VOA标准英语2011--New Yorker's Say 'Good Riddance' to 2011

New Yorker's Say 'Good Riddance' to 2011

“Good riddance” is an expression in English to bid farewell to disagreeable things or people. As 2011 comes to an end, New York City held its fifth annual Good Riddance Day to give residents and visitors an opportunity to rid themselves of unpleasant memories and to ring in the New Year with a clean slate¹.

About on million people converged³ upon Times Square nearly a year ago to welcome the promise of 2011. People gathered in the same location Wednesday to say good riddance to the year’s problems or disappointments - a failed business, a bout² with cancer, excess weight, a mortgage, a demonic boss, bad grades, the married life, the single-life, and many an insecurity.

They penned their good riddance on paper, tossed it in a dumpster and watched a shredder truck pulverize⁵ the contents.

Katie Selman of Tampa, Florida, was recognized by organizers for having the most creative entry. She is the mother of five and also the wife and sister of Iraqi War veterans. “I wanted to say goodbye to deployment⁶ for 2011, and to come here to shred⁴ deployment papers for my brother and my husband,” she said.

Selman and her husband, Major Steve Selman, tore up the documents that sent him to war and away from his children. He looks forward to 2012.

“Get to do great things with my kids; teach my kid how to throw a baseball, and my daughter - play dolls with her, be able to do great things like this with my wife and basically catch up with everybody,” Selman said.

And, says Katie Selman, to help with household chores, like taking out the trash and mowing⁷ the lawn.

New Year’s celebration organizers in New York have already wheeled in the number two to replace the last digit⁸ in a large sign of the year 2011 that shined above Times Square less than 365 days ago. Having bid good riddance to disappointments of the previous year, revelers will now welcome the promise of 2012.

1 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

2 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。

3 converged   

v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的过去式 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集

参考例句：

• Thousands of supporters converged on London for the rally. 成千上万的支持者从四面八方汇聚伦敦举行集会。
• People converged on the political meeting from all parts of the city. 人们从城市的四面八方涌向这次政治集会。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 shred   

v.撕成碎片，变成碎片；n.碎布条，细片，些少

参考例句：

• There is not a shred of truth in what he says.他说的全是骗人的鬼话。
• The food processor can shred all kinds of vegetables.这架食品加工机可将各种蔬菜切丝切条。

5 pulverize   

v.研磨成粉；摧毁

参考例句：

• A factory making armaments had been bombed the night before and a residential area not far away had been pulverized.前天晚上，一家兵工厂被炸，不远处的居民区也被夷为平地。
• He is set to pulverise his two opponents in the race for the presidency.他决心在总统竞选中彻底击垮他的两个对手。

6 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

7 mowing   

n.割草，一次收割量，牧草地v.刈，割( mow的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The lawn needs mowing. 这草坪的草该割了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• "Do you use it for mowing?" “你是用它割草么？” 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

8 digit   

n.零到九的阿拉伯数字，手指，脚趾

参考例句：

• Her telephone number differs from mine by one digit.她的电话号码和我的只差一个数字。
• Many animals have five digits.许多动物有5趾。