VOA慢速英语:Thanksgiving, but US Turkey Farmers Aren't Celebrating

Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday that Americans celebrate on the fourth Thursday in November. This autumn festival is traditionally celebrated with family and friends over a big meal that takes hours to prepare.
感恩节是个全国性节日，美国人将在11月的第四个周四庆祝这个节日。按照传统，在这个秋季节日里，人们要与家人和朋友一边吃准备了数小时的大餐一边庆祝。

The meal usually includes turkey served along with dishes like cranberries, sweet potatoes, green beans and pumpkin pie. The turkey is usually seasoned and roasted in an oven, but some people fry the bird in oil or cook it on a grill or in a smoker.
这顿大餐包括火鸡，配以小红莓、红薯、青豆、南瓜饼等。火鸡通常加上作料在炉子上烤，也有人炸火鸡，用烤架烤，或用烟熏。

The National Turkey Federation estimates that Americans ate forty-six million birds for last year's holiday. The government expects turkey production to increase two percent this year. About two-thirds of the turkeys raised in the United States came from six states: Minnesota, North Carolina, Arkansas, Missouri, Virginia and Indiana.
美国火鸡联合会估计去年感恩节美国人吃了4600万只火鸡。政府专家估计今年的火鸡销售量将增加2%，美国产的火鸡有约2/3的来自六个州：明尼苏达州、北卡罗莱纳州、阿肯色州、密苏里州、弗吉尼亚州和印第安纳州。

Turkey is eaten all year, and Americans have been eating more of it over the years, though chicken, beef and pork are still more popular. Federation president Joel Brandenberger says twenty-twelve will not be as profitable for turkey farmers as the last two years were. Feed costs are up while turkey prices are about the same.
美国人一年四季都吃火鸡，虽然鸡肉、牛肉和猪肉更受欢迎。联合会主席乔尔•布兰登贝格尔说，2012年，火鸡农场主们不可能像过去两年那样获利丰厚。饲养成本已经上涨，但火鸡价格保持不变。

"Corn is our number one feed ingredient, and the drought has obviously increased the price of corn dramatically and, frankly, the fact that an ever-increasing amount of the corn crop is being diverted to ethanol production also has increased the cost of corn. So that's created some difficulty for the industry this year."
“玉米是最重要的饲料，而大旱导致玉米价格急剧上涨，说实话，越来越多的玉米被用作乙醇生产，这也促成了玉米价格上涨。因此今年的火鸡产业会遇到困难。”

The Pilgrims' feast in sixteen twenty-one is often considered the nation's first Thanksgiving. The Pilgrims were early settlers of Plymouth Colony in what is now Massachusetts. They held a three-day feast to celebrate a good harvest. However, other European settlers in North America also held ceremonies of thanks. These included British colonists in Virginia in sixteen nineteen.
1621年美国最初移民者的庆祝活动通常被视为是美国的第一个感恩节，最初移民者是普利茅斯殖民地，也就是现在的马萨诸塞州的最早定居者。他们举行三天的欢庆活动庆祝丰收。然而，北美的其他欧洲定居者也会举行感恩庆祝，包括1619年弗吉尼亚州的英国殖民者。

In eighteen sixty-three, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday of November as a national day of thanksgiving. In nineteen thirty-nine, as the Great Depression was ending, President Franklin Roosevelt established the holiday on the fourth Thursday. He did not want to shorten the Christmas holiday shopping season in years when November has a fifth Thursday.
1863年内战期间，总统亚伯拉罕•林肯宣布11月最后一个周四为全国感恩节。1939年大萧条结束时，总统富兰克林•罗斯福将感恩节改为第四个周四。他不希望在11月有五个周四的时候缩短圣诞节的购物季。

The season traditionally begins with a busy shopping day on the Friday after Thanksgiving, although some stores are now opening on the holiday itself.
这个季节通常从感恩节后周五繁忙的购物开始，尽管现在一些商店在假日期间照常营业。

One of America's founders, Ben Franklin, thought the turkey would better represent the country as its official bird than the bald eagle. But Joel Brandenberger disagrees.
美国开国元勋富兰克林认为与秃鹰相比，火鸡更能代表美国来作为国鸟。但布兰登贝格尔并不认同。

"I think we're better off having the bald eagle on our coins and the Thanksgiving turkey on our dinner table."
“我认为最好把秃鹰印在硬币上，把感恩节火鸡摆在餐桌上。”