High temperatures during the Tokyo Olympics have been making headlines around the world.

東京奧運(yùn)會(huì)期間的超高氣溫登上了世界各地的新聞?lì)^條。

In fact, the event may go down as one of the hottest and most humid in the history of the Games.

事實(shí)上，這屆奧運(yùn)會(huì)可能會(huì)成為奧運(yùn)史上最熱最潮濕的一屆。

Last week, current world No. 2 tennis player Daniil Medvedev said the heat and humidity were "some of the worst" conditions he had played in, even asking who would be responsible if he died.

上周，目前世界排名第二的網(wǎng)球運(yùn)動(dòng)員丹尼爾·梅德韋杰夫表示，這里的高溫和潮濕是他所經(jīng)歷過(guò)的“最糟糕的”環(huán)境，他甚至問(wèn)道，如果他熱死了，誰(shuí)會(huì)為此負(fù)責(zé)。

But the temperatures and high humidity currently cooking the capital are not unusual. 

不過(guò)這種全城陷入的高溫高熱并不是什么反常的現(xiàn)象。

Japanese summers are notoriously sticky and sweaty, and for many Japanese people, spooky.

日本的夏天是出了名的悶熱難當(dāng)，對(duì)很多日本人來(lái)說(shuō)更是陰森可怕的。

Friends flock to haunted houses, head to the movies for horror flicks or visit graveyards after dark, all in an attempt to scare themselves into literally getting the chills -- in effect forgetting all about the sweltering heat.

天黑后，朋友們成群結(jié)隊(duì)地去鬼屋，去看恐怖電影，或者參觀墓地，所有這些都是為了讓自己嚇得渾身發(fā)冷——這樣就可以忘記所有的悶熱。

As the temperatures soar in Japan it's believed that the boundaries between the world of the living and the dead are at their thinnest and yurei (spirits) are able to cross over.

隨著日本氣溫的飆升，人們相信，生者和死者之間的世界的界限就處在最薄的時(shí)候，“靈魂”就能夠跨越。

Summer is marked by the festival of O-bon, which usually takes place in mid-August.

夏天的一個(gè)重要節(jié)日就是中元節(jié)，一般會(huì)在八月中舉行。

"O-bon is the Buddhist festival of the dead, in which the spirits of deceased family members and ancestors are honored," explains Yoshiko Okuyama, a professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Hawai'i, Hilo.

“中元節(jié)是佛教的亡靈節(jié)，在這個(gè)節(jié)日里，已故的家庭成員和祖先的靈魂可以得到供奉，”夏威夷大學(xué)的日本研究教授奧山良子解釋說(shuō)。

According to Okuyama, the festival is based on a Buddhist tale in which one of the Buddha's disciples, Mokuren, learns that his deceased mother has ended up in hell. 

據(jù)奧山良子說(shuō)，這個(gè)節(jié)日是根據(jù)一個(gè)佛教故事改編的，在這個(gè)故事中，佛陀的一個(gè)弟子木蓮得知他已故的母親在地獄里魂魄快要消散了。

He then performs a ceremony to save her soul.

于是他就舉行了儀式來(lái)拯救她的亡靈。

"This Buddhist myth eventually developed into the tradition of urabone (O-bon) as a time to hold a memorial service for the spirits of deceased family members," she says.

她說(shuō):“這個(gè)佛教神話(huà)最終發(fā)展成為中元節(jié)的傳統(tǒng)，在這個(gè)時(shí)候?yàn)橐压始彝コ蓡T的靈魂舉行追思儀式。”

"It is said that the spirits return from the anoyo (the spiritual world) to the konoyo (the world of the living) in order to attend the festival with the living."

“據(jù)說(shuō)，靈魂會(huì)從神的世界返回到活人的世界，以便和活人一起參加這個(gè)節(jié)日?！?/p>

During O-bon, families reunite to pay respects at ancestral graves, light bonfires, clean the graves, dance the bon-odori, eat and drink.

在中元節(jié)期間，家人會(huì)團(tuán)聚在一起祭拜祖先的墳?zāi)梗c(diǎn)燃篝火，清理墳?zāi)?，跳中元舞，然后聚餐喝酒?/p>

It's believed that if a spirit is cared for by the family, then they are able to pass peacefully into the next world; in return the dead provide protection for their living relatives.

人們相信，如果一個(gè)靈魂得到家人的照顧，那么他們就能夠平靜地進(jìn)入另一個(gè)世界;作為回報(bào)，死者也會(huì)為他們活著的親屬提供保護(hù)。

But, if the deceased are not cared for, or they died in a violent manner, the spirit may come back bearing grudges.

但是，如果死者沒(méi)有得到照顧，或者他們以暴力的方式死去，靈魂可能會(huì)帶著怨恨回來(lái)。

"Even the spirits of people who died yet cannot rest in peace are thought to visit us!" Okuyama says.

“甚至那些死去但仍無(wú)法安息的人們的靈魂也會(huì)來(lái)拜訪(fǎng)我們!”奧山良子說(shuō)道。

"Naturally, there is no better time than summer to talk about supernatural phenomena."

“所以自然，夏天就成了談?wù)摮匀滑F(xiàn)象的最佳時(shí)機(jī)?！?nbsp;