VOA慢速英语2017 Things You (Probably) Don't Know About the Fourth of July

“The day will be the most memorable in the history of America,” wrote John Adams in 1776. People will honor it with parades, fireworks and celebrations, he added.

“这一天将是美国历史上最难忘的一天，”约翰·亚当斯在1776年这样写道。他补充说，人们会通过游行、烟花和庆祝活动来纪念这一天。

Adams was talking about the second of July.

亚当斯说的是7月2日。

That is the day the Continental Congress voted in support of independence from the British. But the date written on the Declaration of Independence is July 4. So, since 1776, Americans have celebrated July 4 as the country’s Independence Day.

这一天，大陆会议投票支持美国从英国独立出来。但是《独立宣言》上写的是7月4日。自1776年以来，美国人都将7月4日作为独立日来纪念。

And July 2? Not so much.

那么7月2日呢？没什么啊。

Patriotic to the end

爱国到底

Several early presidents of the United States died on July 4. They include John Adams, who became the second president.

美国早期有几位总统都在7月4日去世，其中就包括当上第二任总统的亚当斯。

Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the country’s third president, both died on the country’s 50th anniversary of Independence Day.

亚当斯和美国第三任总统托马斯·杰斐逊（Thomas Jefferson）都是在美国独立50周年纪念日这天去世的。

James Monroe, the fifth U.S. president, died on July 4, 1831.

美国第五任总统詹姆斯·门罗（James Monroe）于1831年7月4日去世。

And the 30th president, Calvin Coolidge, was born on July 4.

第三十任总统卡尔文·柯立芝(Calvin Coolidge)是7月4日出生的。

Amazing? Or disgusting?

惊人还是恶心？

Most Americans celebrate Independence Day with barbecues, parades and, yes, fireworks. But a few celebrate by eating all the hot dogs they can.

大多数美国人以烧烤、游行以及烟花来庆祝独立日。但是也有少部分人通过食用数量最多的热狗来庆祝。

Since the early 1970s, a restaurant called Nathan’s Famous has organized a competition to see who can eat the most hot dogs in a short time. The event is now shown on sports broadcaster ESPN. It includes a women’s competition and a men’s event. Both are held in New York City, in an area called Coney Island.

自20世纪70年代以来，一家名为 Nathan's Famous 的餐厅都举办比赛看谁能最短时间里吃下最多的热狗。该比赛现在在ESPN体育电视台播出。它包括女子组比赛和男子组比赛，两者都在纽约市一个叫科尼岛的地方举办。

In 10 years, Joey Chestnut has won the men’s contest nine times. In 2016, he set a record at the competition by eating 70 hot dogs in 10 minutes.

10年来，乔伊·切斯纳特（Joey Chestnut）赢得了9次男子组比赛。2016年，他在10分钟内吃下70个热狗创下了该比赛的记录。

The 2016 women’s winner, Miki Sudo, has won in each of the past three years. In 2016, she ate 38 (and a half) hot dogs.

2016年女子组冠军米基·须藤(Miki Sudo)在过去三年里都获得了胜利。2016年，她吃下了38.5个热狗。

Sudo and Chestnut each won a $10,000 prize.

须藤和切斯纳特各自都获得了1万美元奖金。

Where do those fireworks come from?

烟花从何而来？

Let’s go back to those fireworks, probably the most common image related to Independence Day. Americans really, really love fireworks. The American Pyrotechnic Association – “pyrotechnic” is another word for “fireworks” – reported that Americans spent $825 million on fireworks last year.

让我们继续来说烟花。它可能是最为常见的独立日相关画面。美国人真的非常喜欢烟花。美国烟花协会去年在烟花上花了8250万美元。

Where do many of our fireworks come from? China.

我们这么多烟花都从何而来？答案是中国。

By the way, we also import most of our American flags from China, too.

顺便说一下，我们大部分国旗也是从中国进口而来。

Happy Independence Day!

独立日快乐！

I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

Words in This Story

disgusting – adj. so unpleasant that you feel slightly sick

barbecues – n. outdoor meals or parties at which food is cooked on a barbecue

hot dog – n. a small cooked sausage