2006年VOA标准英语-Americans Celebrate 230th Birthday

By Barry Newhouse
Washington
04 July 2006

Across the United States, millions of people celebrated¹ the Fourth of July holiday, marking the 230th anniversary of America's independence. An estimated half a million people gathered in Washington DC for the festivities.

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The Declaration of Independence, a painting by John Trumbull depicts² the men who formally put an end to America's colonial status     
  
The Independence Day celebration in Washington began with a public reading of the "Declaration of Independence" - one of the country's founding documents.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal," said a reader.

Iraq war veterans joined civilians³ as well as actors portraying⁴ American historical figures to read aloud from the historic document that the Continental⁵ Congress, comprising delegates from the 13 colonies, approved the wording of the Declaration of Independence on this day in 1776. 

 
The US Capitol seen from the National Mall
  
Later in the day, as temperatures soared to 34 degrees on the national mall, musicians played for thousands of tourists. The celebrations even drew some British citizens who joked they held no hard feelings about American independence.

"Even though we're English, look at all the stars and stripes. We don't mind being defeated," said one of the British tourists

Washington regularly draws hundreds of thousands of tourists for the July 4th holiday, and National Park Service Ranger⁶ Harry⁷ Gedney says he looks forward to the event every year.

"I've worked this fourth of July 10 years in a row," he said. "For me it's a really fun event, there are just a lot of people, a lot of sun, a lot of heat, a lot of noise, a lot of food, a lot of dancing. It's just a lot of fun, fireworks later, a wonderful concert."

Many visitors like Boston resident Wedlyn Georges, escaped the heat under the National Mall's large shade trees.

"We're going to go rest a little bit, eat, take a walk and see what's going on at the festival," she said.

Most people say they best part of the day is the nighttime fireworks display that ends the festivities. But many, like Maryland-native Amy Weller say just being in the nation's capital for the Independence holiday makes it memorable⁸.

"It's Washington DC on the Fourth of July, this is the place to be, it's just nice, it's relaxing," she said.

1 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。

2 depicts   

描绘，描画( depict的第三人称单数 )； 描述

参考例句：

• The book vividly depicts French society of the 1930s. 这本书生动地描绘了20 世纪30 年代的法国社会。
• He depicts the sordid and vulgar sides of life exclusively. 他只描写人生肮脏和庸俗的一面。

3 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

4 portraying   

v.画像( portray的现在分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The artist has succeeded in portraying my father to the life. 那位画家把我的父亲画得惟妙惟肖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ding Ling was good at portraying figures through careful and refined description of human psychology. 《莎菲女士的日记》是丁玲的成名作，曾引起强烈的社会反响。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

5 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

6 ranger   

n.国家公园管理员，护林员；骑兵巡逻队员

参考例句：

• He was the head ranger of the national park.他曾是国家公园的首席看守员。
• He loved working as a ranger.他喜欢做护林人。

7 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

8 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。