时间:2019-01-13 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2011年(十二月)


英语课

'Holiday Season' Includes Secular 1 Kwanzaa


 


When Americans talk about the “holiday season,” it’s understood that this includes the Christian 2 Christmas, the Jewish Hanukkah, and the secular New Year’s Day.



But 45 years ago, a weeklong celebration joined the parade when the African-American holiday of Kwanzaa was observed for the first time.



Kwanzaa begins the day after Christmas, and celebrates African culture. The word "Kwanzaa" comes from a phrase that means "first fruits" in the Swahili language, and the observance is based in part on the harvest celebrations of ancient Africa.



The seven-day festival was developed in its modern form during the black-nationalist movement of the 1960s by Maulana Karenga, an African-American scholar and activist 3. At first he called Kwanzaa an “alternative” to Christmas, which, he said, was a white-people’s holiday.



But it soon became a mainstream 4 celebration of family, community, and black Americans’ African roots.









The seven tenets of Kwanzaa are unity 5, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.




Kwanzaa festivities include stories, poetry, music, feasting and gift-giving. A candle is lit on each of the festival's nights to represent seven traditional values of African culture. Those principles are unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.



Kwanzaa symbols include a decorative 6 mat on which other items are placed. They often include corn, representing the harvest; a candelabra called a “kinara,” holding seven candles; a communal 7 cup; gifts; a poster of the seven principles; and a black, red, and green Pan-African flag.



Kwanzaa begins on Dec. 26, the day after Christmas, and ends on New Year's Day. Many American communities now include it in their recognition of the holidays of the season.



n.牧师,凡人;adj.世俗的,现世的,不朽的
  • We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
  • Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒
  • 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。
n.活动分子,积极分子
  • He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
  • He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。
n.(思想或行为的)主流;adj.主流的
  • Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
  • Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。
n.团结,联合,统一;和睦,协调
  • When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结,并非一团和气。
  • We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前,我们必须加强团结。
adj.装饰的,可作装饰的
  • 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。
adj.公有的,公共的,公社的,公社制的
  • There was a communal toilet on the landing for the four flats.在楼梯平台上有一处公共卫生间供4套公寓使用。
  • The toilets and other communal facilities were in a shocking state.厕所及其他公共设施的状况极其糟糕。
学英语单词
alizarin dye
alphabet rhyme
aminoacyltransferase
amp-hours
ampliator winding
analog sensor
and-answer
back pack camera
barrel shroud
bituminous composition
brinfir
Brynilen
builds-in
Burchak
capacitive impedance
Castanopsis ferox
catechumenists
cephalohematocele
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chamberstick
chanciest
christened
classical decision
coalbumin
colour-serjeant
coordinate measuring instrument
Corydalis borii
Debno
DEC (distance echo correction)
dorotheos
ecology-minded
efters
electric multipole field
electrochemical amplifier
extramembranous pregnancy
F-reactive dye
Faial, Can.do
film pressure
flat plug
force into
functionally-distributed data base
geckotians
glyhexamde
hagiolatrous
high orbital bombardment system
holism
image iconoscope
Information Technology Infrastructure Library
insulation moisture content of a transformer
jackaroo
James Gillray
key sequence number
Lami theorem
log billet
mallanders
mckibbin
mental quickness
metallurgical-microscope
metatect
methylidene
microdots
minispheres
multi die machine
Muntadgin
Musculus chondroglossus
naclex
nailfolds
net before petroleum revenue tax
nonforensic
nonsensing
optical black
outline feed
papilloretinopathy
past consideration
pericardiaco-phrenic ligament
petroleum base hydraulic oil
portable battery
post-contractual
pre-electric shave lotion
punch forming
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rainshadows
Ramanathapuram
right engine pylon
rocker beam
royal osmunds
sparkover
specmarks
spunin
Stearophanic
Sudan grass
tenebrousnesses
turnip cutter
umms
underfeatured
Unimycin
user's block diagram
Vagabondia
Vas lymphocapillare
wizardlings
woollyflower paullinia
X bosons