英语经典美文诵读100篇：039.mother’s day and father’s day

[00:04.38]039. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day [00:12.38]People in the United States honor their parents with two special days: [00:17.76]Mother’s Day, on the second Sunday in May, and Father’s Day, on the third Sunday in June. [00:25.44]Mother’s Day was proclaimed a day for national observance by President Woodrow Wilson in 1915. [00:34.24]Ann Jarvis from Grafton, West Virginia, had started the idea to have a day to honor mothers. [00:42.53]She was the one who chose the second Sunday in May and also began the custom of wearing a carnation. [00:51.13]In 1909, Mrs. Dodd from Spokane, Washington, thought of the idea of a day to honor fathers. [00:59.90]She wanted to honor her own father, William Smart. [01:04.69]After her mother died, he had the responsibility of raising a family of five sons and a daughter. [01:13.51]In 1910, the first Father’s Day was observed in Spokane. [01:19.22]Senator Margaret Chase Smith helped to establish Father’s Day as a national commemorative day, in 1972. [01:29.91]These days are set aside to show love and respect for parents. [01:35.43]They raise their children and educate them to be responsible citizens. They give love and care. [01:44.12]These two special days are celebrated in many different ways. [01:49.67]On Mother’s Day people wear carnations. A red one symbolizes a living mother. [01:57.85]A white one shows that the mother is dead. Many people attend religious services to honor parents. [02:06.47]It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit the cemetery. [02:12.01]On these days families get together at home, as well as in restaurants. [02:18.69]They often have outdoor barbecues for Father’s Day. These are days of fun and good feelings and memories. [02:28.04]Another tradition is to give cards and gifts. Children make them in school. [02:34.77]Many people make their own presents. These are valued more than the ones bought in stores. [02:42.28]It is not the value of the gift that is important, but it is “the thought that counts”. [02:49.38]Greeting card stores, florists, candy makers, bakeries, telephone companies, [02:56.54]and other stores do a lot of business during these holidays.

00:00

00:00

MP3下载 文本下载