《经济学人》双语：英国人为什么喜欢农业展会？

原文标题：
Fun of the fair
Gaining moomentum
Britons’ growing love for agricultural shows
展会的乐趣
势头强劲
英国人对农业展会的热爱与日俱增

Rural shows in Britain
Britons love country fairs. Why?
英国乡村展会
英国人为什么喜欢农业展会？

[Paragraph 1]
ANGUS NEISH dared to hope that his fine-looking cattle, bred at Rodmead Farm in Wiltshire, would nab a prize at the Royal Bath and West Show last month.
安格斯·尼什在威尔特郡的罗德米德农场养了一群牛，他希望这些牛群能够在上个月的皇家巴斯和西部农博会上获奖。

The annual fair, held near Shepton Mallet, in Somerset, is England’s oldest—and grandest.
这个每年一度的农博会在萨默塞特郡谢普顿马利特附近举行，是英格兰最古老、最盛大的展览会之一。

As well as a fiercely competitive livestock parade, it features Morris dancing, sheep-shearing and a vintage fairground. Its pony-chariot races are second to none.
除了竞争激烈的牲畜列队表演外，还有莫里斯舞蹈、剪羊毛和复古游乐场等活动。其中小马车比赛堪称一流。

Many contestants on a recent afternoon had first given generous custom at the nearby cider tent.
最近的一个下午，许多参赛选手的首要事情就是在附近的苹果酒帐篷大方消费。

They performed vigorously before a large crowd. Thanks in part to sunny weather, 100,000 turned out for some of the three-day show.
他们在众多观众面前卖力地表演。由于天气晴朗的缘故，有10万人参加了为期三天的展览会。

[Paragraph 2]
Britons love a fair. No one is sure exactly how many shows there are across the country, but at least 400 days of such rural events happen annually.
英国人喜欢展览会。尽管没有确切的数据显示全国有多少场这样的乡村活动，但每年至少有400场这样的展览会。

A parliamentary briefing in 2022 suggested roughly one in ten Britons attend them each year. It appears their popularity is rising.
2022 年的一次议会简报显示，每年大约有1/10的英国人参加这些活动。农博会的受欢迎程度似乎还在上升。

[Paragraph 3]
In late June it was the turn of the Royal Highland Show, near Edinburgh, where 217,000 people—surpassing a record set in 2019—rolled up.
6月底，爱丁堡市郊举行了皇家高地展览会，有21.7万人参加，超过了2019年创下的纪录。

Such visitors have a noticeable impact on the local economy. By one estimate the event last year boosted nearby businesses by almost £40m ($51m).
参加活动的游客对当地经济产生了显著影响。据估计，去年这场展览会为附近的企业带来了近 4000 万英镑（5100 万美元）的增长。

[Paragraph 4]
Why do people go? Nostalgia is evidently a draw.
人们为什么要去参加呢？怀旧显然是一个重要的原因。

At Bath and West, as bunting flapped, visitors formed queues, bought cream teas and listened as a military band played wartime hits.
在巴斯和西部展览会上，彩旗飘扬，游客们排起长队购买奶油茶点，聆听军乐队演奏战时热门歌曲。

Rural shows also have a purpose, even beyond sending visitors into cider or whisky tents.
农博会也有目标，不仅仅是为了吸引游客到苹果酒或威士忌帐篷消费。

Many fairs were founded in the 18th or 19th century to spread knowledge of new farming technology among rural populations. Some of that mission lives on.
许多农博始于18或19世纪，目的是向村民传播新的农业技术知识。其中部分使命仍然存在。

For the likes of Mr Neish, the 600 trade stalls offered at least as much interest as any Morris dancing.
对于尼什等农场主来说，600 个贸易摊位与莫里斯舞蹈一样有趣。

[Paragraph 5]
A secondary goal is to better educate those who venture in from towns and cities—urban folk make up a decent share of those who pack the grounds.
第二个目的是更好地教育城市居民——他们在展会中占据了相当大的比例。

Some consumers also come armed with formidable knowledge of food supply chains—as well as sometimes fussy personal preferences for organic, local, animal-friendly, vegan, fair-trade and environmentally sound products.
一些消费者还拥有丰富的食品供应链知识--有时他们对有机、本地、动物友好型、纯素食、公平贸易和环保产品的眼光很挑剔。

Laura Williams, of the Royal Welsh Show, notes that visitors are “much more invested in farming and interested in where their food comes from” than in years past.
威尔士皇家展览会的劳拉·威廉姆斯指出，与过去几年相比，访客们“对农业投入更多，对食物的来源更感兴趣”。

[Paragraph 6]
A last purpose, naturally, is for farmers to excel against their rivals in friendly competition.
最后一个目的自然是让农场主在友好竞争中获胜。

In this respect Mr Neish enjoyed an udderly successful day. In a first for Bath and West, his cattle scooped all four of the top prizes on offer in their categories.
从这方面来说，尼什在展览会上取得了极大的成功。在巴斯和西部展览会上，他的牛群在所有比赛项目中赢得4个特等奖，这种情况在展会历史上是首次。

Such victories do not bring immediate, large financial rewards, but should boost the reputation of his breeding programme.
这次胜利不一定会带来立竿见影的巨额经济回报，但一定会提高他养殖计划的声誉。

“It’s a great way for me to advertise,” he says, grinning.
他笑着说：“这是我宣传推广的好机会。”

（恭喜读完，本篇英语词汇量470左右）
原文出自：2023年7月8日《The Economist》Britain版块

精读笔记来源于：自由英语之路

本文翻译整理: Irene本文编辑校对: Irene
仅供个人英语学习交流使用。

【补充资料】（来自于网络）
皇家巴斯和西部农业展览会（Royal Bath and West Show）是英国最大的乡村展览会之一，每年在英国英格兰的索默塞特郡举办。这个展览会成立于1852年，至今已有160多年的历史。旨在展示和庆祝英国乡村生活、农业和食品产业。它吸引了来自全国各地的参展商和观众，包括农民、农业企业、家庭和更广泛的社区。展览会通常持续三天，在这期间，参观者可以参观各种展览，包括农业机械、农产品、畜牧展示、花卉和园艺展示，以及手工艺品和食品展示。此外，还会有各种体育比赛、游乐设施和娱乐活动，如音乐会、马术表演等，为参观者提供了丰富多样的娱乐和娱乐活动。

皇家高地展览会（Royal Highland Show）是英国最大的农业展览会，也是苏格兰最重要的农业盛事之一。每年在苏格兰首府爱丁堡市郊举办，展览会的历史可以追溯到1822年。展览会是一个为期四天的盛会，吸引了来自全国各地的参展商和观众。

莫里斯舞蹈（Morris dancing）是英国的一种传统舞蹈形式，起源可以追溯到15世纪。这种舞蹈通常在庆祝活动、节日和婚礼等特殊场合中表演，具有浓厚的乡村特色。通常由一群男子或女子组成，他们穿着华丽的装饰、鲜艳的服装和特色的帽子。舞者们手持铃铛、长棍或手帕，在音乐的伴奏下跳跃、旋转和击打地面，展示出独特的节奏和动作。有些舞蹈呈现出战斗和追逐的场景，有些则展示了农业劳动和庆祝丰收的情景。舞者们通常会演奏传统的英国民间音乐，如小提琴、手风琴和钢琴等。每年夏季，许多莫里斯舞团会举行巡回表演，参加各种节日和活动，给人们带来欢乐和娱乐。莫里斯舞蹈不仅是一种传统文化的体现，也是英国乡村社区的重要组成部分。

【重点句子】（3个）
As well as a fiercely competitive livestock parade, it features Morris dancing, sheep-shearing and a vintage fairground. Its pony-chariot races are second to none.
除了竞争激烈的牲畜列队表演外，还有莫里斯舞蹈、剪羊毛和复古游乐场等活动。其中小马车比赛堪称一流。

Such visitors have a noticeable impact on the local economy. By one estimate the event last year boosted nearby businesses by almost £40m ($51m).
参加活动的游客对当地经济产生了显著影响。据估计，去年这场展览会为附近的企业带来了近 4000 万英镑（5100 万美元）的增长。

Many fairs were founded in the 18th or 19th century to spread knowledge of new farming technology among rural populations. Some of that mission lives on.
许多农博会始于18或19世纪，目的是向村民传播新的农业技术知识。其中部分使命仍然存在。