VOA慢速英语2016 电视观众抱怨烟火秀节目

AS IT IS 2016-07-06 Television Viewers Complain About Fireworks Broadcast 电视观众抱怨烟火秀节目

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以下是今日新鲜事。

Monday was Independence Day in the United States.July 4 is an important holiday every year.

周一是美国的独立日。每年，7月4号都是非常重要的节假日。

On that date in 1776, 13 British colonies in North America joined together to declare their independence from Britain.

1776年7月4日，北美13个英属殖民地联合起来宣布独立。

Fireworks shows are a big part of the Fourth of July celebration.In many cities, crowds gather in large open spaces or along rivers to watch small rockets being fired into the air.The rockets explode high in the sky, often leaving red, white and blue streaks² -- the colors of the U.S. flag.

7月4号独立纪念日时，经常会放烟花进行庆祝。在很多城市，人们聚在空地或者在河边观看冲上天空的焰火。这些焰火在空中炸开，通常留下红色、白色和蓝色（即美国国旗的颜色）的条纹。

Some Americans say July 4 is a perfect time for fireworks because of the U.S. national anthem³, The Star-Spangled Banner.The song has words like “…and the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,gave proof through the night, that our flag was still there...”

一些美国人表示7月4号是放烟花的好日子，这是因为美国国歌《星条旗之歌》。这首歌中有句歌词是：“烈火熊熊，炮声隆隆，我们看到要塞上那面英勇的旗帜，在黑暗过后依然耸立。”

But this Monday was a rainy day in the U.S. capital, Washington, D.C.There were low clouds in the sky over the National Mall and the Capitol Building, the site of a major fireworks show.The clouds made it hard for crowds to see the fireworks.

但今年独立日时，美国首都华盛顿是阴雨天气。最主要的烟火秀场所国家广场和国会大厦都阴云密布。因此，群众很难看到烟花。

PBS produces a television show of musical performances and fireworks on the Fourth of July.

美国公共广播公司制作了一个电视节目，这个节目展示了7月4号的音乐表演和烟火秀。

But when the show had images of fireworks exploding against a clear, night sky, people were confused.Especially people who knew it was a cloudy, rainy night in Washington.

但，当该节目画面显示烟火在晴朗夜空绽放开来时，人们倍感困惑。那些知道华盛顿是阴雨天气的人，更觉得困惑不解。

And those people reacted on Twitter.

这些人在推特网上对此进行了吐槽。

One person wrote:“The fireworks from my apartment window don’t look like @pbs #fake?”

其中有个人写道：“我透过公寓窗户看到的并不是这番景象@美国公共广播公司#是假的吗？”

Someone else added “not cool... those shots are clearly not from tonight.”

其他人说：“不好。很明显不是今晚拍的。”

Finally, the producers of the show released a statement.They called editing the TV broadcast, “the patriotic⁴ thing to do.”

最终，该电视节目制片人不得不发表声明。他们声称剪辑电视视频其实“是件爱国的事”。

One person wrote: “If I wanted that, I’d watch YouTube.”

一个人写道：“如果我想看那些烟火秀，我会在YouTube上观看。”

Eventually, the producers apologized for not being honest with TV viewers.They wrote that the edits were made to make the “best possible television viewing experience.We apologize…”

最终，制片人因未对观众保持诚实而道歉。他们写道，我们进行编辑是为了塑造“最佳视觉体验。我们道歉。。。”

But that was not the end of it.One Twitter user joked: “only in D.C. could a PBS show become a scandal.”

但这件事并未结束。一名推特用户开玩笑说道：“只有在华盛顿PBS的电视节目才会成为丑闻。”

Words in This Story

scandal – n. an occurrence in which people are shocked and upset because of behavior that is morally or legally wrong

edit – v. to change, move, or remove parts of (a film, recording⁵, photo, etc.)

patriotic – adj. having or showing great love and support for your country : having or showing patriotism⁶

cool – adj. very fashionable, stylish⁷, or appealing in a way that is generally approved of especially by young people

confuse – adj. difficult to understand : not clearly organized, expressed, etc.

glare – n. a harsh, bright light

streak¹ – n. a long, narrow area or flash of light

viewers – n. a person who watches television

1 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

2 streaks   

n.（与周围有所不同的）条纹( streak的名词复数 )；（通常指不好的）特征（倾向）；（不断经历成功或失败的）一段时期v.快速移动( streak的第三人称单数 )；使布满条纹

参考例句：

• streaks of grey in her hair 她头上的绺绺白发
• Bacon has streaks of fat and streaks of lean. 咸肉中有几层肥的和几层瘦的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

4 patriotic   

adj.爱国的，有爱国心的

参考例句：

• His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。
• The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。

5 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

6 patriotism   

n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• They obtained money under the false pretenses of patriotism.他们以虚伪的爱国主义为借口获得金钱。

7 stylish   

adj.流行的，时髦的；漂亮的，气派的

参考例句：

• He's a stylish dresser.他是个穿着很有格调的人。
• What stylish women are wearing in Paris will be worn by women all over the world.巴黎女性时装往往会引导世界时装潮流。