英语课程计划-Mother's Day

Mother's Day is an important day all around the world, even though it started in North America and Europe. Not all countries celebrate it on the same day, but the most popular day is the second Sunday in May. It is, of course, a day to honour¹ our mothers and make them feel extra² special. A punctuation³ point about the day is that most countries choose the singular⁴ possessive “Mother’s Day”, with the apostrophe before the ‘s’ to show that each family honours⁵ their mother, rather than all of the world’s mothers. Young children get especially excited about Mother’s Day and put a lot of effort⁶ into making cards and presents for their Mums, or Moms in America. For mothers, it is like having a second birthday.

Mother’s Day in the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia, etc. means⁷ mothers usually get the day off from housework. It is common for children to cook for their mother so she can have breakfast in bed. She also receives presents, flowers and cards. In America, Mother's Day is the busiest day of the year for restaurants, as children take their Mums to lunch and/or dinner. Americans spend a lot on this day - over $2.5 billion on flowers and $70 million on Mother’s Day cards. In Sweden⁸, people buy small plastic flowers and the money raised goes to help needy⁹ mothers and their children. Many people are against the idea of Mother’s Day as it is upsetting for children (and adults) who have lost their mother. Spare a thought for them this Mother’s Day.

1 honour   

n.(BrE)荣誉，头衔；信用，尊敬，名誉；阁下；勋章；vt.尊敬，授予荣誉；承兑，实践

参考例句：

• Children should be taught to show honour to their elders.应该教育孩子尊敬长者。
• She stands first on the honour list.她在光荣榜上名列第一。

2 extra   

adj.额外的，外加的；特大的

参考例句：

• We do not ask for extra pay.我们不要求额外报酬。
• You have to pay extra for breakfast.早餐你要另外付费。

3 punctuation   

n.标点符号，标点法

参考例句：

• My son's punctuation is terrible.我儿子的标点符号很糟糕。
• A piece of writing without any punctuation is difficult to understand.一篇没有任何标点符号的文章是很难懂的。

4 singular   

adj.个人的，单数的，独一的，唯一的，非凡的；n.单数

参考例句：

• The young man has a singular ear for music.这个年轻人对音乐有非凡的欣赏力。
• The noun is in the singular.这个名词是单数形式。

5 honours   

n.礼仪；荣典；大学荣誉学位；大学优等成绩；荣幸( honour的名词复数 )；尊重；名誉；各种荣誉称号

参考例句：

• He received a knighthood in the New Year's Honours list. 他是新年受勋者之一，荣获爵士称号。
• He received many honours from many cities, colleges and societies. 他享有许多城市、大学及学会所授予的荣誉称号。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 effort   

n.努力，艰难的尝试

参考例句：

• I will make every effort to arrive on time.我将尽一切努力准时到达。
• There isn't much time ahead,so we should redouble our effort.来日无多，须加倍努力。

7 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

8 Sweden   

n.瑞典(欧洲)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• We crossed over the river into Sweden.我们渡河到了瑞典。

9 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。