一轉(zhuǎn)眼,Holliday season又要到啦!本周美國人就要迎來一年一度的感恩節(jié)(每年十一月的第四個星期四)……說起感恩節(jié),大家是不是首先都會想到火雞大餐呢,美國人對火雞的熱愛,在每年的感恩節(jié)這一天都會達到頂峰。但是究竟為啥,火雞就這么成了感恩節(jié)餐桌上的主角呢?火雞活體究竟長啥樣?它們跟霸王龍是親戚?土耳其(Turkey)又為啥躺槍了呢……今天我們就來講講感恩節(jié)明星——火雞,和它們的鄰居老美不得不說的故(duan)事(zi)。

1.美國人有多愛火雞?

It’s no secret that these huge birds earned so much love from the Americans. But how deep is their love? Let’s just look at the fact that there are 4 places in America named Turkey – Turkey, Louisiana, Turkey Texas, Turkey North Carolina and Turkey Creek Arizona. They even have 2 townships in Pennsylvania called Upper Turkeyfoot and Lower Turkeyfoot. Don’t be surprised if one day they put a sign on the border says, “Welcome to Turkeyland.”
火雞深受美國人喜愛這已經(jīng)不是什么新鮮事兒了,不過老美們到底有多愛這些大鳥呢?我們就拿下面這事兒來說說,美國有4個以“火雞”命名的地方-路易斯安那的火雞城,德州的火雞城,北卡的火雞城,還有亞利桑那的火雞河。在賓州,他們甚至還有兩個小鎮(zhèn),一個叫上火雞腳鎮(zhèn),一個叫下火雞腳鎮(zhèn)。如果哪天他們在自己的邊境豎個牌子寫著,“歡迎來到火雞樂園”,可不要被嚇到哦。

Tip:

It’s no secret這個說法可以理解為,這已經(jīng)不是秘密了、這不是新鮮事

2.富蘭克林對火雞的愛,恐怕是無人能及了

If you know a thing or two about America, you probably know that their national bird is bald eagle. But there is one person who had a big problem with that. Ben Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States, wrote to his daughter that the bald eagle is “a bird of bad moral character”, whereas the turkey is “much more respectable”. I bet if he had his way, turkey would be their national bird.
如果你對美國有所了解的話,你大概知道禿鷹是他們的國鳥。不過,有這么一個人,對這個國鳥有很大的意見。這個人就是美國的開國元勛之一,本·富蘭克林啦。他曾經(jīng)在給女兒的信中寫道,禿鷹是一種“道德敗壞”的鳥,而火雞才應(yīng)該更“受人尊敬”呢。我猜如果當時富蘭克林有路子的話,今天美國的國鳥可能就是火雞了呢。

沒錯就是鈔票上的這個富蘭克林!

Tips:

1)know a thing or two的意思是知道一點,有所了解。例如:

If you know a thing or two about her, you wouldn’t have pissed her off.
如果你對她有所了解的話,你當初就不會惹毛她了。

2)have a problem with是對xx有意見,感到不滿的意思??刹皇菍xx有疑問哦。例如:

You have a problem with me or what?
你對我有意見還是咋地?(腦補東北腔)

3)have one’s way是有方法,有路子的意思。

?

3.所以為什么感恩節(jié)吃的不是牛不是羊也不是普通雞,而偏偏是火雞呢?

How come turkey became the traditional dish for Thanksgiving Day? The answer is quite simple – There’s just too many turkeys. When they first decided to celebrate this special holiday in 1621, turkey happened to be the most plentiful meat available.After all, these native birds roamed the Americas 10 million years ago.
火雞怎么就成了傳統(tǒng)的感恩節(jié)大餐了呢?答案其實很簡單,因為火雞實在是太,多,了。人們第一次慶祝感恩節(jié)的時候,是在1621年,然而恰好那個時候,數(shù)量最能滿足感恩節(jié)大餐的肉類,就是火雞肉了。畢竟,這些本地鳥,一千萬年前就開始在美洲大陸上繁衍生息了。

4.土耳其跟火雞到底有關(guān)系嘛?

Actually it takes some words to explain why turkey is named after Turkey. Back in the day, the Europeans were in love with the guinea fowls which were imported by Turkish merchants. As a results, the English named the birds turkeys. Later when the Spaniards came to America, they found a bird tasted like those guinea fowls. When they were sent to Europe, the English called them turkeys as well. Is it just me, or the English really are lazy at naming things?
要說起為什么火雞在英語里跟土耳其同名,那還真是有的說了。很久很久以前,歐洲人愛上了一種叫珍珠雞的食物,因為是被土耳其商人帶進歐洲來的,所以英國人就把它們命名為turkey。后來西班牙人到了美洲,他們發(fā)現(xiàn)了一種跟珍珠雞味道蜜汁相似的禽類(火雞),又把這種禽類帶回了歐洲。英國大佬們就又把這種跟turkey味道很相似的鳥也叫做turkey了。難道只有我覺得,英國人在起名字方面有點太隨便了嗎?

Tips:

1)back in the day的意思是,在以前,在舊時候。類似的back in my day意思就是在我們那個年代,在我年輕的時候。

2)最后這一句很口語化,is it just me or……,意思是難道只有我這么想嗎,你們難道不覺得……嗎,常常是用作反問的,或者是提出自認為新鮮的觀點。比如:

Is it just me, or Benedict Cumberbatch really looks like a beaver?
只有我覺得,卷福長得很像海貍嗎?

說了這么多,會動的火雞到底長啥樣?

長這樣……

聲明:本文系滬江英語原創(chuàng)內(nèi)容,轉(zhuǎn)載請注明出處。本文僅代表作者個人觀點,僅供參考。如有不妥之處,歡迎指正。