特别广播英语第 219 课：Munich: The Festival City 欢庆之城──慕尼黑-1

How would you like to sip a glass of cold beer while sitting in the shadow of a Chinese pagoda surrounded by English gardens in the middle of a southern German city? 在德国南部城市中，坐在为英式花园环抱的中国式宝塔的荫凉下，啜饮一杯冰凉的啤酒，这样的感觉，你有多心动？

It may sound unlikely, but that is what millions of visitors from around the world experience in Munich in late September and early October every year. 听起来也许像天方夜谭，但这就是每年九、十月之交，来自世界各地的百万游客，群集慕尼黑的亲身经历。

They come to celebrate Oktoberfest, probably the largest public festival in the world. 他们来庆祝“啤酒节”──可能是世界上最盛大的公众节日。

The first Oktoberfest was held in 1810 to celebrate the wedding of Prince Ludwig, who later became King Ludwig I of Bavaria. 首届“啤酒节”于1810年举行，为了庆祝路德维格王子的婚礼，嗣后他成了巴伐利亚路德维格一世国王。

The celebration featured horse races, which were repeated the following year, and the festival became an annual event. 赛马是庆祝活动的特色，来年亦再度举行，此节日因而成为一年一度例行的大事。

Beer stands were introduced in 1818, and these were changed to the now-famous beer tents in 1896. 啤酒摊首次引入是在1818年，到了1896年这些摊位已成为今日盛名远扬的啤酒棚。

The drink is a major feature of the event, and this year's visitors are expected to top last year's numbers of 5 million liters of beer and 650,000 pork sausages consumed. 喝啤酒是这个节庆的主要特色，去年游客饮用了超过500万公升的啤酒，吃掉了65万条以上的猪肉香肠，预计今年的游客将超过去年的消费数字。

It is fair to say that the city of Munich was founded on beer. Christian monks established a settlement there in the ninth century and began to brew a tasty mixture of malt and hops which they probably used to help " convert " local inhabitants to their religion. 若说慕尼黑是因啤酒而建，并不夸张。九世纪时，基督教僧侣在当地建立了一个定居点，并开始酿造某种将麦芽及啤酒花混合而成的美味饮料，他们曾经利用这种饮料来帮助他们令当地居民皈依基督教。

The tiny village where they lived eventually became known as Bei den Mon chen, meaning "where the monks are". Nowadays, St. Peter Church stands on the site where the monks founded their settlement. 这座基督教僧侣曾居住的小村落后来成为人所共知的Bei den Mon chen，意为 “僧侣之地”。今天，圣彼得教堂便座落在当时僧侣建定居点的地方。

It was in the early years of the nineteenth century that Munich really began to grow, and many of the city's best known buildings date from this time. 直到上世纪初，慕尼黑才真正开始发展起来，许多最知名的慕城建筑都源自那个时期。