VOA慢速英語: 關(guān)于美國獨立日你所不知道的事情

This day will be remembered in American history, wrote John Adams in 1776.People will honor it with fireworks and celebrations.

美國歷史將會記住約翰·亞當(dāng)斯在1776年所記下的日子。人們?nèi)挤艧熁▉響c祝這一天。

He was talking about the second of July.

A public reading the U.S. Declaration of Independence in Boston, Massachusetts July 4, 2013.

他所說的是七月四日。

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

這一天是慶祝大陸議會從英國中獨立出來。然而寫下《獨立宣言》的日子是7.4，因此，自從1776年以來，美國人將7.4日作為國家的獨立日。

And July 2? Not so much.

7月2號?不僅僅如此

Patriotic to the end

將愛國進行到底

Several early U.S. presidents died on July 4. They include John Adams, who became the second U.S. president, even though he made a mistake about ?the country’s most important national holiday. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the country’s third president, both died on the country’s 50th anniversary of Independence Day.

美國前幾位總統(tǒng)都于7.4日逝世，包括第二任總統(tǒng)約翰·亞當(dāng)斯，盡管他曾弄錯了本國最重要的節(jié)日。約翰·亞當(dāng)斯和本國第三任總統(tǒng)湯姆斯·杰斐遜都在紀(jì)念獨立日50周年那天逝世。

James Monroe, the country’s fifth president, died on July 4, 1831.

詹姆斯·門羅，美國第五位總統(tǒng)，逝世于1831年7月4日。

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

美國第30任總統(tǒng)柯立芝盛宇7.4日。

Amazing? Or disgusting?

吃驚還是滿不在乎?

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

大多數(shù)美國人慶祝獨立日時吃燒烤，游行和放煙花。但是另一些人吃盡可能多的熱狗來慶祝節(jié)日。

Since the early 1970s, a restaurant called Nathan’s Famous has hosted a competition to see who can eat the most hot dogs in a short time. The event is nowshown on major sports channels. It includes a women’scontest and a men’s contest. Both are held in New YorkCity, in a part of town called Coney Island.

自從二十世紀(jì)七十年代早期以來，一家名為Nathan’s Famous的餐廳舉行了一場比賽，看誰能在最短的時間內(nèi)吃最多的熱狗。該比賽現(xiàn)在是節(jié)日的一項重要活動。這場比賽分為女子比賽和男子比賽，同時在紐約市一個叫Coney Island.的城鎮(zhèn)中舉行。

For the last eight years, a man named Joey Chestnuthas won the men’s contest. In 2014, he ate 61 hot dogsin 10 minutes.

在過去的八年中，一位名叫喬伊的男子贏得男子比賽。在2014年，他在十分鐘內(nèi)吃了61個熱狗。

The 2014 women’s winner, Miki Sudo, ate 34 hot dogs.

2014年女子組比賽冠軍是米克·蘇鐸，吃了34個熱狗。

Where do those fireworks come from?

這些煙花來自哪里呢?

Let’s go back to those fireworks, probably the most common image related toIndependence Day. Americans really, really love fireworks. The America nPyrotechnic Association – “pyrotechnic” is another word for “fireworks” –reported that Americans spent $675 million on fireworks last year.

下面讓我們談?wù)劅熁?。煙花是獨立日中最常見的畫面。美國人的確是很喜歡煙花。據(jù)美國的煙花協(xié)會報道，去年美國花費675百萬美元購買煙花。

.Most ordinary people buy about $100 worth. Cities andtowns spend between $5,000 and $30,000 to put on apublic show.

大多數(shù)普通民眾購買100美元的煙花，城市和各個城鎮(zhèn)將會花到5.000美元到30.000美元不等購置煙花。

The biggest fireworks show is in New York City. It costsabout $2 million.

紐約市擁有最大的煙花展，這場展出花費近兩百萬元。

Where do many of our fireworks come from? China.

這些煙花來自哪里呢----中國。

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

順便提一下。美國是中國最大的煙花出口國。

Happy Independence Day!

獨立日快樂!

I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

Kelly Jean Kelly wrote this story for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.

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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 abarbecue

hot dog – n. a small cooked sausage