原版英文小故事 20. Independence Day Parade

It was, as usual, a hot and sunny July 4--Independence Day. Eight-year-old Jeffrey was excited about the annual parade. He wanted to see everything, and he wanted to see it now. But the parade wouldn’t start until 10 o’clock. His mom Julia tried to keep Jeffrey in check. She made him clean his room and take the dog for a walk. When he finished these chores, she walked with him to the parade route, which extended about two miles along Main Street.

The parade, as usual, was wonderful. It started with the high school band and a marching drum band. Then followed about a dozen government dignitaries in convertibles¹, smiling and waving at the people they were usually lying to. After that, there were clowns, jugglers, exotic cars, racing² cars, and classic cars. Interwoven among the cars were Boy Scouts³, Girl Scouts, students representing various elementary schools, the local mountain rescue squad⁴, and local realtors throwing out free candy with their business cards attached.

Three bands played music from their rolling truck beds. The parade contained more than 500 participants and lasted two hours. Flags, balloons, and trash receptacles were everywhere. The sidewalks were full of spectators. Leashed to their owners, about 200 dogs also attended the parade, most of them sniffing⁵, barking at, and playing with each other.

The final part of the parade was the fire trucks, blowing their horns and spraying all the kids who ran out into the street yelling and laughing. Jeffrey ran out with about 20 other kids and got totally wet. His shirt clung to his body. Water was squishing out of his shoes when he finally came back to the sidewalk. A huge smile was on his face.

“That was great, mom!” he exclaimed. “Did you see that? When I grow up, I’m going to be a fireman.”
 

1 convertibles   

n.可改变性，可变化性( convertible的名词复数 )；活动顶篷式汽车

参考例句：

• In Washington, the regulators did make a push to ban the manufacturing of convertibles. 华盛顿的各个管制机构曾经推动禁止敝篷车的制造。 来自辞典例句
• That's why they drive around in half-million-dollar convertibles? 因此他们就不惜花几千万美元来这里居住？ 来自电影对白

2 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

3 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

4 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

5 sniffing   

n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• We all had colds and couldn't stop sniffing and sneezing. 我们都感冒了，一个劲地抽鼻子，打喷嚏。
• They all had colds and were sniffing and sneezing. 他们都伤风了，呼呼喘气而且打喷嚏。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》