2006年VOA标准英语-Mardi Gras Season Starts With Parades in N

By Greg Flakus
New Orleans
19 February 2006
  

A float in New Orleans' Mardi Gras parade  
  
The first major parades of the Mardi Gras season rolled through the streets of New Orleans Saturday. The celebrations will culminate¹ on Tuesday, February 28, the last day before the Christian² Lenten season of fasting begins. This year the party is also therapy for a city still recovering from Hurricane Katrina.

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As giant decorative³ floats passed down the streets, people shouted with glee and grabbed colorful plastic beads⁴ thrown from the floats by masked figures. Many of the floats had themes that related to the hurricane that struck the area on August 29 of last year, causing floods that left most of the city uninhabitable to this day. One float portrayed⁵ the federal government as Nero, the ancient Roman leader who is said to have fiddled⁶ while Rome burned. Others poked⁷ fun at national and local officials and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Troy Prestridge  
  
Although the crowds along the parade route were small compared to years past, the people who did show up cheered with enthusiasm. Many said this was a therapeutic⁸ event for them and their city. Troy Prestridge came to the parade route with his daughter and granddaughter.

"I think the significance of New Orleans this year is to just keep the tradition going and to keep the heart, to build back the heart of the city of New Orleans," he said.

Prestridge says he has bringing his family to the same spot on the parade route for the past six years, arriving hours earlier than the start time to beat the crowds. This year there are no crowds, just clusters of people strung out along the street on either side. But what is noticeable is there are so many families.

Troy Prestridge says that is what Mardi Gras is all about for the people who live here.

"It is family oriented and it is kind of like a vacation for us when we come down here," he said. "We meet people from all over the United States that come to this area. You meet someone new every year and year-to-year they come back, usually."

 
Teresa Stein
  
Nearby, watches the parade with her parents, her husband and son. She says at first she was doubtful, as some others still are, as to whether it would be appropriate to have Mardi Gras at a time when less than half the city's residents have returned, much of the city remains⁹ uninhabitable and there are few hotel rooms available for tourists. But, she says, this celebration will help revive the city's spirit.

"I think it is going to remind the world why we love living here and that is the most important thing. Whether tourists come or not does not affect me personally. I just want to be here," said Teresa Stein.

1 culminate   

v.到绝顶，达于极点，达到高潮

参考例句：

• The celebration of the centenary will culminate with a dinner.百年庆典活动将以宴会作为高潮。
• Everyone feared that the boundary dispute between these two countries would culminate in a war.人人都担心,这两国间的边境争端将以一场战争到达顶点。

2 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 decorative   

adj.装饰的，可作装饰的

参考例句：

• This ware is suitable for decorative purpose but unsuitable for utility.这种器皿中看不中用。
• The style is ornate and highly decorative.这种风格很华丽，而且装饰效果很好。

4 beads   

n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链

参考例句：

• a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
• Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。

5 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 fiddled   

v.伪造( fiddle的过去式和过去分词 )；篡改；骗取；修理或稍作改动

参考例句：

• He fiddled the company's accounts. 他篡改了公司的账目。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He began with Palestrina, and fiddled all the way through Bartok. 他从帕勒斯春纳的作品一直演奏到巴塔克的作品。 来自辞典例句

7 poked   

v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交

参考例句：

• She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。
• His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 therapeutic   

adj.治疗的，起治疗作用的；对身心健康有益的

参考例句：

• Therapeutic measures were selected to fit the patient.选择治疗措施以适应病人的需要。
• When I was sad,music had a therapeutic effect.我悲伤的时候，音乐有治疗效力。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。