VOA慢速英语2017--美国圣诞节的著名景点

Christmas Attractions Across America

Cities all across the United States are dressing¹ up for the Christmas season with trees, lights and holiday magic. Today, we look at a few of them.

New York City

In New York City, one of the best-known holiday attractions is Rockefeller Center’s Christmas tree in Manhattan. The tree is lit during a public ceremony in late November. The city has displayed a large Christmas tree here since 1933. This year’s tree is 23 meters tall and covered with 50,000 lights. A Swarovski crystal sits on top.

Ornate window displays are another New York Christmas tradition. Large department stores along the famous shopping area of Fifth Avenue create imaginative displays during the holiday season.

Stores choose different themes every year. This year, for example, Saks Fifth Avenue’s windows celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Disney film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves².” Another famed department store, Bergdorf Goodman, celebrates New York's diverse museums and cultural sites, such as the Philharmonic and the New York Historical Society.

The Fifth Avenue windows are so popular that police use long ropes to set up controlled lines for the window viewing.

Baltimore, Maryland

Miracle on 34th Street is a well-known and beloved American Christmas movie. And there is actually a real Miracle on 34th Street – in Baltimore, Maryland.

Every year, Baltimore residents along a block of 34th street put up an almost blindingly bright display of Christmas lights and decorations. Thousands of people visit the block to see the bright and colorful display of Christmas cheer, now in its 71st year.

The event opened with an official lighting³ ceremony on November 25 and will continue through the holidays.

New Orleans, Louisiana

Every December, City Park in New Orleans, Louisiana, becomes a winter wonderland. It features more than 10 hectares of light displays, it's famous old oak trees wrapped in thousands of twinkling lights. More than 165,000 people visit the so-called Celebration in the Oaks each year.

New Orleans also celebrates its French Creole connection each holiday season with Reveillon dinners. Reveillon comes from the French word for “awakening.” The 19th-century French Creole tradition began as a large meal eaten after midnight mass on Christmas Eve. The “reveillon” tradition is still alive in New Orleans’ French Quarter. Restaurants there offer special Reveillon meals that include oysters⁴ and other seafood⁵, meat, soup, dessert and more.

North Pole, Alaska

The icy North Pole is said to be the home of Santa Claus. So it is no surprise that the small Alaskan town with the same name is home to the world’s largest Santa statue. It stands in front of Santa Claus House, the center of the town’s Christmas activities.

While the town displays Christmas decorations all year round, it really comes alive in December. The North Pole Christmas in Ice contest brings ice artists from around the world to the town of 2,000 people. Visitors can slide down frozen slides and work their way through complex ice mazes⁷.

Indianapolis, Indiana

The central U.S. city of Indianapolis, Indiana is famous for its yearly Indy 500 automobile⁸ race.

During the winter holiday season, the world-famous race track fills up with more than two million Christmas lights, 500 light displays and 40 holiday scenes. Visitors are permitted to drive their own cars on the speedway.

Los Angeles, California

A traditional Mexican festival takes place in Los Angeles, California. The nine-day Las Posadas celebration is one of the city’s oldest Christmas events. Las Posadas can be found on Olvera Street, considered the first street of the city.

The celebration commemorates⁹ the story of Mary and Joseph traveling from Nazareth to Bethlehem to prepare for Jesus’ birth.

Celebrations are held nightly from December 16 through December 24. The events include a candlelight parade. Children clothed to look like shepherds, angels, and Mary and Joseph lead the march, followed by worshipers. The public can also join the parade or just watch from the side. The group sings songs in English and Spanish as they walk.

“Posada” means “inn” or “shelter” in Spanish. During the parade, the marchers stop at stores along Olvera Street that pretend to be inns. They ask the business owners for shelter. The stores usually deny the request, often in song. Finally, one will say yes, and the marchers are admitted. Free hot drinks and sweet bread are served.

Grand Canyon¹⁰ Railway, Arizona

Many scenic¹¹ railways around the country offer train rides that center on Santa Claus and Christmas. In Arizona, the Grand Canyon Railway brings to life the classic children’s book “Polar Express,” written by Chris Van Allsburg. The train sets off from Williams, Arizona and travels for 90 minutes until it arrives at “Santa’s Village,” where Santa and his elves welcome the passengers. Santa and his helpers ride the train back to Williams with the children. Each child receives one a small bell as a gift.

Does your city, town or village do something special for the holiday season?

I'm Caty Weaver¹².

And I'm Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

magic - n. a very pleasant, attractive, or exciting quality?

attraction- n.? something interesting or enjoyable that people want to visit, see, or do?

ornate -? adj. covered with decorations : covered with fancy patterns and shapes

theme- n.?the main subject that is being discussed or described in a piece of writing, a movie, etc.?

twinkling-? adj.? shining brightly and then faintly.

soup- n. a food made by cooking vegetables, meat, or fish in a large amount of liquid?

dessert- n.? sweet food eaten after the main part of a meal?

slide-? v.? to move smoothly¹³ along a surface?

maze⁶ - n. ?a complicated and confusing system of connected passages?

commemorate-? v.? to exist or be done in order to remind people of (an important event or person from the past)

classic-? adj.? to exist or be done in order to remind people of (an important event or person from the past)

1 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

2 dwarves   

n.矮子( dwarf的名词复数 )；有魔法的小矮人

参考例句：

• Everyone will try to claim it: Men, Dwarves, wizards. 每个种族都会争取它的拥有权：人类，矮人，巫师。 来自电影对白
• Have you learned nothing of the stubbornness of Dwarves? 难道你还不了解那个矮人的倔强吗？ 来自电影对白

3 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

4 oysters   

牡蛎( oyster的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We don't have oysters tonight, but the crayfish are very good. 我们今晚没有牡蛎供应。但小龙虾是非常好。
• She carried a piping hot grill of oysters and bacon. 她端出一盘滚烫的烤牡蛎和咸肉。

5 seafood   

n.海产食品，海味，海鲜

参考例句：

• There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。

6 maze   

n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑

参考例句：

• He found his way through the complex maze of corridors.他穿过了迷宮一样的走廊。
• She was lost in the maze for several hours.一连几小时，她的头脑处于一片糊涂状态。

7 mazes   

迷宫( maze的名词复数 )； 纷繁复杂的规则； 复杂难懂的细节； 迷宫图

参考例句：

• The mazes of the dance were ecstatic. 跳舞那种错综曲折，叫人快乐得如登九天。
• For two hours did this singlehearted and simpleminded girl toil through the mazes of the forest. 这位心地单纯的傻姑娘在林间曲径中艰难地走了两个来小时。

8 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

9 commemorates   

n.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的名词复数 )v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A tombstone is erected in memory of whoever it commemorates. 墓碑是为纪念它所纪念的人而建的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A tablet commemorates his patriotic activities. 碑文铭记他的爱国行动。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

10 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

11 scenic   

adj.自然景色的，景色优美的

参考例句：

• The scenic beauty of the place entranced the visitors.这里的美丽风光把游客们迷住了。
• The scenic spot is on northwestern outskirts of Beijing.这个风景区位于北京的西北远郊。

12 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

13 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。