A Scottish Yarn: A Knit in Time Saves the Fabric of Life

⊙ By Ari Shapiro

翻译：BillyBudd

The Shetland Islands in the far north of Scotland are a strange mixture of old and new. Oil and gas have brought4)tremendous [trɪ΄mendəs] adj.极大的，巨大的tremendous wealth to these islands, yet Shetlanders are also devoted to traditional ways of life that have existed for centuries.

This is where it all begins. Shetland is home to about 400,000 sheep. They5)outnumber [aʊt΄nʌmbə(r)] v.数目超过，比……多outnumber people here 20 to 1. So if you’re invited to someone’s home for dinner, lamb will likely be on the table. And if you’re wearing a local scarf or6)mitten [΄mɪt(ə)n] n. 连指手套mittens, chances are it was made out of Shetland wool. Ingrid Eunson is sitting at her7)spinning wheel 纺车spinning wheel at home. She’s turning what looks like a fur ball into8)thread [θred] n. 线thread, which will eventually become yarn.

To the side, she has blue-green yarn that she dyed herself. Her hands9)enact [ɪ΄nækt] v. 表现，展现enact a10)ritual [΄rɪtʃʊəl] n. 习俗ritual that her ancestors have practiced for generations. Locals used to survive by trading knitted hats or stockings with fisherman on passing ships.

Here in Shetland, knitting is not a hobby

在英国的最北部，散落着约100座岛屿，隔洋遥望着209公里外的苏格兰——设得兰群岛。群岛中有五分之四是无人岛，这里没有绿树参天，没有鲜花遍野，有的只是最原始的野性与荒凉。但就在这些冷硬的旷野上，扎根着一个意外柔软的传统——编织。即便油气资源带来了滔天财富，群岛上千百年流传下来的编织手艺也未被腐蚀半分，依旧在时光长河里熠熠发光。11)reserved [rɪ΄zзːvd] adj. 保留的，预订的reserved for grannies or12)hipster [΄hɪpstə(r)] n. 嬉皮士，追求非主流时尚的人，通常崇尚手工制作的环保产品。hipsters. It’s something people just do because they’ve always done it.

Carol Christiansen (Expert): Knitting is what drew me here initially. I visited in 1989 as a tourist—as a knitting tourist, actually.

Carol Christiansen is originally from Seattle. Now she’s a13)curator [kjʊə΄reɪtə(r)] n. 馆长，管理人curator at the Shetland Museum and14)archives [΄ɑːkaɪvz] n. 档案馆Archives. She loves the fact that even within this small15)cluster [΄klʌstə(r)] n. （人或物的）群，丛cluster of islands, there are knitting traditions specific to each island—fine lace on the northern island of Unst, rows of colorful patterns on the sweaters of Fair Isle down south.

Carol: This is a really strong tradition. You see teenagers and young people walking around with Fair Isle16)hoodie [΄hʊdɪ] n. 连帽运动衫hoodies on now,and it’s just part of life here.

Wilma Johnson can’t even remember learning to knit.

Wilma: I just knit because it’s like breathing. Can’t do without it.

These islands are so far from any mainland, they’ve developed a culture and a dialect all their own. It’s part Scottish,part17)Scandinavian [ˌskændɪ΄neɪvɪən]adj. 斯堪的纳维亚人的Scandinavian, part uniquely Shetland. And the culture18)persist [pə΄sɪst] v. 坚持，持续persists even though the largest oil and gas19)terminal [΄tзːmɪn(ə)l] n. 集散站，终端terminal in Europe is here, providing the islands with massive wealth. Wilma Johnson sees no sign that the traditions may fade away. Her 15-year-old granddaughter is a knitter.

Wilma: She was actually up beside me yesterday20)pinch [pɪntʃ] v. 偷拿pinching some of my knitting.

She says some people might be upset to be robbed by their grandchildren, but as long as her granddaughter is stealing knitting supplies, Wilma is delighted.

…chances are it was made out of Shetland wool.

Chance本身具有“可能性”的意思，“chances are（that）+从句”是一个常用英语句型，表示“有可能……”。Chance的动词搭配“stand a chance of doing sth.”也可用来表达“有可能（成功）”。例如：

● Bring an umbrella with you because chances are it’s going to rain today.（随身带把伞吧，因为今天可能会下雨。）

● You stand a very good chance of winning the prize.（你获奖的可能性非常大哦。）

参考译文

位于苏格兰极北端的设得兰群岛是一个古今糅杂的奇特混合体。石油和天然气为这些岛屿带来了巨大财富，但设得兰岛民仍然奉行着千百年流传下来的传统生活方式。

一切皆源于此——设得兰群岛是约40万只绵羊的家园，它们的数量远远超过了当地居民的人数，两者的数量之比高达20比1。因此，如果你被邀请到岛上某家做客的话，餐桌上极可能会有一道羔羊肉；又或者假如你正戴着当地制作的围巾或手套，它有可能就是用设得兰羊毛制成的。英格丽德·尤恩森此刻正坐在家中的纺车旁，她正将一团毛球状的东西纺成线，这些线最后就会变成羊绒纱线。

她身旁还有一团她自己染的蓝绿色纱线，她的双手仿佛正在进行着一个祖先世世代代传承下来的仪式。当地人过去编织帽子和长袜与过往船只的渔民进行交换，以此维生。

在设得兰群岛，编织并不是一个仅限于老奶奶跟嬉皮士的爱好，而是岛上的人自然而然都会做的事，因为他们世代如此。

卡萝尔·克里斯琴森（专家）：我最开始是被编织吸引来的，我1989年来这儿时只是一名游客——事实上，还是个爱好编织的游客。

卡萝尔·克里斯琴森来自美国西雅图，如今她已是设得兰博物馆及档案馆的馆长。尽管设得兰的岛屿数量不多，每个小岛的编织传统也各有特色：北边的安斯特岛织物有精美的花边，南边的费尔岛毛衣则以色彩丰富的条纹式样为特色——这一点让她痴迷不已。卡萝尔：这是一个非常根深蒂固的传统。你至今仍能在街上看到青少年和年轻人穿着费尔岛风格的连帽衫，因为这些都是这里生活的一部分。

威尔玛·约翰逊甚至已经记不清她是怎么学会编织的了。

威尔玛：我就这样织了起来，因为编织就像呼吸一样，没它就活不下去了。

这些岛屿离大陆太远了，以至于这里形成了自己独有的文化跟方言——混合了苏格兰、斯堪的纳维亚跟独特的设得兰群岛味道的文化与语言。尽管欧洲最大的油气集散地就在设得兰群岛，为当地带来了巨大财富，可本土文化仍旧得以留存。威尔玛·约翰逊没看到任何表明这些传统可能消失的迹象，她15岁的孙女也是个编织好手。

威尔玛：实际上，她昨天就在这儿陪我，还偷偷拿走了我的一些织品。

她说，一些人可能会因为被孙辈偷东西感到沮丧，但只要她孙女拿的是编织用品，她乐得如此。