英语课程计划-National Siblings Day

National Siblings¹ Day (NSD) is celebrated² on April 10 each year in the USA. It is the brainchild of Claudia A. Evart, who created it after the deaths of her brother and sister. She wanted a day for all Americans to think about the importance of the relationships they have with their brothers and sisters. She created a Siblings Day Foundation to establish this special day and has managed to get 40 state governors to declare Siblings Day in their states. More and more people are accepting NSD and it now has a “Special Mark” from the US Patent and Trademark³ Office. If it keeps growing in popularity, it could be up there on the holiday calendar with Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.

Do you ever stop and think just how important your brothers and sisters are to you? Do you ever wonder what life would be like without a brother or sister, to be an only child? Our siblings are quite often the people with whom we have the longest relations. More often than not, we are together in infancy⁴, play together, grow up together and grow old together. We share a million experiences, joys and disappointments. We often rely on them when we are in deepest need and celebrate with them our greatest achievements. Our brothers and sisters are perhaps the people who understand and trust us best. It is great that there is a day when we get to celebrate this wonderful bond and to say “thank you for being my brother or sister”.

1 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

2 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

3 trademark   

n.商标；特征；vt.注册的…商标

参考例句：

• The trademark is registered on the book of the Patent Office.该商标已在专利局登记注册。
• The trademark of the pen was changed.这钢笔的商标改了。

4 infancy   

n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期

参考例句：

• He came to England in his infancy.他幼年时期来到英国。
• Their research is only in its infancy.他们的研究处于初级阶段。