(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
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.
Adams was talking about the second of July.
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.
And July 2? Not so much.
Patriotic to the end
Several early presidents of the United States died on July 4. They include John Adams, who became the second president.
Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the country's third president, both died on the country's 50th anniversary of Independence Day.
James Monroe, the fifth U.S. president, died on July 4, 1831.
And the 30th president, Calvin Coolidge, was born on July 4.
Amazing? Or disgusting?
Most Americans celebrate Independence Day with barbecues, parades and, yes, fireworks. But a few celebrate by eating all the hot dogs they can.
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.
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.
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.
Sudo and Chestnut each won a $10,000 prize.
Where do those fireworks come from?
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.
Where do many of our fireworks come from? China.
By the way, we also import most of our American flags from China, too.
Happy Independence Day!
I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.
词汇解析
1.go back to 返回
I now look forward to going back to work as soon as possible.
我现在渴望尽早回到工作岗位 。
2.set a record 创下记录
She set a record which nobody else can remotely approach.
她创下了别人望尘莫及的纪录 。
3.related to 与...有关
Light industry is closely related to agriculture.
轻工业和农业密切相关 。
4.to the end 直到最后
The pilot taxied the plane to the end of the runway.
飞行员将飞机滑行到了跑道尽头 。
内容解析
1.That is the day the Continental Congress voted in support of independence from the British.
in support of 支持
They are raising a fund in support of this good cause.
他们正在为赞助这一有益的事业而集资 。
We must produce evidence in support of our theory.
我们必须提出证据以支持我们的理论 。
2.By the way, we also import most of our American flags from China, too.
By the way 顺便...
By the way, I'm your number-one fan.
顺便说一句,我是你的头号粉丝 。
I'm wearing odd socks today by the way.
顺便提一下,我今天穿的袜子不成对 。
参考译文
7月4日 美国独立日
1776年,约翰·亚当斯写下了“这一天将成为美国史上最难忘的一天” 。他还表示,人们会通过游行、烟花和庆祝活动来纪念这一天 。
亚当斯指的是7月2日 。
大陆会议就是在这一天投票支持美国脱离英国的 。但是《独立宣言》上写的日期是7月4日 。因此,自1776年以来,美国人将7月4日作为独立日来庆祝 。
那7月2日呢?没什么啊 。
爱国到底
美国早期的几位总统都是在7月4日去世的,其中包括第二任总统亚当斯 。
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周年纪念日当天逝世的 。
1831年7月4日,美国第五任总统詹姆斯·门罗(James Monroe)去世 。
而美国第三十任总统卡尔文·柯立芝(Calvin Coolidge)在7月4日出生 。
不可思议还是倒人胃口?
大多数美国人在独立日会进行烧烤、游行和烟花表演来庆祝这一节日 。但是也有少数人通过比赛吃热狗来庆祝 。
20世纪70年代以来, Nathan's Famous 餐厅都会在当天举办比赛——谁在最短时间内吃下的热狗最多 。该比赛通过ESPN体育电视台播出 。比赛分为女子组和男子组,两组比赛都在纽约市的科尼岛举办 。
乔伊·切斯纳特(Joey Chestnut)在10年里共赢得9次男子组比赛冠军 。2016年,他在10分钟内吃下70个热狗创下比赛的最高记录 。
2016年女子组冠军米基·须藤(Miki Sudo)在过去三年都获得了冠军 。2016年,她吃下了38.5个热狗 。
须藤和切斯纳特分别获得1万美元的奖金 。
烟花的由来
我们再来谈谈烟花 。烟花可能是独立日最常见的庆祝场景 。美国人真的很喜欢烟花 。去年,美国烟花协会在烟花方面的开销为8亿2千5百万美元 。
这么多烟花从何而来?中国 。
顺便说一下,我们国家的大部分国旗也是从中国进口的 。
独立日快乐!
凯莉·吉恩·凯莉为您播报 。
译文为可可英语翻译,未经授权请勿转载!
