英语博客：Fire up the barby!

 

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　　Fire up the barby! The good weather is here, minced¹ meat is on sale in the supermarket, and the nights are longer. It's time to clean the outside furniture, put a tablecloth² on the table, buy propane for the barbecue, and decide what's for dinner. Our barbecue has spent the winter under a heavy duty, plastic cover. Now we can get it out, clean it up, put in a new tank of fuel, and get out the recipe book. The longer days are so much more cheery than the short ones of winter. Eating outside, 'al fresco³', is a real pleasure, and always makes the food taste better. This weekend is a special spring celebration in Wenatchee; it's Apple Blossom⁴ weekend. There will be a parade through the center of town, a food fair in one of the parks, and a carnival⁵ in another. It is the perfect time to invite friends and family over, after the day's events, and have one of the favorites: hamburgers, hotdogs, marinated chicken, thinly sliced beef, vegetables on a scewer, or a vegetarian⁶ kebab. Yummy! A potluck is also a good choice. That's when each couple or family that comes over brings a dish of some sort. One person brings a salad, another brings a dessert, perhaps drinks can be brought, and then the host family supplies the main dish. You can eat and chat away until the sun goes down and the stars come out. I look forward to the days when it stays warm until nine or ten o'clock at night, so we can all stay out until we all get sleepy. A friend of mine barbecues all year long. She has a covered deck or patio⁷, so even when there is snow outside in the middle of winter, she can barbecue whatever she wants. So, this weekend, tell your friends, bring some beer and some punch, and come and join us.
Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary: minced meat, propane, heavy duty, deck.
1. This recipe calls for minced meat, just like the beef we use for hamburgers.
2. Propane is the gas that is best for barbecues.
3. I bought myself some heavy duty gloves; they are perfect for gardening and rough work.
4. I need to sweep the deck before our friends come over for a barbecue.

1 minced   

v.切碎( mince的过去式和过去分词 )；剁碎；绞碎；用绞肉机绞（食物，尤指肉）

参考例句：

• He minced over to serve us. 他迈着碎步过来招待我们。
• A young fop minced up to George and introduced himself. 一个花花公子扭扭捏捏地走到乔治面前并作了自我介绍。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 tablecloth   

n.桌布，台布

参考例句：

• He sat there ruminating and picking at the tablecloth.他坐在那儿沉思，轻轻地抚弄着桌布。
• She smoothed down a wrinkled tablecloth.她把起皱的桌布熨平了。

3 fresco   

n.壁画；vt.作壁画于

参考例句：

• This huge fresco is extremely clear and just like nature itself.It is very harmonious.这一巨幅壁画，清晰有致且又浑然天成，十分和谐。
• So it is quite necessary to study the influence of visual thinking over fresco.因此，研究视觉思维对壁画的影响和作用是十分必要的。

4 blossom   

n.花，开花；vi.开花，发展

参考例句：

• The blossom on the trees looks lovely in springtime.春天树上的花很漂亮。
• Let a hundred flowers blossom,let a hundred schools of thought contend.百花齐放，百家争鸣。

5 carnival   

n.嘉年华会，狂欢，狂欢节，巡回表演

参考例句：

• I got some good shots of the carnival.我有几个狂欢节的精彩镜头。
• Our street puts on a carnival every year.我们街的居民每年举行一次嘉年华会。

6 vegetarian   

n.素食者；adj.素食的

参考例句：

• She got used gradually to the vegetarian diet.她逐渐习惯吃素食。
• I didn't realize you were a vegetarian.我不知道你是个素食者。

7 patio   

n.庭院，平台

参考例句：

• Suddenly, the thought of my beautiful patio came to mind. I can be quiet out there,I thought.我又忽然想到家里漂亮的院子，我能够在这里宁静地呆会。
• They had a barbecue on their patio on Sunday.星期天他们在院子里进行烧烤。