VOA慢速英语2019 传统感恩节大餐

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

这是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。

Thanksgiving Day is America's version of a harvest festival. The holiday is celebrated¹ on the fourth Thursday in November.

感恩节是美国庆祝丰收的节日。每年11月的第4个星期四是感恩节。

This Thursday, millions of Americans will join family and friends to give thanks and eat a meal with a history that is centuries old.

本周四，数百万美国人将和亲朋好友聚在一起表达感谢，并吃上一顿具有数百年历史的大餐。

Early European settlers in North America held other ceremonies where they gave thanks. But what Americans often consider the first Thanksgiving took place in Plymouth Colony. Today we call it Massachusetts.

北美的早期欧洲新移民举行过另一种表达感谢的仪式。但美国人通常认为第一个感恩节发生在普利茅斯部落。今天，我们把这个地方称为马萨诸塞州。

Those settlers are known as the Pilgrims. They held a three-day celebration in the fall of sixteen twenty-one. They celebrated the harvest with members of a local Indian tribe.

这些新移民被称为清教徒。他们在1621年秋天举行了一场为期三天的庆祝活动。他们和当地印第安部落成员一起庆祝了丰收。

The best known food that Americans traditionally eat on Thanksgiving is turkey. The nation's turkey producers are expected to raise two hundred forty-two million birds this year. The government says that is two percent fewer than last year. Last year's turkey production had a value of about three and a half billion dollars.

美国人在感恩节上通常食用的最有名的一种食物是火鸡。今年，全国火鸡产量预计将提高到2.42亿只。美国政府称，这比去年减产了2%。去年火鸡产值达到了35亿美元左右。

Thanksgiving turkeys are traditionally served with a bread mixture that some Americans call stuffing. Others call it dressing². Side dishes include cranberries³, sweet potatoes and green beans or other vegetables. The meal traditionally ends with a dessert of pumpkin⁴ pie or pecan pie.

感恩节火鸡通常都会配上被美国人称为填料的面包混合物一起食用。配菜包括红莓果酱、甜山芋、绿豆或其他蔬菜。这顿大餐通常以南瓜饼或山核桃馅饼等甜点收尾。

Some Thanksgiving foods have changed over time. For example, most turkeys these days are bred with larger breasts to provide more white meat. Corn -- known in much of the world as maize⁵ -- has also changed. It tastes much sweeter than the starchier corn of the past.

随着时间的推移，一些感恩节食物也发生了改变。例如，当前大多数火鸡都被养得胸肥体壮，以便提供更多白肉。在全球大部分地区被称为包谷的玉米也发生了改变（maize、corn中文都翻译成玉米）。它比以前富含淀粉的玉米吃起来更甜。

The way Americans prepare for Thanksgiving has also changed. Economist⁶ John Anderson of the American Farm Bureau Federation⁷ says people look for ways to save time, though not everyone does.

美国人筹备感恩节的方式也发生了变化。美国农场局联合会经济学家约翰·安德森表示，人们在想办法节省时间，虽然不是每个人都这样。

JOHN ANDERSON: "There are a lot of us who have grandmothers who would not even think of using a store-bought pie crust. And that is kind of the least of the shortcuts⁸ that we use."

安德森：“我们中很多人的外婆都从来不会想到去商店购买馅饼皮。这算是我们最少用到的捷径。”

He says shortcuts like buying prepared foods for the holiday are part of a bigger trend in America.

他表示，购买备好的节日食物等捷径是美国大趋势的一部分。

JOHN ANDERSON: "If you think about our food in general, not just Thanksgiving dinner, but our food products in general, there has been a tremendous move over the last twenty or thirty years toward more convenience products."

安德森：“如果你琢磨下我们日常的食物。在过去了二三十年间，不仅说是感恩节食物，还包括我们日常的食物，都朝着更多便利消费品的方向迈进了巨大的一步。”

Some people might not have the time or the desire to prepare a big meal, or the space for a lot of guests. Whatever the reason, John Anderson notes that more people go to a restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner than in the past.

有些人可能没有时间或心思来准备一顿大餐，或者家里没有足够的地方来待客。约翰安德森指出，不管出于什么原因，越来越多的人去餐厅吃感恩节大餐。

Charity groups and religious organizations will also be busy this Thursday, serving Thanksgiving meals to the needy⁹. The weak economy has increased the number of Americans receiving government assistance to buy food.

慈善团体和宗教组织本周四也将忙着为有需要的人士提供感恩节大餐。经济的疲软也提高了从政府获取援助购买食物的美国人数量。

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 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。

3 cranberries   

n.越橘( cranberry的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The tart flavour of the cranberries adds piquancy. 越橘的酸味很可口。
• Look at the fresh cranberries. 你看这些新鲜的蔓越橘。 来自无师自通 校园英语会话

4 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！

5 maize   

n.玉米

参考例句：

• There's a field planted with maize behind the house.房子后面有一块玉米地。
• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。

6 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

7 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

8 shortcuts   

n.捷径( shortcut的名词复数 )；近路；快捷办法；被切短的东西（尤指烟草）

参考例句：

• In other words, experts want shortcuts to everything. 换句话说，专家需要所有的快捷方式。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Offer shortcuts from the Help menu. 在帮助菜单中提供快捷方式。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

9 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。