休士顿成千上万的人参加圣诞节前夜盛宴

 　　休士顿成千上万的人参加圣诞节前夜盛宴

　　HOUSTON, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of people lined up on Tuesday at a downtown venue¹ in the U.S. city of Houston to dine and share in a joyful² festive³ spirit to welcome Christmas, a giving and receiving holiday.

　　The 35th annual Christmas Feast was held at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston early Tuesday. Many local families joined the charity party to enjoy a hot meal and receive free gifts for their kids.

　　Stephanie Lewis, regional project director of the event organizer, the City Wide Club, told Xinhua why the super feast was an important holiday event.

　　"I think this event is very important to those in need, because the faces of the people we serve have changed over the years," Lewis said.

　　"They are not necessarily the homeless person that we think of or the person living under the bridge, on the streets. There are lots of family and people who may have jobs and even have a place to live, but cannot make the ends meet."

　　On-site registration⁴ was conducted at the center to invite people to volunteer and to serve other people.

　　"Giving is a virtue⁵. It makes you happy. That's why we always are ready to help others. In helping⁶ others you also help yourselves," said the director.

　　The feast not only offered food and toys, but also gave free clothes, free mobile phones and job opportunities. It was expected to attract a total of 25,000 people.

1 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

2 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

3 festive   

adj.欢宴的，节日的

参考例句：

• It was Christmas and everyone was in festive mood.当时是圣诞节，每个人都沉浸在节日的欢乐中。
• We all wore festive costumes to the ball.我们都穿着节日的盛装前去参加舞会。

4 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

5 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。