英语专业晨读美文-励志篇 12 The Thanks We Give

[00:04.22]The Thanks We Give
[00:08.71]It's not the turkey alone we're grateful for.
[00:12.25]Not the cranberry¹ sauce or the stuffing or even the pumpkin² pie.
[00:16.52]Some of the people seated at the table
[00:19.30]are strangers—friends of friends,
[00:21.59]cousins of in-laws—and some are almost desperately³ familiar,
[00:25.46]faces we live and work with every day.
[00:28.11]In any other week, today would merely be Thursday
[00:32.21]and the gathering⁴ of all these people—the cooking
[00:35.86]and serving and cleaning—a chore.
[00:37.78]But today it doesn't feel that way.
[00:39.86]The host—perhaps it's you—stands up and asks that we give thanks,
[00:45.23]and we do, each in our own way.
[00:47.79]And what we're thankful for is simply this, the food, the shelter,
[00:52.47]the company and, above all, the sense of belonging.
[00:56.63]As holidays go, Thanksgiving is in some ways the most philosophical⁵.
[01:01.72]Today we try not to take for granted the things
[01:05.12]we almost always take for granted. We try,
[01:08.08]if only in that brief pause before the eating begins,
[01:11.63]to see through the well-worn patterns of our lives to
[01:14.95]what lies behind them. In other words,
[01:17.74]we try to understand how very rich we are,
[01:20.76]whether we feel very rich or not.
[01:23.52]Today is one of the few times most Americans consciously set desire aside,
[01:29.48]if only because desire is incompatible⁶ with the gratitude—
[01:33.23]not to mention the abundance—that Thanksgiving summons.
[01:36.66]It's tempting⁷ to think that one Thanksgiving
[01:39.70]is pretty much like another,
[01:41.48]except for differences in the guest list and the recipes.
[01:44.95]But it isn't true. This is always a feast about where we are now.
[01:49.94]Thanksgiving reflects the complexion⁸ of the year we're in.
[01:53.80]Some years it feels buoyant, almost jubilant in nature.
[01:58.40]Other years it seems marked by a conspicuous⁹ humility¹⁰
[02:03.11]uncommon in the calendar of American emotions.
[02:06.68]And this year? We will probably remember this Thanksgiving
[02:11.04]as a banquet of mixed emotions. This is, after all,
[02:14.61]a profoundly American holiday.
[02:16.89]The undertow of business as usual seems especially strong this year.
[02:21.76]The shadow of a war and misgivings¹¹ over the future
[02:25.00]loom in the minds of many of us.
[02:27.34]Most years we enjoy the privacy of Thanksgiving, but this year,
[02:32.18]somehow, the holiday feels like part of a public effort to remember
[02:36.44]and reclaim¹² for ourselves what it means to be American.
[02:40.30]That means giving thanks for some fundamental principles
[02:44.09]that should be honored every day of the year
[02:47.36]in the life of this nation—principles of generosity¹³,
[02:51.20]tolerance and inclusion. This is a feast
[02:54.02]that no one should be turned away from.
[02:56.16]The abundance of the food piled on the table should signify
[03:00.07]that there is plenty for all, plenty to be shared.
[03:03.12]The welcome we feel makes sense only if we also extend it to others.

1 cranberry   

n.梅果

参考例句：

• Turkey reminds me of cranberry sauce.火鸡让我想起梅果酱。
• Actually I prefer canned cranberry sauce.事实上我更喜欢罐装的梅果酱。

2 pumpkin   

n.南瓜

参考例句：

• They ate turkey and pumpkin pie.他们吃了火鸡和南瓜馅饼。
• It looks like there is a person looking out of the pumpkin!看起来就像南瓜里有人在看着你！

3 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

4 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

5 philosophical   

adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的

参考例句：

• The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
• She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。

6 incompatible   

adj.不相容的，不协调的，不相配的

参考例句：

• His plan is incompatible with my intent.他的计划与我的意图不相符。
• Speed and safety are not necessarily incompatible.速度和安全未必不相容。

7 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

8 complexion   

n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格

参考例句：

• Red does not suit with her complexion.红色与她的肤色不协调。
• Her resignation puts a different complexion on things.她一辞职局面就全变了。

9 conspicuous   

adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的

参考例句：

• It is conspicuous that smoking is harmful to health.很明显，抽烟对健康有害。
• Its colouring makes it highly conspicuous.它的色彩使它非常惹人注目。

10 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。

11 misgivings   

n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧

参考例句：

• I had grave misgivings about making the trip. 对于这次旅行我有过极大的顾虑。
• Don't be overtaken by misgivings and fear. Just go full stream ahead! 不要瞻前顾后， 畏首畏尾。甩开膀子干吧！ 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 reclaim   

v.要求归还，收回；开垦

参考例句：

• I have tried to reclaim my money without success.我没能把钱取回来。
• You must present this ticket when you reclaim your luggage.当你要取回行李时，必须出示这张票子。

13 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。