行走在木鞋之上

Wooden shoes are called clogs10 in the Netherlands. A clog is footwear made in part or entirely of wood. They are traditional in the Netherlands. Every Dutchman knows them， but just a few still wear them.

In Europe， clogs can be found in other countries too. But the Netherlands landscape is very flat， so its the easiest to walk in the Netherlands with clogs. Clogs are safe， waterproof11， and very cheap. Clogs keep peoples feet dry and they are easy to put on or take off. City people rarely wear them， but farmers and gardeners love them. So， clogs are also called“workers shoes”. People with different jobs wear different styles of clogs.

Clogs are more comfortable in the field， less on the street. Its good to wear thick socks when wearing clogs. For people who never wore clogs before， its better to practice first， little by little.

One interesting thing about clogs is that they break easily. “Now my clog is breaking” is actually a Dutch saying. It means “something unexpected happens”. Thats right， no one wants their shoes to break. Clogs can break anywhere， whenever. And usually people wont get mad when they break. Why？ Because clogs are made of wood， when they break， they wont hurt the feet. And Dutch farmers can use iron staples12 to fix them easily.

In the Netherlands today， clogs are more of a culture， than shoes. When a young Dutch man proposes to his fiancée（未婚妻）， he usually gives her a pair of nice clogs to show his love.

Nowadays， you can find clogs in a lot of tourist shops in the Netherlands. But most of them are not for wearing. They are pretty though. If you want to see real clogs worn by real people， go to the countryside in the Netherlands.

在荷蘭，用木头制作的鞋子被称作“木屐”（木鞋）。木鞋是部分或者全部由木头做成的鞋子。木鞋是荷兰的传统鞋子。每个荷兰人都知道它们，但现在很少有人穿木鞋。

在欧洲其他国家，你也可以找到木鞋。由于荷兰地势平坦，所以人们穿木鞋走路很方便。木鞋安全、防水，还很便宜。厚底木鞋让人们的双脚保持干燥，容易穿、脱。城里人几乎不穿木鞋，但农民和园丁特别喜欢。因此，木鞋也被称作“工作鞋”。不同职业的人穿的木鞋，设计上也各有不同。

穿木鞋走在田野比走在街上舒服多了。穿木鞋时，你最好穿上厚袜子。对于从未穿过木鞋的人来说，最好先练习，慢慢来。

有趣的是，木鞋容易裂开。“我的木鞋裂开了”其实是一句荷兰俚语，指“意外事件发生了”。确实如此，没有人希望自己穿的鞋会突然坏掉。木鞋随时随地会裂开，但人们不会对此太生气。为什么呢？因为木鞋是木头制成的，即使裂开，也不会伤到脚。而且荷兰农民可以轻而易举地用铁钉把鞋子钉好。

今天的荷兰，木鞋更多的是代表一种文化，而不是鞋履了。荷兰的年轻人向未婚妻求婚时，通常会赠送一双精致的木鞋，以表爱意。

如今，荷兰的很多观光商店都出售木鞋。但大多数木鞋尽管很漂亮，却不是用来穿的。如果你想看真人穿木鞋，那就要去荷兰的乡下了。

Tip

propose to：意指“向……求婚”。如：He proposed to me.他向我求婚了。Propose作动词，意思是“建议”“提议”，短语propose to do sth.指“打算做……”“计划做……”。如：1）What do you propose to do now？现在你打算做什么？2）I propose to go to London this summer.我打算夏天到伦敦去。