Haley: Do we really have to wear these ugly sweaters?
Claire: It's just until grandma can see them.
Luke: My neck hole is too small.
Alex: Mine's itchy.
Luke: You know what? I'd rather be itchy than choky.
choky ['tʃəuki]: 使人窒息的，闷得难受的
Claire: Come on, Phil. Hurry up.
Phil: Okay, here we go. Connecting. [muffled] Come in, Florida! Over! Mom? Dad?
come in: to arrive somewhere 到达
Phil's Dad: Hello, Phillip.
Phil: [chuckles]
All: Merry Christmas Eve!
1. 圣诞节是一个具有宗教色彩的节日，每年12月25日，基督教会都会举行特别的礼拜仪式，纪念其信仰的耶稣(Jesus)的
诞辰。《圣经》上实际并没有记载耶稣诞生的日期，圣诞节是后人公定的。据历史学家考证，圣诞节的确定是西元3世纪
中期的罗马。在欧美许多国家，人们非常重视这个节日，把它和新年( New Year)连在一起，而庆祝活动之热闹与隆重大
大超过了新年，成为一个全民的节日。
欢度圣诞从12月24日平安夜(Christmas Eve)就开始了。平安夜必不可少的庆祝活动就是聚会，大多数欧美的家庭成员团
聚在家中，共进丰盛的晚餐，围绕在圣诞树旁唱圣诞歌曲，互相交换礼物，彼此分享一年来生活中的喜怒哀乐，表达内
心的祝福和爱，并祈求来年的幸福。
Phil's Dad: Merry Christmas Eve!
Phil: A little-little lower, Dad.
low: 此处双关 (1) 低处的，靠下的；(2) 轻声的，低声的
Phil's Dad: [deeper voice] Merry Christmas Eve.
Claire: [chuckles] Thank you. Thanks for the sweaters!
Phil's Dad: [normal voice] Oh, you're welcome. You look beautiful in them, daring.
Phil: Where's Mom?
Phil's Dad: Mom is sinking fast.
sink: 此处双关 (1) to go down below the surface or towards the bottom of a liquid or soft substance 沉没，下沉；(2)
to decrease in strength (健康、体力等)衰弱，衰退 (sinking fast = getting weaker quickly and will soon die)
Phil: Uh-oh.
Claire: Oh.
Phil's Dad: She's in the bathtub.
Phil: [laughter] They have that claw foot.
claw foot: 爪足古典浴缸，浴缸底座有四只脚，流行于19世纪。
Claire: I know, yeah.
Phil: Hey, Pops, here's the tree. And, uh, there-there's the, uh, there's the ornament you sent us.
pops [pɑps]: used as a word for 'father', especially as a form of address (昵称)爸爸
2. 圣诞树(Christmas tree)是圣诞节不可缺少的标志，常用杉柏之类的常青树装饰而成。圣诞树用彩灯(Christmas lights)
点亮，树上挂满琳琅满目的装饰品(Christmas ornaments)。这些由玻璃、金属、陶瓷制成的小饰品，通常会每年重复使
用，有的还会被代代相传。常见的形象有：星星、天使、圣诞老人、彩球、玩具熊、雪人、雪花、花环、拐杖糖(candy
cane)、金属丝、缎带等。
Claire: Right here. Right here.
Phil's Dad: Oh.
Phil: There are the stockings, hung by the chimney by Claire.
hang: 此处双关 (1) 悬挂；(2) 绞死 (hung是hang的过去分词)
3. 圣诞老人(Santa Claus)是圣诞节活动中最受欢迎的人物，有关圣诞老人的传说在各个国家都各具特色，不同文化对
圣诞老人有不同的解释。有一种说法是，圣诞老人由圣尼古拉斯而来。尼古拉斯是4世纪米拉城的主教，他一生中做了
许多的慈善事业，总是喜欢在暗中帮助穷苦人民，死后被尊为圣徒。12世纪，欧洲出现了圣尼古拉斯的纪念日，荷兰
人在12月6日给孩子和穷人们赠送礼物。17世纪，荷兰殖民者将这一传统带到美国，并融入圣诞节日的庆祝里。荷兰
语的圣尼古拉斯(Sinterklaas)，传进英语就成为了Santa Claus。
据纽约历史记载，在1809年的报纸上，美国畅销书作家华盛顿·欧文描述了骑在马背上的尼古拉斯的到来。1823年，
诗人克莱门特·摩尔在他的诗歌《圣尼古拉斯的拜访》中，继续将圣诞老人的形象戏剧化，描述成我们今日熟悉的着红
装、留白胡子的快乐老精灵。19世纪60年代，卡通制作者托马斯·纳什画了一幅胖胖的、慈祥的圣诞老人插图，这个
圣诞老人的形象开始深深地扎根于美国人民的脑海中。随着时间的推移，圣诞老人的形象传回欧洲，传到南美洲，传
遍世界各地。
在美国人的故事中，圣诞老人和他的助手魔法小精灵们(elves)以及会飞的驯鹿居住在北极。随着1934年的一首歌曲
《圣诞老人进城来》的流行，人们又开始传说，圣诞老人会在圣诞前夜乘着雪橇到来。他从烟囱(chimney)爬进屋内，
给表现良好的(nice)孩子在长袜(stockings)里留下礼物，给淘气的(naughty)孩子留下煤块以示惩罚。
Phil's Dad: Oh, still funny, son. [laughter]
Claire: What the hell is that?
Phil's Dad: Still funny.
Claire: What is that? That looks like a cigarette burn. Was one of you smoking a cigarette?
Phil's Dad: What?
Haley, Alex and Luke: No.
Claire: Which one of you was smoking?
Phil: Not me. I have a respiratory problem.
respiratory [ˈrɛspərəˌtɔri]: connected with breathing 呼吸(器官)的；影响呼吸(器官)
Claire: Obviously, it wasn't you. Now I've got a family of liars and smokers.
Phil's Dad: Honey, come here. You gotta see this.
Claire: Did you shoplift your Christmas presents, too?
4. 在圣诞节赠送礼物(presents or gifts)的传统，也有很多传说。有种说法是，耶稣出生时，有一颗新星在空中闪烁，
三位智者随着那颗星来到了耶稣的面前，他们给婴儿献上了特殊的礼物。在圣经福音书中描述，"On coming to the
house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened
their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh."
Phil's Dad: Philip?
Claire: Haley, keep that ugly sweater on.
Phil: Anyway… Merry Christmas!
[television plays]
Doris: No, no, it isn't that kind of a trial. It's just because he says he's Santa Claus.
Susan: But I've got a feeling he is Santa Claus, mother.
Doris: Some people don't believe that. That's why–
Manny: Are you crying?
Jay: What are you, a robot? It's a deeply emotional movie.
Gloria: Manny, mi amor, I need you to help me in the kitchen.
Jay: We gotta finish this first, Gloria. The kid's never seen "Miracle on 34th Street."
5. 《34街的奇迹》(Miracle on 34th Street)是著名的圣诞电影，1947年在美国上映，获得了三项奥斯卡奖。桃瑞丝
(Doris)是个女强人妈妈，因为婚姻失败，她不再相信那些存在于精神世界里的美好东西。同时，她也教导自己的孩
子苏珊(Susan)不再有信仰。桃瑞丝雇佣了克里斯扮演圣诞老人参加感恩节游行，谁知活动结束之后，克里斯坚称
自己就是真的圣诞老人。在商业斗争下，克里斯遭到了陷害，最后闹上法庭。在一场令法官也为难的听证会中，
奇迹出现了……
Gloria: That's because he always spends Christmas in Colombia with my family. And all we see there is
"Salazar and El Oso Save Christmas."
Jay: Sounds like a classic.
Gloria: It is.
Manny: Mom, can we finish the movie?
Gloria: Okay.
[television plays]
Susan: He's not like anyone else. He must be Santa.
Doris: I think perhaps you're right, Susie.
Susie ['su:zi]: 苏茜(女子名)(Susan的昵称)
Jay: Oh! What the hell is that? What the hell is that?
Manny: [laughs] Inocente!
6. 据《新约》故事记载，当希律王知道有个新王诞生时，就下令将伯利恒及周围的所有婴儿都杀死。耶稣圣婴侥幸逃过
此劫，却有千万个婴儿因此受难。西班牙的天主教会为了纪念这些被杀害的无辜孩子，就把12月28日命名为"纯真圣人
节"(Día de los Santos Inocentes)。后来，这个日子演变成了朋友家人间互相捉弄对方的日子。一个经典的恶作剧
(practical joke)，就是往别人的后背贴白色的纸人。当有人上当的时候，恶作剧者就会大喊"Inocente!"。
Jay: What the hell?
Manny: When you told me we were going to watch this movie, I got a joke copy from the internet. You are
the inocente!
Jay: Well, maybe I'm a little confused right now. What is this "inocente" stuff?
Gloria: In Colombia, practical jokes are a Christmas tradition. The one that is fooled is the inocente!
Jay: We tell practical jokes on April Fool's Day. So do not do that again. [laughs] Inocente. Does it do it
again? Ah, it's ruined.
April Fool's Day: 1 April, the day when people in many countries play tricks or jokes on each other. The victim of the
joke is called the April Fool. A typical trick is to make somebody believe something that is not true, e.g. that the
clocks have changed and everything is an hour later, or that the government has announced an election.
Newspapers, television and radio stations often join in with imaginary news stories. 愚人节(4月1日，按西方习俗在此
节日可对别人耍恶作剧、开玩笑)
Mitchell: Are you kidding me with this line? I'm gonna ask Santa for the last 45 minutes of my life back.
Cameron: Oh, would you cheer up? We're in Santa's Village with our daughter. Where were we a year
ago?
7. 对于商家来说，圣诞节是个盛大的促销节，七成的收入来自圣诞购物。纽约市最老牌的高档百货公司梅西百货，在
1867年首次开业到平安夜。1874年，梅西开始设置圣诞主题橱窗。为了吸引顾客，不少商场和商店设立圣诞老人村
(Santa's Village)。很多人会带着小孩子来，坐在圣诞老人的腿上(lap)合影留念。
Mitchell: Uh, we were at the beginning of this line.
Cameron: Okay, you know what? Somebody needs to get in the holiday– Son of a bitch.
[carolers' song plays]
caroler ['kærələ]: 唱(圣诞)颂歌的人
Mitchell: Maybe it's not them.
Cameron: Oh, it's them. It's them.
Cameron: Three years ago, I formed a caroling group. We were known as the Greensleevers. We would
perform at charity events, hospitals.
8. 圣诞季来临，无论走到哪里，都能听到曲调不同、内容各异的圣诞歌曲。12月24日晚至25日晨，教会还会组织一些
圣诗班(或由信徒自发组成)挨门挨户地在门口或窗下唱圣诞颂歌(Christmas Carols)，叫作“报佳音”，意思是再现当年天
使向伯利恒郊外的牧羊人报告耶稣降生的喜讯。这项活动往往要进行到天亮，人数越来越多，歌声越来越大，大街小巷
尽是歌声。
Mitchell: They were very, very popular.
Cameron: Uh, last year, one of my carolers-- Andrew– staged a little coup. And he, um…
stage something: to organize and take part in action that needs careful planning, especially as a public protest 组
织；策划；举行
coup [ku]: a sudden change of government that is illegal and often violent 政变
Mitchell: They kicked Cameron out of the group.
kick somebody out (of something): to make somebody leave or go away (from somewhere) 开除；撵走
[carolers' song plays] [applause]
Andrew: Thank you. We're the New Greensleevers.
Cameron: The New Greensleevers? Is there a slap mark on my face? I mean, why is Edna singing the
low harmony? It's like people are applauding out of shock.
a slap in the face: an action that seems to be intended as a deliberate insult to somebody 一记耳光；侮辱
harmony [ˈhɑrməni]: the way in which different notes that are played or sung together 和声
Mitchell: Let it go.
Cameron: Why would–
Head Elf: Okay, next.
Mitchell: Ah, finally. Whoa! [chuckles] Um, I'm sorry. Can I-- Could-could you… What happened to the other
Santa? Listen, we've been waiting in this line for a really long time, and we just want a Santa that actually
looks like Santa.
Cameron: Mitchell, it's okay.
Mitchell: No, no, no. Cam, it's not okay. This is Lily's first Christmas. I want to make sure everything is
perfect. And we're gonna wait for the fat Santa, all right?
Head Elf: I knew this would happen. I-I don't even know why we hired this guy.
Mitchell: See? Even his elves agree with me. Thank you.
Cameron: I didn't know Christmas made you so petty.
[carolers' song plays]
Cameron: [coughs] Lackluster! [coughs] I hate you!
lackluster [ˈlækˌlʌstər]: not interesting or exciting; dull 平凡的，暗淡的，缺乏生气的
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