地道美语听力播客:A Family Party

I visit my hometown about once a year. This year, I was in town for about five days and there was a family get-together¹. It wasn't a family reunion since it was just my immediate² family, but still, there were a total of about 45 people who showed up .

Our family parties are always held at the home of one of my brothers or sisters. It is always a potluck. We never have formal dinner parties and so we never need catering³. At the potluck this past weekend, some people brought casseroles , some brought chips and dip, and some brought cookies and cakes for dessert. I usually don't have to bring anything since I'm the guest of honor.

There is always a lot of talking and laughing at our family parties. Someone always brings up old childhood memories or a funny anecdote⁴ from the old days. A family get-together as big as ours can be overwhelming for some people. When they ask me what it's like to be part of such a big family I always tell them one thing: It's noisy!

Script by Dr. Lucy Tse
 

1 get-together   

n.(使)聚集；(使)集合

参考例句：

• Well,Miss Huang,we are planning to have a casual get-together.嗯，黄小姐，我们打算大家小聚一番。
• Will you help me prepare for the get- together of the old classmates?你能否帮我为这次老同学聚会做好准备工作？

2 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

3 catering   

n. 给养

参考例句：

• Most of our work now involves catering for weddings. 我们现在的工作多半是承办婚宴。
• Who did the catering for your son's wedding? 你儿子的婚宴是由谁承办的？

4 anecdote   

n.轶事，趣闻，短故事

参考例句：

• He departed from the text to tell an anecdote.他偏离课文讲起了一则轶事。
• It had never been more than a family anecdote.那不过是个家庭趣谈罢了。