精美英文欣赏:父亲节的故事(上)

The Story of Father's Day

父亲节的故事

Father's Day, contrary¹ to popular misconception, was not established as a holiday in order to help greeting card manufacturers² sell more cards. In fact when a "father's day" was first proposed³ there were no Father's Day cards!

和通俗的误解不同，父亲节不是为了贺卡生产商卖出更多贺卡而设立的节日。事实上，当父亲节第一次被提出来的时候，就不存在父亲节卡片！

Mrs. John B. Dodd, of Washington⁴, first proposed the idea of a "father's day" in 1909. Mrs. Dodd wanted a special day to honor⁵ her father, William Smart. William Smart was a Civil War veteran⁶. His wife (Mrs. Dodd's mother) died in childbirth with their sixth child. Mr. Smart was left to raise the newborn and his other five children by himself on a farm. it was after Mrs. Dodd became an adult that she realized the strength and selflessness her father had shown in raising his children as a single parent.

1909年，约翰B·多德在华盛顿第一次提出了设立父亲节的想法。多德夫人想有个特别的日子来表达对她的父亲，威廉·斯玛特的尊敬。威廉·斯玛特是内战的老兵。他的妻子（多德夫人的母亲）在生育他们第6个孩子的时候死了。斯玛特先生独自留下来在农场谋生，照顾新生儿和他其他5个孩子。直到多德夫人长大了，才意识到他父亲作为单亲养育孩子是多么的有力和无私。

The first Father's Day was observed on June 19, 1910 in Spokane Washington. At about the same time in towns and cities across America other people were beginning to celebrate a "father's day." In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge supported the Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father's Day.

1910年6月19日，第一个父亲节出现在华盛顿，斯波坎市。几乎同时，全美国的乡镇和城市，其他人开始庆祝父亲节。在1924年，卡尔文·柯立芝总统支持约翰逊签署了一份总统公告，宣布6月的第三个周日是父亲节。

Everyone has got a story of his father's love. Here is one told by Bert Clompus.

每个人都拥有和父爱有关的故事。下面这个是伯特·哥伦布的。

1 contrary   

adj.相反的；adv.相反的(地)；n.反面，相反

参考例句：

• My sister's taste in dresses is contrary to my own.在服装方面，我妹妹的爱好和我完全不同。
• The result is contrary to expectation.结果跟预料恰好相反。

2 manufacturers   

制造商，制造厂( manufacturer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The manufacturers in some countries dumped their surplus commodities abroad. 一些国家的制造商向国外倾销过剩产品。
• Colour TV has been more aggressively promoted as more manufacturers have joined the competition. 由于更多的厂商参与竞争，推销彩色电视机的宣传更为激烈了。

3 proposed   

被提议的

参考例句：

• There is widespread discontent among the staff at the proposed changes to pay and conditions. 员工对改变工资和工作环境的建议普遍不满。
• an outcry over the proposed change 对拟议的改革所发出的强烈抗议

4 Washington   

n.华盛顿特区(是美国首都)

参考例句：

• His birthplace is Washington,but he lives in San Francisco.他出生于华盛顿，但住在旧金山。
• They, together with my father,have gone to Washington.他们和我父亲一起去华盛顿了。

5 honor   

n.光荣；敬意；荣幸；vt.给…以荣誉；尊敬

参考例句：

• I take your visit as a great honor.您的来访是我莫大的光荣。
• It is a great honor to receive that prize.能拿到那个奖是无上的光荣。

6 veteran   

n.老兵；经验丰富的人，老手

参考例句：

• My grandfather is a veteran of the Second World War.我祖父是二战时的老兵。
• We often asked the veteran workers for advice.我们常常向老工人求教。