VOA标准英语2009-President Obama Pardons Thanksgiving Turkey

President jokes that turkey had his daughters, Sasha and Malia, to thank for the pardon because, in his words, "I was planning to eat this sucker."

VOA News 25 November 2009

President Barack Obama's daughter Sasha reaches to pet 'Courage' the turkey during a ceremony to pardon him at the White House, 25 Nov 2009

"I was planning to eat this sucker."

U.S. President Barack Obama has granted a pardon to a turkey, saving the bird from becoming part of a traditional Thanksgiving Day feast.

At an annual White House ceremony Wednesday, Mr. Obama granted the 20 kilogram turkey - named "Courage" - a "full and unconditional¹" presidential pardon.

Courage and another turkey named "Carolina" will be flown the Disneyland amusement park in California where they will be the honorary grand marshals in Disneyland's annual Thanksgiving Day parade Thursday.

The president joked that the turkey had his daughters, Sasha and Malia, to thank for the pardon because he said, in his words, "I was planning to eat this sucker."

Mr. Obama used the occasion to also thank members of the U.S. armed forces, both at home and abroad, and to wish them a happy Thanksgiving. 

Mr. Obama said there were certain days in his job that reminded him of why he ran for president, and then there "are moments like this, where I pardon a turkey and send it to Disneyland."

Thanksgiving turkeys have been presented intermittently² to presidents since the Lincoln administration in the 1860s.  It was President George H.W. Bush who issued the first turkey pardon 20 years ago.

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for the last Thursday of November to be observed as a day of thanksgiving.  The modern Thanksgiving holiday traces its roots to 1621, when English settlers in the Massachusetts Colony held a feast with a Native American tribe who taught the colonists³ how to grow food and hunt for game in their new surroundings.

1 unconditional   

adj.无条件的，无限制的，绝对的

参考例句：

• The victorious army demanded unconditional surrender.胜方要求敌人无条件投降。
• My love for all my children is unconditional.我对自己所有孩子的爱都是无条件的。

2 intermittently   

adv.间歇地；断断续续

参考例句：

• Winston could not intermittently remember why the pain was happening. 温斯顿只能断断续续地记得为什么这么痛。 来自英汉文学
• The resin moves intermittently down and out of the bed. 树脂周期地向下移动和移出床层。 来自辞典例句

3 colonists   

n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Colonists from Europe populated many parts of the Americas. 欧洲的殖民者移居到了美洲的许多地方。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some of the early colonists were cruel to the native population. 有些早期移居殖民地的人对当地居民很残忍。 来自《简明英汉词典》