VOA慢速英语2017--感恩节：美国的传统

 

The American holiday of Thanksgiving is celebrated¹ every year on the fourth Thursday in November. The holiday is during autumn -- the main season for harvesting crops. Thanksgiving is an autumn harvest festival like those found in many cultures around the world.

On this day, most Americans gather with friends and family. Many take time to think about what they are thankful for, cook up a storm, and eat.

A lot.

The star of most Thanksgiving dinners is a roasted turkey. Turkeys are large birds native to North America.

The turkey is cooked in an oven² for many hours, often with a mix of celery, bread, onions and spices inside the bird. This mix becomes stuffing³ -- another star of the Thanksgiving dinner table.

Anna Matteo here at Learning⁴ English says the smell of turkey and stuffing roasting together is the quintessential smell of Thanksgiving. “Quintessential” means the perfect example of something.

After the bird is cooked, the stuffing is taken out and served as a side dish.

One of many side dishes. Families often make other foods like mashed⁵ potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry⁶ sauce and vegetable casseroles. A casserole is a dish that cooks slowly in an oven.

And do not forget about the gravy⁷. This rich sauce is made from the fatty liquid that comes off the turkey as it cooks. People cover their turkey meat, stuffing and mashed potatoes with gravy.

The meal does not end with the turkey, stuffing, and side dishes, though. For some people, the best part of the meal is dessert.

The quintessential Thanksgiving dessert is pie. Pumpkin⁸, cherry, apple or pecan pie are all great ways to finish off a Thanksgiving meal...if you are not too full of food by that point!

Thanksgiving Travel

Some Americans must travel long distances to be with their families. In fact, the Sunday after Thanksgiving is the busiest travel day of the entire year. This is usually when people return home from family gatherings⁹.

Not everyone can make the return home each Thanksgiving. So, young people living in cities away from their hometowns sometimes celebrate “Friendsgiving” -- a Thanksgiving meal with their friends instead of their family. They gather at someone’s apartment or house and have a “potluck.” This is a meal where everyone who is invited brings food to share with others.

Beyond the Table

Thanksgiving is a big day for television, games and other entertainment.

One tradition is the television broadcast of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It takes place each year in New York City. Workers of the Macy’s store on Herald¹⁰ Square organized the first parade in 1924. Many of the workers were immigrants¹¹ and wanted to hold a big parade like the ones in Europe. So, they dressed in costumes and borrowed some animals from the zoo. They also carried small balloons that floated just overhead¹².

Many professional American football games are also played on Thanksgiving. Fans of the sport enjoy relaxing and watching a game or two after eating a big Thanksgiving meal.

Some start Thanksgiving Day early - and in a healthy way. So-called¹³ “Turkey Trot” races take place in many towns and cities. These events involve runners dressing¹⁴ up in a Thanksgiving-related costume and running a short distance -- usually five kilometers.

Many Turkey Trots¹⁵ urge runners to bring canned food to donate to local food banks -- non-profit organizations that give food to poor people in a community.

Serving those less fortunate

Certainly, not everyone in America has an easy Thanksgiving. The United States is home to many poor and homeless people. Some cannot afford a Thanksgiving dinner. Others are without friends or families. Many religious and service organizations around the country try to fill these needs. Some provide community dinners at churches and other centers. Some groups also deliver Thanksgiving meals to people too sick or old to leave their homes.

The writer O. Henry called Thanksgiving the one holiday that is purely¹⁶ American. It is not linked to a religion or a certain group. Anyone in the United States on the fourth Thursday of November is welcome to celebrate Thanksgiving.

I'm Caty Weaver¹⁷.

And I'm Ashley. Thompson.

Words in This Story

festival - n. a special time or event when people gather to celebrate something

up a storm - idiom. used to say that something is being done with a lot of energy or enthusiasm¹⁸

roasted - adj. cooked with dry heat in an oven or over a fire

stuffing - n. a seasoned mixture of food that is put inside another food and cooked?

potluck - n. a meal to which everyone who is invited brings food to share

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 oven   

n.烤炉；烤箱

参考例句：

• You put food inside an oven to cook it.你把食物放进烤箱里热一下。
• She baked bread in an oven.她用烤炉烤面包。

3 stuffing   

n.填充物vt.填充(stuff的现在分词)

参考例句：

• We had a chicken and stuffing, and new potatoes from the garden. 我们吃了只百宝鸡，还有园子里种的新鲜马铃薯。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She had already mixed the stuffing for the dumplings. 她已经把饺子馅和好了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

5 mashed   

a.捣烂的

参考例句：

• two scoops of mashed potato 两勺土豆泥
• Just one scoop of mashed potato for me, please. 请给我盛一勺土豆泥。

6 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。

7 gravy   

n.肉汁；轻易得来的钱，外快

参考例句：

• You have spilled gravy on the tablecloth.你把肉汁泼到台布上了。
• The meat was swimming in gravy.肉泡在浓汁之中。

8 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！

9 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

10 herald   

vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎

参考例句：

• In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。
• Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。

11 immigrants   

n.移民( immigrant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Illegal immigrants were given the opportunity to regularize their position. 非法移民得到了使其身份合法化的机会。
• Immigrants from all over the world populate this city. 这个城市里生活着来自世界各地的移民。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 overhead   

adj.在头顶上的，悬空的；n.间接开支

参考例句：

• A number of birds are circling overhead.很多鸟在头顶上空盘旋。
• Many stars overhead are invisible to the naked eye.天上的许多星星是肉眼看不到的。

13 so-called   

adj.所谓的，号称的

参考例句：

• These were the so-called mainframe machines.它们被称为主机。
• Let's see what this so-called button does.让我们来看看为什么这个按钮叫这个名字。

14 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。

15 trots   

小跑，急走( trot的名词复数 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• A horse that trots, especially one trained for harness racing. 训练用于快跑特别是套轭具赛跑的马。
• He always trots out the same old excuses for being late. 他每次迟到总是重复那一套藉口。

16 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

17 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。

18 enthusiasm   

n.热情，激情；巨大兴趣；热衷的事物

参考例句：

• We set about our task at once with great enthusiasm.我们立刻兴致勃勃地干起来。
• A team which is full of enthusiasm is more likely to win.情绪高涨的球队更可能获胜。