新概念英語：關于情人節(jié)你不知道的十件事

Love it or hate it, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Whether you’re steadfastly single or joyfully coupled up, chances are you have a thing or two to learn about love. Read on for surprising stats and unexpected info about the holiday.

你愛或是不愛，情人節(jié)就在那里。不管你是堅定的單身主義者，還是處于甜蜜戀愛中，關于愛情，你都可能有一兩件事要學習。看看關于情人節(jié)，有哪些讓人吃驚的統(tǒng)計數(shù)據(jù)和意想不到的事情吧。

1. VALENTINE’S DAY STARTED WITH THE ROMANS.

1. 情人節(jié)起源于古羅馬

There are two theories about the origin of Valentine’s Day. The first is that the day derives from Lupercalia, a Roman festival on February 15 where men stripped naked and spanked young maidens in hopes of upping their fertility. The second theory is that while the Roman Emperor Claudius II was trying to bolster his army, he forbade young men to marry (apparently single men make better soldiers). In the spirit of love, St. Valentine defied the ban and performed secret marriages. For his disobedience, Valentine was executed on February 14.

關于情人節(jié)的起源有兩種說法。第一種說法是情人節(jié)起源于古羅馬的牧神節(jié)，牧神節(jié)在每年的2月15日。這一天，年輕的女子要赤身露體，男人要抽打她們，認為這有利于她們生育。第二種說法則是羅馬皇帝克勞狄一世為了征召更多士兵，禁止年輕男子結婚(顯然單身男子能夠成為更好的士兵)。瓦倫丁神父卻本著愛的精神，違抗禁令，秘密替人主持婚禮，后來他因此被處死，死期便是2月14日。

2. IT’S NOT THE MOST POPULAR HOLIDAY FOR GREETING CARDS.

2. 情人節(jié)不是贈送賀卡最多的節(jié)日

According to the Greeting Card Association, 190 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged annually, making Valentine’s Day the second most popular greeting card–giving occasion, after Christmas.

美國賀卡協(xié)會稱，每年交換的情人節(jié)賀卡達1.9億張，這使得情人節(jié)成為第二大贈送賀卡最多的節(jié)日，位列圣誕節(jié)之后。

3. SINGLE LADIES HAVE A GOOD SHOT AT FINDING A DATE.

3. 這是單身女子結識約會對象的好機會

There are 119 single men—never married, widowed or divorced—in their 20s for every 100 single women of the same age.

對于每100個20多歲的單身女性，都有119個同齡的單身男性——從未結過婚的，喪偶的，或者是離婚的。

4. TRUE LOVE IS APPARENTLY NOT THAT HARD TO FIND.

4. 顯然，找到真愛沒那么難

Over two million marriages take place in the United States every year. That means there are more than 6,000 a day!

美國每年有200多萬對夫妻結婚，也就是說每天有6000多對!

5. HUSBANDS AND BOYFRIENDS LIKE TO GIVE BOUQUETS.

5. 丈夫和男朋友都喜歡送花

Men account for 73 percent of Valentine’s Day flower sales.

男士們對情人節(jié)鮮花銷售量的貢獻占到了73%。

6. ROSES ARE THE FLOWERS OF LOVE.

6. 玫瑰是愛情之花

The favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love? The red rose, of course. The bud stands for strong romantic feelings, so it’s no surprise they make up the most popular Valentine’s Day bouquets.

古羅馬愛神維納斯最愛什么花?當然是紅玫瑰了。玫瑰代表著浪漫情懷，因此成為情人節(jié)最受歡迎的花也就不足為奇了。

7. "WEARING YOUR HEART ON YOUR SLEEVE" IS MORE THAN JUST A PHRASE.

7. “表露心跡”可不僅僅是個習語

In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names to see who their Valentine would be. They would wear the name pinned to their sleeve for one week.

中世紀時，年輕男女通過抽取名字來決定自己的情人是誰。一周時間里，男子衣袖上會繡上女子的名字。

8. MONEY CAN BUY LOVE.

8. 金錢能買來愛情

The average U.S. consumer spent around $102 on Valentine’s Day gifts, meals and entertainment in 2009, according to an annual U.S. National Retail Federation survey. Roughly 92 percent of married Americans with children will spend most of that money (about $67) on their spouse; the rest goes to Valentine’s Day gifts for kids, friends, coworkers and even pets.

美國零售業(yè)聯(lián)合會的一項年度調(diào)查顯示，2009年，每位消費者在情人節(jié)禮物、用餐以及娛樂項目上平均花費102美元左右。已婚且有子女的美國人中，約有92%的人在他們配偶身上花錢最多(約為67美元);其余便是花費在給孩子、朋友、同事、甚至是寵物的情人節(jié)禮物上。

9. AMERICANS HAVE A SERIOUS SWEET TOOTH.

9. 美國人真的特別愛吃甜食

According to the National Confectioners Association, about eight billion candy hearts were made in 2009.

美國糖果協(xié)會稱，2009年，大約生產(chǎn)了80億顆心形糖果。

10. THE CHOCOLATE BOX HAS BEEN AROUND FOR MORE THAN 140 YEARS.

10. 情人節(jié)送盒裝巧克力有140多年的歷史了

The first Valentine’s Day box of chocolates was introduced by Richard Cadbury in 1868.

第一盒情人節(jié)巧克力于1868年出自理查德·吉百利之手。