◎  选编 / Lucky  译 / 张曦

本文摘自《新东方英语》（2010年4月号）

    有人说，澳大利亚是一个如此年轻的移民国家，根本就没有共通的文化。然而，正是这来自一百七十多个国家和地区的移民造就了澳大利亚文化的多元性和全球性。这个独具风情的“南方大陆”从来不乏多彩的文化符号：笨拙可爱的拳击袋鼠、迎风招展的金合欢花、变幻莫测的乌鲁卢岩、独具匠心的悉尼歌剧院……

Australia is a land of symbols. From the curious, the folkloric, the official, the ancient, the inspiring, the commercial, the lovable, even the feared, these symbols make the abstract concept of the nation tangible and give us an identity by representing Australia to itself and the world.

      澳大利亚是一个充满象征符号的国度。这些符号来源丰富，有奇闻趣事、民间传说、官方文件、古代文献、励志故事以及商业广告，产生这些符号的轶事有的讨人喜爱，有的则直让人觉得恐怖，而正是这些符号将“澳大利亚”这一抽象的国家概念具体化为让人仿佛触手可及的生动形象。澳大利亚人也由此获得了让澳大利亚乃至全世界认同的独一无二的民族特性。

The Boxing Kangaroo

    The Boxing Kangaroo has long been accepted as a symbol of Australia. The design is attributed, by official RAAF history, to Warrant Officer Gus Bluett and is based on recorded, including film archives, 19th century travelling side-show entertainment, when the sport of boxing contests between men and kangeroos were a reality.

    It was in 1941 during World War II that the design first found national acceptance when RAAF pilots based in Singapore, forming 21 Squadron, had a stencilled boxing kangaroo painted on the side of their Wirraway fighter planes, by aircraftman David Marfleet, to identify themselves to the Japanese as Australian and not British.

    The Boxing Kangaroo flag became famous to younger Australians when Australia II won the America’s Cup in yachting in 1983. The Boxing Kangaroo was used by the owner of the team, Alan Bond, as the flag on the yacht entering and leaving harbor. The AOC purchased the rights to the Boxing Kangaroo for the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000, for 13 million dollars, and was popular with pin traders.

拳击袋鼠

      拳击袋鼠历来被认为是澳大利亚的标志。根据澳大利亚皇家空军的官方史料记载，拳击袋鼠由准尉格斯·布鲁特根据19世纪杂耍表演的史料记录(其中包括一些影像记录)设计而成，当时人和袋鼠之间的拳击比赛作为一种娱乐运动的确存在。 

    拳击袋鼠这一形象设计首次获得全国性的认可是在1941年二战期间，当时组成第21飞行中队的皇家澳大利亚飞行员驻扎在新加坡，空军士兵戴维·马福利特将一幅蜡印的拳击袋鼠图片贴在维拉威战斗机的机翼上，以此向日军表明自己是澳军，而非英军。 

    1983年，“澳大利亚二号”帆船在“美洲杯”帆船赛中一举夺冠，帆船队队长艾伦·邦德在帆船入港和离港时挥舞着画有拳击袋鼠的旗帜，使得拳击袋鼠旗在澳大利亚年轻人中风行一时。澳大利亚奥委会以1,300万的价格为2000年悉尼奥运会买下了拳击袋鼠标志的使用权，该标志在奥运纪念章交换活动中颇受欢迎。

The Golden Wattle

    Australia’s National Floral Emblem is the golden wattle. It has been used in the design of Australian stamps and many awards in their honours system.

    The golden wattle is an evergreen, spreading shrub. It grows in the under storey of open forest, woodland and in open scrub. When in flower, the golden wattle displays the national colours, green and gold.

    As one species of a large genus of flora growing across Australia, the golden wattle is a symbol of unity. Wattle is purpose-built to withstand the country’s droughts, winds and bushfires. The resilience of wattle represents the spirit of the Australian people.

    In recent times, the golden wattle has been used as a symbol of remembrance and reflection. On national days of mourning, for example, Australians are invited to wear a sprig of wattle.

    The first day of September is National Wattle Day. It builds on a long unofficial tradition of wearing the wattle blossom on 1 September. The day was introduced in 1913 by an association called the Wattle Day League and formally recognised on 23 June 1992.

金合欢花

    澳大利亚的国花是金合欢花。澳大利亚的邮票及许多奖杯奖章的设计中都用到了这一标志。

    金合欢是一种分布广泛的常青灌木，生长于疏林和丛林的底部以及灌木丛中。金合欢花盛开之时，展现的正是澳大利亚的国家色彩：绿色和金色。 

    金合欢是澳大利亚分布极广的一种花卉，它也因此成为澳大利亚统一的标志。人们种植金合欢，为的是用它来抵挡干旱、风沙和丛林大火。金合欢适应性强，富有活力，这也正是澳大利亚人国民精神的体现。 

    近年来，人们常用金合欢来表达缅怀和纪念之情。比如，在全国性的祭扫日里，澳大利亚人就会佩戴金合欢树枝。

    9月1日是澳大利亚的国家金合欢日。澳大利亚民间历来就有在9月1日佩戴金合欢花的传统，金合欢日便是由此而来。1913年，一个名为“金合欢日联盟”的组织提出设立金合欢日，这一提法于1992年6月23日正式获得认可。

The Sydney Opera House

    The Opera House symbolizes both Sydney and Australia. Despite being a popular symbol, it has never been clear as to what it actually symbolises. It certainly doesn’t symbolise that Australians love opera because the vast majority do not. The late billionaire Kerry Packer articulated how many Australians feel about opera when he said, “The ultimate purgatory for me would be to go to the Opera House and hear Joan Sutherland sing.”

    Despite not liking opera, Australians probably like the Opera House because it seems to represent a water and beach culture. The Opera House’s design looks a bit like shells on a beach or sails on the water.

悉尼歌剧院

    悉尼歌剧院既是悉尼的标志，也是澳大利亚的标志。虽然悉尼歌剧院是一个广受欢迎的象征性标志，但它到底象征什么却从来没人弄清楚过。它肯定不代表澳大利亚人喜爱歌剧，因为实际上大多数澳大利亚人都不爱看歌剧。已故的亿万富翁凯利·帕克曾说：“什么是地狱呢，对于我来说，那就是到歌剧院听琼·苏萨兰特唱上一曲。”这句话明白无误地表达出了澳大利亚人对歌剧的看法。

    虽然澳大利亚人不喜爱歌剧，却钟爱悉尼歌剧院，原因大概在于歌剧院的造型反映了澳大利亚的海洋和沙滩文化。悉尼歌剧院的设计造型看上去有些像沙滩上的一枚贝壳，或者说像海面上的一叶风帆。

Uluru

    Also known as the Ayers Rock, resting in the middle of the Australian continent lies the imposing monolithic sandstone structure of the Uluru. Standing at a height of more than one thousand feet from the desert ground, the monument was named by Anangu, the Aboriginal people who live on the land around it and who are its traditional owners. Uluru is a dramatic symbol of Australia’s ancient Aboriginal heritage and its unique landscape.

    Consisting of mineral rich sandstone, Uluru measures 2.4km long and 1.6km wide, and is one of earth’s great natural wonders. A mesmerizing feature of this monolithic structure is that as each day passes, the rock changes color depending on the light and atmospheric conditions, and never remains the exact same permanent shade. When it is wet, it is purple or black and on sunny days it appears red or orange. 

乌卢鲁岩

    乌卢鲁岩又称艾尔斯岩，位于澳大利亚大陆中部，是一块瑰丽壮观、自成一体的巨大砂岩。该岩石高达一千多英尺，傲然矗立在澳大利亚干燥的沙漠中。居住在附近的土著人——阿纳古人称之为乌卢鲁岩(编者注：Uluru是当地土著语，意为“有水洞的地方”)，他们也是历史上该岩石的拥有者。乌卢鲁岩是一个宏伟的象征性标志，它象征着澳大利亚远古土著人的文化遗产，也象征着澳大利亚独特的自然景观。

    乌卢鲁岩是富含矿物质的砂岩，长2.4公里，宽1.6公里，是世界上最伟大的自然奇观之一。这一独块巨石的一个神秘之处在于其变化多端的色彩。每一天日升日落，其色彩都会随着光线和气象的不同而变幻万千，即使是同一个颜色也会深浅不同，从来不会停留在某一色度保持不变。天气潮湿时，岩石会呈现紫色或黑色；天气晴朗时，岩石则呈现红色或橘色。

Boomerang

    Boomerangs have played an important role in Aboriginal culture as objects of work and leisure. With European contact they became items for acquisition and display and, later in the 19th century, souvenirs for a tourist market.

    The boomerang’s popularity as a souvenir helped transform it into a national symbol and it has branded a range of products—from brandy, to butter, cigarette papers and flour—as distinctly Australian.

    The boomerang’s ability to return has made it a favourite symbol for the tourism and transport industries. Australian military emblems have featured the boomerang, as have gifts and memorabilia associated with visiting royals and other celebrities. Both uses express the wish that the recipient or wearer might return “like the boomerang”.

回旋镖

    回旋镖在澳大利亚土著文化中起着重要作用，既是谋生工具，又是休闲设备。欧洲人接触到回旋镖后，将其收购并用于展览，19世纪后期，回旋镖作为旅游纪念品在市场上广为流传。

    由于成为炙手可热的纪念品，回旋镖摇身一变成为澳大利亚的国家标志，并相继出现在一系列产品的商标上，包括白兰地、黄油、香烟壳和面粉，从而成为澳大利亚特色产品的标志。

    回旋镖飞去又能飞回，这一特点使它成为旅游业和交通业钟爱的行业标志。澳大利亚军队的徽章就是以回旋镖为标志，皇室成员或其他名人来访的各式礼品和纪念品中也有回旋镖。无论哪种情况，这一标志都表达了同一个心愿——希望接受者或者佩戴者 “像回旋镖一样”离去后还能重归来。

Simpson and His Donkey

    Twenty-two years old, English-born and a trade union activist, John Simpson Kirkpatrick was an unlikely figure to become a national hero. Having deserted from the merchant navy in 1910, he tramped around Australia and worked in a variety of jobs. He enlisted in the AIF, expecting this would give him the chance to get back to England; instead, Private Simpson found himself at ANZAC Cove on 25 April 1915, and was killed less than four weeks later.

    Simpson would not have made a good peacetime soldier, and he was recklessly independent in war. Instructed to recover and help the wounded he undertook this work enthusiastically. Famously, he used a small donkey to carry men down from the front line, often exposing himself to fire. The bravery of this “man with the donkey” soon became the most prominent symbol of Australian courage.

辛普森和他的驴子

    约翰·辛普森·夸克帕特里克年仅22岁，出生于英国，是倡导工会运动的激进分子，这样的人似乎不大可能成为民族英雄式的人物。1910年，辛普森离开英国商船队，来到了澳大利亚，他在澳大利亚四处流浪，做过许多工作。后来他加入澳大利亚皇家空军，希望能借此获得回英国的机会。然而，1915年4月25日，身为列兵的辛普森被派遣到土耳其的澳新军团湾作战，不到一个月，他就战死在异乡。

    在和平时期，辛普森不会是个优秀的士兵；而在战争时期，他不计后果地一个人独立完成任务。战争中他受命寻找和帮助受伤的士兵，他满怀热情地承担起这一任务。辛普森的英勇事迹尽人皆知：他牵着一头小毛驴把伤员从前线上抢运下来，却常因此将自己暴露在敌人的枪林弹雨中。这个英勇非凡的“牵驴男人”很快成为体现澳大利亚人勇往直前、决不退缩精神的最显著的标志。

The Informal Cartoon Character

    A very common depiction of the Australian man is an informal looking cartoon character with a smile. Often the character is adorned with Australian inventions such as a cork hat or a stubby holder. The depiction is often seen on souvenir T-shirts, stubby holders and internet sites.

    Although the image makes some Australians cringe, it probably represents Australian male culture better than any other symbol. As much as it pains some Australians to admit, Australian men have an informal, inventive, laid back and self-depreciating culture that puts lifestyle above show. They are not exponents of high fashion, refinement, and elegance. While there are some Australians that want the men to be fashionable, refined and elegant, at present, most Australians do not. Things may change in the future, but until they do, the cartoon character is really quite a good representation of the Australian male’s approach to life.

通俗漫画人物

    提起澳大利亚男人，最常见的形象就是一个衣着随意、面带微笑的漫画人物。他的身上常会有些澳大利亚本土的装饰，比如戴个软木垂饰的帽子或是握个杯套。这幅漫画在纪念T恤、杯套和网页上经常出现。

    虽然漫画上的形象会让一些澳大利亚人感到难堪，但它或许比其他任何标志都更能代表澳大利亚男人的特点。虽然一些澳大利亚人对此极不愿意承认，但澳大利亚男人的确总是轻松随意而又充满创意，置身世外而又善于自我贬低，他们注重生活方式，不爱炫耀攀比。他们不是时尚、优雅和高贵的化身。虽然有些澳大利亚人希望澳大利亚男人们能够时尚入潮、彬彬有礼、谈吐不俗，但就目前来看，大多数还不能归入这一类。也许未来情况会发生改观，但在改变之前，这个漫画人物的确是澳大利亚男人生活方式的最佳写照。