the Gunpowder Plot
/ðə ˈɡʌnpaʊdə plɒt/
/ðə ˈɡʌnpaʊdər plɑːt/
- a secret plan by a group of Roman Catholics to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill King James I in 1605. They put gunpowder (= an explosive powder) in the cellars before the opening of Parliament by the King on 5 November. The plan was discovered before the gunpowder could be exploded, and one of the group, Guy Fawkes, was arrested and forced to give the names of the others. His name has remained the only one most people know, although he was not the leader of the group. Every year, before the opening of Parliament, the cellars are searched in a special ceremony.
火药地块：一组罗马天主教徒秘密计划，于1605年炸毁议会大厦并杀死詹姆士一世。他们在国王于5月5日在议会开幕前将火药（炸药）放在地窖中。十一月。该计划是在火药爆炸之前就发现的，其中一个人盖伊·福克斯（Guy Fawkes）被捕并被迫透露其他人的名字。尽管他不是该小组的负责人，但他的名字仍然是大多数人唯一知道的名字。每年，在国会开幕之前，都要在特别的仪式上搜寻地窖。 Culture Bonfire NightBonfire NightBritish people celebrate Bonfire Night every year on 5 November in memory of a famous event in British history, the Gunpowder Plot. On 5 November 1605 a group of Roman Catholics planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament while King James I was inside. On the evening before, one of them, Guy Fawkes, was caught in the cellars with gunpowder, and the plot was discovered. He and all the other conspirators (= people involved in the plan) were put to death. Bonfire Night is sometimes called Guy Fawkes Night.Originally, Bonfire Night was celebrated as a victory for Protestants over Catholics, but the festival is now enjoyed by everyone. Some children make a guy, a figure of a man made of old clothes stuffed with newspaper or straw to represent Guy Fawkes. The guy is then burned on top of a bonfire (= a large fire in a garden or park) on Bonfire Night. Children used to take their guy into the street a few days before Bonfire Night and ask for a ‘penny for the guy’, money for fireworks (= small devices containing powder that burn or explode and produce bright coloured lights and loud noises), but now it is less common for people to hold private bonfire parties in their gardens than to attend larger public events organized by local councils or charities. Chestnuts or potatoes are sometimes put in the bonfire so that they will cook as it burns. Fireworks such as Roman candles, Catherine wheels (NAmE pinwheels), bangers and rockets are put in the ground and are let off one by one. Children hold lighted sparklers in their hands and wave them around to make patterns. By law, only adults are allowed to buy fireworks, and because, unfortunately, there are sometimes accidents involving fireworks there are now limits on the type of fireworks that can be used by the general public.The events of 5 November 1605 are celebrated in a nursery rhyme:“Please to remember,The fifth of November,Gunpowder, treason and plot.”