美国文化脱口秀 第360期:考考你的美国常识!
时间:2019-02-14 作者:英语课 分类:美国文化脱口秀
英语课
7月4日是美国国庆。Spencer, Jenny教你美国国庆的正确打开方式,顺便帮你补脑可能不知道的美国基本信息。
关键词:
美国国庆有好几个名字
中国的国庆节是十月一号,美国的国庆节是七月四号,也被称为独立日。和我们七天长假不同,美国人一般国庆节只有当天放假。
Happy Fourth of July to you all: 祝大家国庆快乐
National Day: 国庆节,中国的国庆节在英文里可以这么叫
Independence Day: 独立日,美国的国庆节
Fourth of July: 美国国庆节的另一个叫法,就好比我国的"十一"
How many days do you have off?: 美国国庆你们放几天假?
You just get that one day off: 只有7月4日当天放假
In China, we get a one-week-long holiday for the National Day: 在中国,国庆放假有整整一周
If it falls on a Sunday, maybe you get the Monday off: 如果刚好是周日的话,那可能就周一放假
If you work for the government, there's a good chance you might get the day before or after off: 如果你在政府上班,那很有可能国庆前面或者后面一天也可以放假
Public servants: 公务员
For all of us regular Joes out there, we probably just get that one day off: 一般人基本上就只能放一天假
This year, Fourth of July happens to be on a Monday, so you have a long weekend: 今年的美国国庆正好在周一,凑成了个小长假
美国国父
美国开国元勋通常指的是参与签署《独立宣言》或参与起草《美国宪法》的政治领导人,他们同时也是来自最初的13个建国州的代表。
Founding fathers: 开国元勋
Founding states: 建国州
To found: 建立、开创
America's Founding Fathers include George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, James Monroe and, of course, Benjamin Franklin:美国定义的建国元勋有7位,George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, James Monroe and, of course, Benjamin Franklin
There're 7 of them, some of whom you might be familiar with: 建国元勋有不少,其中几位你可能也不陌生
George Washington: 乔治·华盛顿,美国第一任总统
Thomas Jefferson: 托马斯·杰斐逊,美国第三任总统
James Madison: 詹姆斯·麦迪逊,美国第四任总统
Benjamin Franklin: 100美金纸币上印着本杰明.佛兰克林的头像,所以美国人也把钱戏称为"Benjamins".
考考你的美国常识!
美金叫做"Benjamins"
You can find these founding fathers on American money: 这些建国元勋都被印在美钞上
A little fun fact: Benjamin Franklin is the only one on dollar bills who was never a president: 小趣闻一则:本杰明·弗兰克里是唯一一位没当过总统却被印在美钞上的人
星条旗的含义
Stars and Stripes: 星条旗
There're 13 stripes on the American flag: 美国国旗上有13个横条
It's because when the country was founded,13 states went on board: 因为美国刚建国时有13个殖民地
The 50 stars on the flag represent the 50 states: 星条旗上50颗星,代表美国的50个州
Obviously, there weren't 50 states at first, so over the years, more and more stars have been added to the flag: 当然,一开始并没有50个州,建国后国旗上的星星才一颗一颗多起来
But we've always had 13 stripes on the flag, which represent the original colonies and states: 国旗上的横条一直是13条,它们代表最初的那13个州
最先加入联邦的州是?
美国的建国州共13个,你知道是哪个州最先加入联邦的吗?
Most of the founding states are in the Northeast: 大多数的建国州都位于美国的东北部
Do you know what the first state was?: 你知道是哪个州最先加入美联邦的吗?
Delaware was the first state: 特拉华州是第一个加入美联邦的州
There's no corporate 1 tax in Delaware: 特拉华州没有企业税
美国人心中神圣的独立宣言
美国的国庆之所以定在7月4日,是因为独立宣言签署与1776年7月4日,标志着美国美利坚合众国正式成立。
Declaration 2 of Independence: 独立宣言
Officially, the United States was founded in 1776: 美国正式建国是1776年
After the Revolutionary War, the founding fathers signed onto the Declaration of Independence: 革命战争过后,开国元勋签署了独立宣言
美国国庆干什么?烤肉!
美国人的国庆是一个亲朋好友相聚的日子。人多又热闹,最适合的美食当然就是烧烤咯!国庆节到户外烧烤已经成了美国文化的一部分。而且这一顿一般都会由男主人掌勺,因为烧烤在美国人看来是一件很man的事情!
celebration: 庆祝、庆典
Americans celebrate 4th of July with barbecue: 美国人过国庆的时候会烧烤
picnic: 野餐
It's nice to just be outside, bask 3 in the nice weather, watch the fireworks, eat some grilled 4 delicacies 5 and have a beer or two: 在户外享受好天气,看烟火,吃烧烤,喝上一两杯啤酒,多么美好啊
The weather is perfect for outdoor activities: 天气很适合户外活动
It could be a little too hot for some people and sometimes it gets rained out: 对有些人来说天气可能太热了,有时候不得不因下雨取消活动
Barbecue symbolizes 6 American culture in many ways: 烧烤反应了美国文化的许多方面
carnage: 屠宰
Fourth of July celebration is a communal 7 event: 美国国庆亲朋好友会相聚一堂
A typical celebration will be a gathering 8 of family, friends and sometimes even neighbors in someone's backyard: 通常,家人、朋友,甚至邻居会相聚在某家的后院,共同欢度国庆节
美国男人都是烤肉能手
Barbecue is also symbolic 9 of manhood: 烧烤还象征着男子气概
"My wife takes care of the baking, but I hold down the grill": 我老婆负责烤甜品,烧烤是我的天下
secret recipe/marinade/sauce: 秘密配方/腌汁/酱料
"What's in the sauce?": 这酱里有什么?
"It's my daddy's secret. I'll never tell you": 这是我爸的秘密,我才不会告诉你呢
It's been passed down through generations: 都传了好几代了
在首都庆祝国庆节
美国国庆另一项传统庆祝活动就是放烟花。在美国首都华盛顿,有很多人会选择去市中心位于华盛顿纪念碑和国会大楼中间的国家广场进行野餐并欣赏烟花。
You can go down to the National Mall: 你可以去国家广场走走
It's a big place that's grass: 国家广场就是一片大草地
It's in between the National Monument and the Capitol building: 它坐落于华盛顿纪念碑和国会大楼之间
The National Mall is at the center of DC: 国家广场位于华盛顿的中央
You lay out on the grass with your loved ones and watch the fireworks: 你可以躺在那里的草坪上跟亲朋好友一起看烟花
The most spectacular 10 fireworks display on the 4th of July is in D.C.: 国庆烟花秀最绚丽的就要数华盛顿了
I grew up in Maryland, in a neighborhood that was only 15 minutes outside of D.C.: 我在马里兰州长大,但其实住的地方离华盛顿也就15分钟车程
D.C. stands for District of Columbia: DC指的是哥伦比亚特区 (口语中美国人说华盛顿就直接讲DC)
It could be to avoid confusion because there's also a state called Washington: 这么叫可能是为了防止引起误会,因为有一个州也叫华盛顿
adj.共同的,全体的;公司的,企业的
- This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
- His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。
n.宣布,宣告,宣言,声明(书),申报
- We read the declaration posted on the bulletin board.我们读了贴在布告板上的声明。
- At the recent convention a declaration was adopted.在最近举行的大会上通过了一项宣言。
vt.取暖,晒太阳,沐浴于
- Turtles like to bask in the sun.海龟喜欢曝于阳光中。
- In winter afternoons,he likes to bask in the sun in his courtyard.冬日的午后,他喜欢坐在院子晒太阳。
n.棘手( delicacy的名词复数 );精致;精美的食物;周到
- Its flesh has exceptional delicacies. 它的肉异常鲜美。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- After these delicacies, the trappers were ready for their feast. 在享用了这些美食之后,狩猎者开始其大餐。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗
v.象征,作为…的象征( symbolize的第三人称单数 )
- The use of light and dark symbolizes good and evil. 用光明与黑暗来象征善与恶。
- She likes olive because It'symbolizes peace. 她喜欢橄榄色因为它象征着和平。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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。
n.集会,聚会,聚集
- He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
- He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。
adj.象征性的,符号的,象征主义的
- It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
- The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。
adj.引人注目的,出色的,与众不同的
- This is a spectacular film.这是一部场面壮观的电影。
- This is the most spectacular financial crash of the decade.这是10年里最引人注目的金融破产事件。