It is mind-boggling(無法想象的)to think that kissing might have originated simultaneously(同時地) as an act of love and as an act of defiance(反抗) against stifling courtship practices, as the Paolo and Francesca story implies. From that period on, kissing has become the romantic act par excellence(杰出的，卓越的). What’s more romantic than two people hugging, looking into each other’s eyes, and then, to put the final touches on the idyllic moment, kissing each other on the lips? At that instant, the kiss transports the lovers to another plane of existence – high above the mundane(世俗的). Only when romance ends does the power of the kiss fade. Because of the global village in which we live, the kiss has spread throughout the world, finding its way into traditions and courtship practices everywhere. It continues to be a subversive act of love. There’s a lot riding on a kiss, setting off a complex set of chemical reactions that enhance romantic feelings and make physical acts such as sexual intercourse much more meaningful and intimate.(親吻作用重大，它能啟動一系列復(fù)雜的化學(xué)反應(yīng)，促進(jìn)浪漫感情，讓性行為這樣的身體動作顯得更有意味，更加親密。) The kiss is, in a phrase, an intoxicating(令人陶醉的) “elixir”(靈丹妙藥).

In the end, romance is an ideal; it is part of the way we fantasize about the world. Everyone wants to be part of a great love story, even though it may never happen. The kiss is about the ideal, not the real. For a moment in time, it suspends(擱置)the real and makes the world perfect. When it works, it shatters the habitual, making us forget the trivial (不重要的)things that make up everyday life. (當(dāng)親吻起作用時，它會打碎常規(guī)，讓我們忘記日常生活的細(xì)枝末節(jié)。)Let’s celebrate it always and hope that it never disappears.

Vocabulary

ritual 儀式

sanction 懲罰

instinctively 本能地

treatise 論文;論點(diǎn)

intertwine 交織;纏繞

implore 請求

at one's beck and call 受某人支使

prenuptial 婚前的

prerequisite 前提條件

in all likelihood 極有可能地

be imbued with 充滿......

subversive 顛覆的;反抗的

reverse 逆轉(zhuǎn)

star-croseed 命運(yùn)多舛的

chivalry 騎士般的

immortalize 使不朽

solidify 鞏固

deform 變形;畸形

subsequent 后來的

awe-inspiring 令人敬畏的

kindle 點(diǎn)燃

transcend 超越

from the outset 從一開始

furtive 偷偷摸摸的

inexorably 不可避免地

conduit 渠道

prelude 序曲

juxtapose 與......并置

mind-boggling 不可想象的

simultaneously 同時地

defiance 反抗

par excellence 卓越的

mundane 世俗的

intoxicating 令人陶醉的

elixir 靈丹妙藥

suspend 懸置;擱置

trivial 不重要的

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