时间:2018-12-16 作者:英语课 分类:2015年VOA慢速英语(十一)月


英语课

AS IT IS 2015-11-26 How the U.S. Gives Thanks: Food, Football and Parades


Here are some things Americans do on Thanksgiving:


Eat a large meal. For 88 percent of Americans, the meal features turkey, according to a poll by the American Turkey Federation 1.


Eat large amounts of bread seasoned with spices, called “stuffing.” It is often put into, or stuffed inside the turkey while it is cooking.


Eat large amounts of mashed 2 potatoes, green beans mixed with canned, or tinned soup, and pumpkin 3 pie.


Some will volunteer at soup kitchens. Some will offer up prayers. But for most Americans, it is all about the food.


Thanksgiving is America’s second-favorite holiday, according to a 2015 Harris Poll. It is a quiet day of rest, relaxation 4, family, friends and, of course, food.


Many Americans will watch football games and parades on television. A famous parade in New York City is broadcast across the nation. It features giant helium balloons that look like popular characters from movies and television shows.


Meanwhile, many people will stay indoors and watch football, even while they eat. Many Americans are sedentary, meaning they are more still than active.


But others are on the move. Many towns and running clubs have 5- or 10-kilometer races, called Turkey Trots 5. They run in the morning to offset 6 the calories taken in later in the day.


Many people will travel long distances on crowded highways, airplanes and trains. The American Automobile 7 Association predicts that 46.9 million people will travel 50 or more miles, or 80 kilometers, this Thanksgiving.


Chris Lewis is a professor who teaches American culture at the University of Colorado. He says travel “will be far from pleasant” on


America’s biggest travel holiday. In the American West, snow/or heavy rain may slow air travel to Seattle, San Francisco and Salt Lake City.


Lewis says once they arrive at their destination, holiday makers 8 are likely to see at least one relative they dislike. The combination of difficult travel and difficult people can be very stressful, he said.


Still, Lewis says, most Americans cannot imagine a year without Thanksgiving. One Thanksgiving, he could not get home. So, Lewis invited a friend to join him at a local buffet 9 restaurant.


Lewis says: “Even though we didn’t know the other people at the restaurant, it was nice to be together with people observing the same traditions.”


Jerry Zolten is an American culture professor at Penn State University in Pennsylvania. He said this year’s Thanksgiving has extra meaning because of terrorism across the world.


Zolten says: “Today in America, Thanksgiving has taken on a truly uplifting meaning. It has become a kind of good time spiritual event with a relaxed feel that celebrates what is best in people -- sharing, peace, harmony, friendship. Not taking for granted that there is food on the table, family, and relative prosperity.”


Alicia Shephard has lived two years in Afghanistan working with news reporters. Thanksgiving is important to her, she said. And last year she was determined 10 to find a turkey.


She says:  “It’s not a holiday they (Afghans) celebrate, obviously. Somehow we found the sorriest turkeys I’ve ever seen. But we had fun. Thanksgiving is about being together and sharing what we are grateful for.”


But some question the meaning of Thanksgiving. They see the holiday as being too commercial. The day after the holiday is called "Black Friday." Some stores open as early as 4 a.m. and offer big discounts for Christmas shopping. There is a debate about whether stores should open so early and if that is fair to employees.


Besides being commercial, some question the origin of the holiday. Most Americans learn in school that Thanksgiving started in 1621. Immigrants and settlers from Britain -- called Pilgrims -- shared a meal with Native Americans, say many history books.


But others suggest the story is hypocritical. They point to the thousands of Native Americans who were killed by the European settlers as they moved into the continent.


Many Thanksgiving traditions are hard to understand for non-Americans. Zolten pointed 11 to a Spanish man who said he learned about Thanksgiving by watching the television show, “Friends.”  All he knew was that Americans tend to stuff themselves with turkey, Zolten said.


One of the stranger parts of the holiday is the annual White House ceremony when the president pardons two turkeys from becoming dinner.


Last year, President Barack Obama said: "It is a little puzzling that I do this every year, but I will say that I enjoy it because with all the tough stuff that swirls 12 around in this office it's nice once in a while just to say, 'Happy Thanksgiving.’”


British author Toni Hargis wrote about her experience with Thanksgiving for the BBC:


“You’ll probably encounter the famous green bean casserole, which is a questionable 13 combination of green beans, canned mushroom soup and canned crispy fried onion rings. (I know).”


The average American will consume 4,500 calories on Thanksgiving, according to the Calorie Control Council. That does not include leftovers 14, the food that is eaten later.


The suggested daily amount for a man weighing 160 pounds is 2,300 calories, according to the Mayo Clinic.


Among Americans, 35 percent are obese 15, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Diabetes 16 affects 9.3 percent of Americans, while heart disease impacts 11.3 percent, according to the center.


Other nations celebrate Thanksgiving, too. Among them: Japan, Canada, Liberia and the Netherlands city of Leiden. The holiday is usually tied to the end of the harvest season, when people can enjoy a good meal and rest.


Words in This Story


seasoned – adj.  having a lot of spices, herbs, salt, pepper, etc., added


soup kitchen – n. a place that gives food (such as soup and bread) to poor people


helium – adj. a chemical element that is a colorless gas and is often used to fill balloons


characters – n.  a person who appears in a story, book, play, movie, or television show


sedentary – adj. doing or involving a lot of sitting


calories – n. a unit of heat used to indicate the amount of energy that foods will produce in the human body


crowded – adj.  filled with too many people or things


destination – n. a place to which a person is going


stressful – adj.  making you feel worried or anxious


buffet – n. a meal for which different foods are placed on a table so that people can serve themselves


uplifting – adj. causing happy and hopeful feelings


relaxed – adj. not worried or tense


commercial – adj. related to or used in the buying and selling of goods and services.


harmony – n. a pleasing combination or arrangement of different things


relative prosperity – n.  making a fairly decent amount of money


grateful – adj.  feeling or showing thanks


hypocritical – adj. acting 17 in a way that is different than the believes you claim to have


continent – n. one of the great divisions of land (such as North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, or Antarctica) of the Earth


pardons – n. to officially say that someone who is guilty of a crime will be allowed to go free and will not be punished


puzzling – adj. causing or likely to cause confusion : difficult to solve or understand


encounter – v.  to have or experience


obese – adj. very fat


crispy – adj. pleasantly thin, dry, and easily broken



1 federation
n.同盟,联邦,联合,联盟,联合会
  • 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。
2 mashed
a.捣烂的
  • two scoops of mashed potato 两勺土豆泥
  • Just one scoop of mashed potato for me, please. 请给我盛一勺土豆泥。
3 pumpkin
n.南瓜
  • 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!
4 relaxation
n.松弛,放松;休息;消遣;娱乐
  • The minister has consistently opposed any relaxation in the law.部长一向反对法律上的任何放宽。
  • She listens to classical music for relaxation.她听古典音乐放松。
5 trots
小跑,急走( trot的名词复数 ); 匆匆忙忙地走
  • A horse that trots, especially one trained for harness racing. 训练用于快跑特别是套轭具赛跑的马。
  • He always trots out the same old excuses for being late. 他每次迟到总是重复那一套藉口。
6 offset
n.分支,补偿;v.抵消,补偿
  • Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
  • He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。
7 automobile
n.汽车,机动车
  • He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
  • The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。
8 makers
n.制造者,制造商(maker的复数形式)
  • The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
  • The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 buffet
n.自助餐;饮食柜台;餐台
  • Are you having a sit-down meal or a buffet at the wedding?你想在婚礼中摆桌宴还是搞自助餐?
  • Could you tell me what specialties you have for the buffet?你能告诉我你们的自助餐有什么特色菜吗?
10 determined
adj.坚定的;有决心的
  • I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
  • He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
11 pointed
adj.尖的,直截了当的
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
12 swirls
n.旋转( swirl的名词复数 );卷状物;漩涡;尘旋v.旋转,打旋( swirl的第三人称单数 )
  • Swirls of smoke rose through the trees. 树林中升起盘旋的青烟。 来自辞典例句
  • On reaching the southeast corner of Himalaya-Tibet, It'swirls cyclonically across the Yunnan Plateau. 在到达喜马拉雅--西藏高原东南角处,它作气旋性转向越过云南高原。 来自辞典例句
13 questionable
adj.可疑的,有问题的
  • There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
  • Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。
14 leftovers
n.剩余物,残留物,剩菜
  • He can do miracles with a few kitchen leftovers.他能用厨房里几样剩饭做出一顿美餐。
  • She made supper from leftovers she had thrown together.她用吃剩的食物拼凑成一顿晚饭。
15 obese
adj.过度肥胖的,肥大的
  • The old man is really obese,it can't be healthy.那位老人确实过于肥胖了,不能算是健康。
  • Being obese and lazy is dangerous to health.又胖又懒危害健康。
16 diabetes
n.糖尿病
  • In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者,医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
  • Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。
17 acting
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
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