VOA慢速英语: 关于美国独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.

美国历史将会记住约翰·亚当斯在1776年所记下的日子。人们燃放烟花来庆祝这一天。

He was talking about the second of July.

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

他所说的是七月四日。

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.

这一天是庆祝大陆议会从英国中独立出来。然而写下《独立宣言》的日子是7.4，因此，自从1776年以来，美国人将7.4日作为国家的独立日。

And July 2? Not so much.

7月2号?不仅仅如此

Patriotic to the end

将爱国进行到底

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.

美国前几位总统都于7.4日逝世，包括第二任总统约翰·亚当斯，尽管他曾弄错了本国最重要的节日。约翰·亚当斯和本国第三任总统汤姆斯·杰斐逊都在纪念独立日50周年那天逝世。

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

詹姆斯·门罗，美国第五位总统，逝世于1831年7月4日。

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

美国第30任总统柯立芝盛宇7.4日。

Amazing? Or disgusting?

吃惊还是满不在乎?

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

大多数美国人庆祝独立日时吃烧烤，游行和放烟花。但是另一些人吃尽可能多的热狗来庆祝节日。

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.

自从二十世纪七十年代早期以来，一家名为Nathan’s Famous的餐厅举行了一场比赛，看谁能在最短的时间内吃最多的热狗。该比赛现在是节日的一项重要活动。这场比赛分为女子比赛和男子比赛，同时在纽约市一个叫Coney Island.的城镇中举行。

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

在过去的八年中，一位名叫乔伊的男子赢得男子比赛。在2014年，他在十分钟内吃了61个热狗。

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

2014年女子组比赛冠军是米克·苏铎，吃了34个热狗。

Where do those fireworks come from?

这些烟花来自哪里呢?

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.

下面让我们谈谈烟花。烟花是独立日中最常见的画面。美国人的确是很喜欢烟花。据美国的烟花协会报道，去年美国花费675百万美元购买烟花。

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

大多数普通民众购买100美元的烟花，城市和各个城镇将会花到5.000美元到30.000美元不等购置烟花。

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

纽约市拥有最大的烟花展，这场展出花费近两百万元。

Where do many of our fireworks come from? China.

这些烟花来自哪里呢----中国。

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

顺便提一下。美国是中国最大的烟花出口国。

Happy Independence Day!

独立日快乐!

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