Nursery Rhyme: ‘Mary Mary’ 儿歌《玛丽小姐真倔强》

David

　　BBC Learning English – 5 Minute Programmes 5 分钟节目
　　Nursery Rhyme: ‘Mary Mary’ 儿歌《玛丽小姐真倔强》
　

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Nursery Rhyme: ‘Mary Mary’ 儿歌《玛丽小姐真倔强》
Insert
Children singing: Mary Mary quite contrary, how does your garden grow? With
silver bells and cockle shells and pretty maids all in a row.
Andrea: Mary Mary Quite Contrary.
Jean: How does your garden grow?
Andrea: Yes, it’s a well-known English nursery rhyme. Would you say you’re
quite contrary, Jean?
Jean: Quite contrary? 非常执拗和乖张， Andrea 我可不是这样的性格吧？
Andrea: Hello and welcome to BBC Learning English. I’m Andrea Rose.
Jean: 大家好，我是董征。
Andrea: You might have guessed by now that we’re finding out about a famous
British nursery rhyme in today’s programme.
Jean: 英国的很多人都是从小唱着这个歌谣长大的，不过我们其实都不知道这首歌讲述的
是个什么故事。
Andrea: Morag Styles has been studying the meaning behind popular nursery
rhymes.
Jean: 据Morag 说，很多在英国广为流传的儿童歌谣其实背后的内容和典故是非常成人
化的，让我们听听她所做的介绍。
Insert
Mary would appear to be Mary Queen of Scots with her gay French background
and her Popish inclinations. And of course the pretty maids would be the four
ladies who were her ladies-in-waiting. And perhaps the cockle shells were the
decorations on a dress given to her by the Dauphin.
2
Jean: Morag 说这首歌谣中提到的Mary 应该就是指在1542 年和1567 年间统治过苏
格兰的玛丽女王。
Andrea: “With silver bells and cockle shells…” I wonder what cockle shells are
Jean?
Jean: Well, cockle shells 是一种海洋中像牡蛎一样的贝壳动物的壳。Morag 她说歌
谣中所说的银铃和贝壳铃很可能是当时法国皇家馈赠给玛丽女王礼裙上的装饰品。
Andrea: “And pretty maids all in a row”. Morag talks about Mary’s ladies-inwaiting.
Jean: Ladies-in-waiting 就是王后或者公主的女侍臣。
Insert
I think it’s a bit like Mary is showing off about her garden a bit.
The garden sounds really pretty and like she’s really rich and clever and sparkly.
Andrea: Those children are very perceptive.
Jean: Perceptive 有洞察力的。说这些孩子很有洞察力，因为他们能从这首歌谣中理解
到玛丽女王当时是相当极尽奢华的。
Andrea: She likes showing off.
Jean: Showing off 炫耀、显示。Do you like to show off Andrea?
Andrea: Sometimes. Only if it’s something I’m really good at.
Jean: I wouldn’t show off if I were you!
Andrea: Thanks Jean!
Jean: 不如让咱们再来听听Chris Roberts 给我们介绍的这首儿歌的历史吧。
Insert
There is a golden age of nursery rhymes in a sense from the reign of about Henry
the Eighth. So you’re talking early 16th century. Mary, Mary Quite Contrary in its
current form only dates back to the 18th century so it’s clearly written a long time
after Mary Queen of Scots existed.
Jean: Chris 说很多流传至今的英国童谣都是在16 世纪初叶， 就是英国国王亨利八世的
统治时期民间谱写的。他说那一段时期是英国幼儿园的黄金时代a golden age.
Andrea: So most of the rhymes were written in the 1500s. But this rhyme,
Mary, Mary Quite Contrary, only dates back to the 18th century,
according to Chris.
3
Jean: 看来《玛丽小姐真倔强》这首歌谣是在18 世纪的时候写的，也就是说，离真正玛
丽女王统治苏格兰的时期已经过了很久了。所以Chris 并不同意Morag 对歌谣所
作的诠释。
Andrea: So who was Mary?
Jean: 看来我们有可能永远不会知道了。
Insert
People are always trying to work out the derivation of nursery rhymes and there’s
no hope of ever identifying the true source of more than about a handful of
nursery rhymes.
Andrea: Morag says that it’s very difficult to work out the derivation of nursery
rhymes.
Jean: Derivation 出处、由来。很多人都想知道歌谣的由来，不过很多时候这是相当困
难的。
Andrea: In fact, she says there’s no hope of ever identifying or working out the
true source, the true background of why they were written.
Jean: 有可能它讲的就是苏格兰的玛丽女王呢。
Andrea: Maybe it was Mary had a little lamb: “Its fleece was white as snow.
And everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go”.
Jean: Don’t be silly, Andrea. 这个歌谣里的玛丽和那个歌谣里的玛丽怎么可能是一个
人呢！
Andrea: And I wonder what the story is behind that one.
Jean: 那你可又要进行一番深入的探寻了。
Andrea: And on that note, it’s goodbye from both of us at BBC Learning
English. Bye.
Jean: Bye!
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