美国人吃吃喝喝过感恩节

Who Eats the Most on Thanksgiving? These Americans 美国人吃吃喝喝过感恩节

Many Americans spend Thanksgiving with family and friends around a table of roast turkey, sweet potatoes and cranberry¹ sauce.

But for others, it's a competition.

Across the United States, there are contests to see who can eat the most pumpkin² pie. These events start in October and continue through Thanksgiving.  

Elk³ Grove⁴, California hosts the Giant Pumpkin Festival World Pumpkin Pie Eating Championship. Matthew Stonie won last year by eating 20 pounds, 13 ounces of pumpkin pie in 8 minutes. In other words, about 9 and a half kilograms. That was a “world record,” reported the International Federation⁵ of Competitive Eating in New York City (IFOCE).

Stonie won $5,000.

The IFOCE website praised Stonie’s “effortless speed” at the table:

“Like a silent automobile⁶ in top gear careening past you on the highway. Like the boxer⁷ with lightning jabs. Like a speed skater in a very tight bodysuit, long limbs stretching further than the clock can tick. The great ones make it look easy.”

Some of the pumpkin-pie eating contests dissolve into gluttony. An example is the IFOCE’s YouTube video: “Thanksgiving Invitational – Pumpkin Pie” eating contest:

Others have a more light-hearted approach to pumpkin pie-eating contests. Students at the Duthie Center for Engineering in Louisville, Kentucky posted their pumpkin pie-eating contest on Facebook. It was a friendly social affair:

In Broomfield, Colorado, their Turkey Day celebration takes a more health-conscious approach. They hold a pumpkin pie-eating contest, but contestants⁸ just have to eat one piece of pie (or about one-sixth of a pie) as fast as possible. There’s a 5 kilometer and 10 kilometer “Turkey Day” race afterwards, for those who want to run off excess weight.

And at Pumpkin Palooza -- a pumpkin pie-eating contest in Sparks, Nevada -- the organizers note on their website:

“The winners are chosen by audience applause, so style, flair⁹ and humor count as much as anything.”   

Words in This Story

turkey – n. a large American bird that is related to the chicken and that is hunted or raised by people for its meat 

potatoes – n. a round root of a plant that has brown, yellow, or red skin and white or yellow flesh and that is eaten as a vegetable

cranberry – adj. a small, dark red berry or the plant that produces it

contests – n. an event in which people try to win by doing something better than others

pounds – n. a unit of weight that is equal to 16 ounces or 0.4536 kilograms

ounces – n.  a unit of weight equal to 1/?? pound (about 28 grams)

careening – v.  to go forward quickly without control

highway – n. a main road that connects cities, towns, etc.

boxer – n. someone who participates in the sport of boxing

skater – n. a person who skates on ice

limb – n. a leg or arm

dissolve – v. to end or disappear or cause (something) to end or disappear

gluttony – n. the act or habit of eating or drinking too much

kilometer – n.  a unit of length equal to 1,000 meters

applause – n. a show of approval or appreciation¹⁰ at a play, speech, sporting event, etc., in which people strike their hands together over and over

flair – n.  an unusual and appealing quality or style

1 cranberry   

n.梅果

参考例句：

• Turkey reminds me of cranberry sauce.火鸡让我想起梅果酱。
• Actually I prefer canned cranberry sauce.事实上我更喜欢罐装的梅果酱。

2 pumpkin   

n.南瓜

参考例句：

• They ate turkey and pumpkin pie.他们吃了火鸡和南瓜馅饼。
• It looks like there is a person looking out of the pumpkin!看起来就像南瓜里有人在看着你！

3 elk   

n.麋鹿

参考例句：

• I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing.我离那头麋鹿非常近，能听见它吃力的呼吸声。
• The refuge contains the largest wintering population of elk in the world.这座庇护所有着世界上数量最大的冬季麋鹿群。

4 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

5 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

6 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

7 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

8 contestants   

n.竞争者，参赛者( contestant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The competition attracted over 500 contestants representing 8 different countries. 这次比赛吸引了代表8个不同国家的500多名参赛者。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency. 两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 flair   

n.天赋，本领，才华；洞察力

参考例句：

• His business skill complements her flair for design.他的经营技巧和她的设计才能相辅相成。
• He had a natural flair for business.他有做生意的天分。

10 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。