VOA慢速英语2014 Welcome to Julissa’s Quinceañera! 欢迎来到茱丽莎的成人礼

 

Welcome to Julissa’s Quinceañera! 欢迎来到茱丽莎的成人礼

From VOA Learning English, welcome to This Is America. I’m Christopher Cruise. 

And I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

Today we meet an American teenager as she celebrates her 15th birthday in the Hispanic tradition of the quincea?era. 

Many teenagers in the United States experience a rite¹ of passage -- an event signaling the end of childhood. Sometimes this is a celebration to mark a birthday, like the “Sweet 16” party for girls. Sometimes the rite of passage is a religious observance or a cultural or ethnic² tradition.

Young members of the Jewish religion, for example, study and memorize a part of the Torah. Then they recite or repeat those religious scriptures³ for the clergy⁴, their family and friends in a temple or synagogue. The ceremony for boys is called a Bar Mitzvah. For girls, it is a Bat Mitzvah. 

Also, in some American churches, young people can confirm their Christian⁵ beliefs in a religious service.

Some American Indian girls follow tribal⁶ customs to mark the beginning of womanhood. One such example is Kinaalda’, an observance by members of the Navajo tribe. The meaning of the word Kinaalda’ is unclear. But generally, it marks and blesses the time when a young woman becomes able to bear children.

And some teenage girls, like Julissa Meza-Lopez of Ranson, West Virginia, follow a centuries-old rite of passage marking the 15th birthday. For many girls, the rite means both a religious event and a big party.

Julissa made a big decision about her own rite of passage when she was 14 years old. She decided⁷ to celebrate her next birthday with a quincea?era. She made the choice after her parents had offered her other presents, including a first payment towards buying a car. 

Quince is the Spanish word for 15; a quincea?era marks the 15th birthday. The event is also called quince a?os or just quince. The name depends on where you live and the customs of your family. But the celebration of a 15th birthday usually means the same thing in many parts of the world. The 15th birthday marks a goodbye to childhood and the beginning of womanhood.

The quincea?era is especially common in countries where Spanish, Portuguese⁹, French, or Creole are spoken. Many thousands of girls in the United States whose ancestors spoke¹⁰ those languages follow this tradition. 

In most ways, Julissa lives the life of a typical American teenage girl. She is a second-year student at Jefferson High School in Shenandoah Junction¹¹, West Virginia.  She gets good grades and likes social studies. 

Julissa also respects the traditions of her parents. The family is among about 52 million Americans of Hispanic ancestry¹². Julissa’s mother, Kelly Lopez, came to the United States with her family from Honduras in the 1990s.

Her father, Julio Meza, moved here from El Salvador with his family about the same time. The two met and married in the Washington, DC area and are longtime United States citizens. But they still have many family members and friends in Central America.

Ms. Lopez says she did not have a quincea?era herself. She has two sisters close to her own age. They were settling in the United States about the time when their 15th birthday celebrations took place. 

Julissa’s mother works in a doctor’s office, and her father is employed in a lumberyard. But Julissa had other ideas. Her mother explained how the big party came to be.

“Well, we started, like, maybe a year ago. She really wanted her quincea?era birthday party because it’s something that all her cousins, also they did it, so she really wanted hers.”

As part of the quincea?era tradition, Julissa completed a year of religious studies at her family’s Roman Catholic Church. She took part in a ceremony confirming her beliefs. And then she was ready for her celebration. 

The family made a list of about 150 relatives and friends to invite. Some of the guests traveled to the party from as far away as Central America. Julissa also invited the boys and girls who would attend to her at the celebration.

To help plan for the party, the parents visited a number of possible places to hold the event and made a decision. Julissa’s birthday would be celebrated¹³ in the ballroom¹⁴ of the Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races.      

The family spent time trying to decide what would be served for dinner. Julissa says they made two choices. Chicken was the main meal for some of the guests. But not everybody had that meal.

“We did a mix of two different plates.  For the Spanish side that was the burritos. We served it with, like, rice and steak, tortilla, and they gave us guacamole and salsa and chips.”

When the big day came, a long, white limousine¹⁵ arrived to take Julissa and her group of attendants to the party. Six girls wearing violet dresses and six boys in formal tuxedos¹⁷ jumped into the vehicle.

Julissa, however, climbed up more slowly. Ruffles¹⁸ on her dress made it harder to enter the limousine. When she finally sat down gracefully¹⁹, her attendants cheered. Every so often, Julissa and the others stood and pushed their heads out of the limousine’s skylight opening.  Julissa held onto her tiara, a jeweled headpiece, as the wind tossed her long, dark hair. 

In the Hollywood Casino, some guests were already seated at tables. They watched as a professionally-made video documented Julissa’s young life.

Against the background of the song, “Looks Like We Made It,” she was shown as a newborn baby in her mother’s arms in the hospital. The guests watched as a young Julissa played in the sand and waves at an Atlantic Ocean beach. They saw her at the ceremony for her first communion, a sacred religious event for Catholics.

Many of the people traded memories of Julissa. They talked about her as a baby learning to walk, and as a little girl during her first days of school.

The video showed Julissa at Disney World and holding her brother Julian as a baby. She smiled as she stood in front of the family’s Christmas tree.

The limousine dropped the young people at the party, and after a while a line formed. Julissa and her attendants and family waited at the door. There were ceremonious announcements as they entered the huge party room. After dinner, upbeat music played as a master of ceremonies announced the entry of each guest.

As part of the quincea?era ritual, Julissa welcomed the guests at each table, and she received presents. The gift of a doll, for example, represented the last plaything of childhood. A shining pair of silver high-heeled shoes represented the first steps of adulthood²⁰.

One grandmother presented her with a special heart-shaped quincea?era necklace. The other grandparents presented her with a ring, and her aunt from El Salvador gave her a Bible. 

After dinner Julissa and her attendants performed a dance they had been working on. She looked very grown up as she and her partner went around and around in the center of a circle of dancers.

One of the dancers was Julissa’s younger brother Julian, who is seven years old. He took off his tuxedo¹⁶ jacket and looked like he could stay on the dance floor all night. His mother remembers Julian’s pleasure at being included in a dance specially⁸ prepared for the party. 

“She did a special dance for everybody, something that she practiced, like, the whole time, and he was in it.  So he was really excited that he was part of it.”                                                                                   

The music got faster for the next dance, which had more complex steps. And before long, the dancers moved to the tables and took new partners. Everyone from young children to old men and women began to whirl around.                  

Finally the room grew darker, and Julissa’s party was over. Her father, Julio Meza, expressed his pleasure with the celebration.

“Everything went fine, you know. I was really glad, you know, that we were able to pull this through because it was a big challenge. You know, it wasn’t easy. Everybody really enjoyed it. She really deserved it.  She’s, you know, she’s really a good girl.”

Some people criticize events like the quince party as a waste of money -- money that could be used for education – or, someday, for a wedding. But Julio Meza notes that in the customs of his birthplace, the family of the girl does not pay for her marriage ceremony.

And maybe Julissa has the best answer for criticism of the quincea?era. She said, “The memories...”

This broadcast was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Kelly Jean Kelly.   I’m Christopher Cruise. 

And I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

1 rite   

n.典礼，惯例，习俗

参考例句：

• This festival descends from a religious rite.这个节日起源于宗教仪式。
• Most traditional societies have transition rites at puberty.大多数传统社会都为青春期的孩子举行成人礼。

2 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

3 scriptures   

经文，圣典( scripture的名词复数 )； 经典

参考例句：

• Here the apostle Peter affirms his belief that the Scriptures are 'inspired'. 使徒彼得在此表达了他相信《圣经》是通过默感写成的。
• You won't find this moral precept in the scriptures. 你在《圣经》中找不到这种道德规范。

4 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

5 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

6 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

9 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 junction   

n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站

参考例句：

• There's a bridge at the junction of the two rivers.两河的汇合处有座桥。
• You must give way when you come to this junction.你到了这个路口必须让路。

12 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

13 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。

14 ballroom   

n.舞厅

参考例句：

• The boss of the ballroom excused them the fee.舞厅老板给他们免费。
• I go ballroom dancing twice a week.我一个星期跳两次交际舞。

15 limousine   

n.豪华轿车

参考例句：

• A chauffeur opened the door of the limousine for the grand lady.司机为这个高贵的女士打开了豪华轿车的车门。
• We arrived in fine style in a hired limousine.我们很气派地乘坐出租的豪华汽车到达那里。

16 tuxedo   

n.礼服，无尾礼服

参考例句：

• Well,you have your own tuxedo.噢，你有自己的燕尾服。
• Have I told you how amazing you look in this tuxedo?我告诉过你穿这件燕尾服看起来很棒吗？

17 tuxedos   

n.餐服，无尾晚礼服( tuxedo的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our services include design and tailoring for wedding gowns, tuxedos and party dressesfrom and American brands. 们的服务范围包括高级婚纱设计定制，高级礼服、派对装设计定制，及欧美一线品牌成衣的驳样定制。 来自互联网
• Most tuxedos are black, but some people like to wear white ones called 'morning suits'. 大多数男士无尾晚礼服是黑色的，不过有些人喜欢穿那种被称为“晨服”的白色装。 来自互联网

18 ruffles   

褶裥花边( ruffle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You will need 12 yards of ribbon facing for the ruffles. 你将需要12码丝带为衣服镶边之用。
• It is impossible to live without some daily ruffles to our composure. 我们日常的平静生活免不了会遇到一些波折。

19 gracefully   

ad.大大方方地；优美地

参考例句：

• She sank gracefully down onto a cushion at his feet. 她优雅地坐到他脚旁的垫子上。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line. 新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

20 adulthood   

n.成年，成人期

参考例句：

• Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
• Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。