建筑家――查爾斯·麥金托什的作品。今天，格拉斯哥擁有上等博物館和畫廊，是一個(gè)活躍的文化藝術(shù)中心。在這里我們找到了在倫敦以外最棒的購(gòu)物中心！

當(dāng)我們到達(dá)格拉斯哥時(shí)剛好是萬(wàn)圣節(jié)前夕――一個(gè)屬于孩子的節(jié)日。蘇格蘭的孩子們還保留著“賞或罰”的習(xí)俗，該習(xí)俗源于英國(guó)的“靈魂蛋糕”傳統(tǒng)。乞丐們承諾他們獲得越多的靈魂蛋糕（用方形面包塊和葡萄干做成），就代表捐贈(zèng)者向去世的親人送去越多的祈禱――那就是說(shuō)，你必須善待去世的祖先，否則他們就會(huì)捉弄你。愛(ài)爾蘭人最初用胡蘿卜做他們的“杰克燈籠”，但在19世紀(jì)40年代當(dāng)移民來(lái)到美國(guó)后，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)南瓜比胡蘿卜更多。孩子們真的玩得很開心――他們?cè)诳招暮}卜和大番薯上刻出駭人的鬼臉；然后他們把蠟燭放進(jìn)里面。以前萬(wàn)圣節(jié)期間小孩子喜歡把卷心菜和胡蘿卜向門上扔。他們還鬧著玩地在窗戶旁摔碎瓶子?？傊@是個(gè)充滿樂(lè)趣并且?guī)?lái)童年回憶的節(jié)日。