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To see, or not to see? That is not the question, because Stratford-upon-Avon is a perennial must, whatever the weather.
《鏡報》2014年4月16號報道，看，還是不看？這不是個問題，因為埃文河畔斯特拉特福無論天氣如何，一年四季都是旅游必須一去的勝地。
And what more apt time to visit William Shakespeare’s home town than around the time of The Bard’s 450th birthday on April 23?
還有什么時候比4月23號莎士比亞450歲誕辰這段期間參觀他的故鄉更合適的時間？
This glover’s son transcends the centuries, with his great friend and fellow playwright Ben Jonson describing him as “not of an age, but for all time”.
這位手套商的兒子超越了世紀，就像他的好朋友、戲劇家本·瓊森說的，他“不是一個時代，而是永恒” 。
But whether you know a lot or a little about the English language’s greatest writer, you soon discover a wealth of information here, beginning with Shakespeare’s Birthplace, on Henley Street.
不過，不管你對這位英語語言巨匠了解多少，從莎士比亞的出生地亨利街開始，你很快就會發現大量有關信息。
See in fascinating detail how Elizabethans lived, from his father’s workshop to the little beds they slept in. Why so small? Partly because the Elizabethans were shorter than us, but also, we’re told, because they feared if they lay flat, the Devil might think they were dead and take their souls, so they slept upright against bolsters.
從他父親的作坊到他們睡的小床，你會詳細了解伊麗莎白時代的人生活的生動細節。為什么床這么小？一部分原因是伊麗莎白時代的人比我們要矮小，不過，我們聽說，還因為他們害怕如果躺平了，惡魔會認為他們死了，帶走他們的靈魂，所以他們靠著枕墊直著睡覺。
Shakespeare’s christening would probably have been on April 26 – three days after his birth – and the font in which he was baptised is at Holy Trinity Church, a short walk from the town centre.
莎士比亞可能是在出生3天后，即1564年4月26號在圣三一教堂接受洗禮，那兒離鎮中心不遠。
The church, dating from 1210, is also where he is buried, in a 15th-century chancel. His grave carries a warning, that cursed be he who moves his bones.
圣三一教堂可以追溯到1210年，莎士比亞就安葬于教堂內15世紀的圣壇上。他的墓碑上寫有一行警告，誰移動他的尸骨，誰就將受到詛咒。
Equally worth a visit, particularly for children, is Mary Arden’s Farm.
同樣值得參觀的，尤其是對小孩來說，還有瑪麗·阿登的農場。
Shakespeare’s mother’s home, a short distance away by car and celebrating its 500th anniversary this year, is a working Tudor farm, where people “live” – and even speak – as they would have done in the 16th century.
駕車不久即可到達莎翁母親的故鄉——瑪麗·阿登的農場。今年農場迎來500周年慶，這一都鐸時代的農場至今仍在運行，這里的人們依舊按照16世紀的生活方式“生活”、說話。
From the farm – where Shakespeare is thought to have stayed from the age of nine, to avoid an outbreak of plague – we went to his future wife’s home, Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, where, as a teenager, he would have courted her.
據說為了躲避瘟疫，莎士比亞9歲時開始住在這個農場。我們從農場出發前往莎士比亞妻子故居——安妮·海瑟薇祖屋，年少的莎士比亞可能就是在這里追求的她。
Again, there is much to enjoy at this beautiful thatched farmhouse in the nearby village of Shottery, with its ornate gardens.
附近休特瑞村花團錦簇，村里美麗的茅草屋也很值得欣賞。
Other attractions worth viewing include Nash’s House and the site of New Place – the home where Shakespeare died, but which was demolished in 1759 by Reverend Francis Gastrell after a dispute with locals.
其它值得游覽的景點包括納什故居和新居，這是莎士比亞去世時住的房子，但是牧師弗蘭西斯·加斯特里爾與當地人發生爭執，于1759年拆毀了這所房子。
The Bard’s town has a variety of hotels and guest houses and one of the most impressive is the Holiday Inn, with riverside grounds close to Clopton Bridge, over which Shakespeare would have ridden.
詩圣的故鄉有很多酒店和賓館，最有名的是假日酒店，臨江靠近古石橋，莎士比亞或許也在橋上走過。
The stylish hotel, whose staff are the epitome of helpfulness, has recently had a ￡2million revamp, but its prices won’t leave you feeling Shylock has taken his pound of flesh.
這家風格時尚現代的酒店里的員工十分友好、樂于助人，酒店近期投入了兩百萬英鎊進行整修，不過價格不會讓你覺得“被夏洛克割了一磅肉”。
Alternatively, if you are aiming for more of a romantic stay and fancy playing Romeo (or being pampered as Juliet), you could try the Church Street Townhouse, directly opposite where Shakespeare went to school.
或者，如果你想要一次浪漫之旅，想要扮演羅密歐（或者做眾星捧月的朱麗葉），你可以去教堂街酒店，正位于莎士比亞求學學校的對面。
It’s a charming, 12-room boutique hotel from which, indeed, parting is such sweet sorrow.
這家酒店精致時尚，有12間房，在這里分別，真的是一種甜蜜的憂傷。
If you don’t believe music is the sole food of love, there are plenty of -restaurants and watering holes.
如果你認為音樂不是愛的唯一食糧，這里還有很多餐館和酒吧。
High among them – in elevation and quality – is the rooftop restaurant above the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. A great time to go is after the theatre crowd have taken their seats. You can enjoy the quiet, relaxed -atmosphere where the excellent Shawn Bennett and staff were as attentive as a lead character waiting for his cue.
從高度和格調上，這些餐館中最出類拔萃的是皇家莎士比亞劇院上的屋頂餐廳。去那里最好的時間是等觀眾都坐好之后。你可以享受這里安靜放松的氣氛，劇場里演技一流的肖恩·班尼特和其他演員都聚精會神地等著他們的出場提示，準備一展演技。
The food is first-class and they supplied the freshest starter I’ve tasted, a wonderful goat’s cheese and pistachio roulade.
這里的食物都是一流的，他們供應的開胃菜是我吃過最新鮮的，山羊奶酪和開心果肉卷都很美味。
And, even if the view may make you giddy, the menu prices won’t.
而且，即使景色會讓你眼花繚亂，菜單上的價格還是很合理的。
On a fine spring day, you can emulate The Merchant of Venice and take to the River Avon by gondola. Avon Boating provides the world’s oldest working gondola, a calming experience as you glide along the gentle waters.
在明媚的春日，你可以效仿《威尼斯商人》里的場景，坐貢多拉小船去埃文河。埃文船行提供世界上最古老的貢多拉，在平緩的河水上劃行讓人心曠神怡。
Also on the waterfront is actors’ pub the Dirty Duck, where Sir John Gielgud and Richard Burton, among others, donated signed photos for the wall. If you fancy rubbing shoulders with stars of current productions – Henry IV Pt I and II – it’s the place to go after curtain down, around 10.30pm.
在碼頭還有一家演員酒吧——臟鴨子酒吧，約翰·吉爾古德先生、理查德·伯頓和其他演員將簽名照送給了酒吧，貼在墻上。如果你想看到最新版《亨利四世》第一、二部里的明星的話，夜幕降臨后，10:30左右，可以到這里來。
All in all, celebrate the Bard’s 450th and unwind, exactly As You like It.
總而言之，到這里慶祝詩圣450周年誕辰，順便放松一下心情，真是“皆大歡喜”。
