第一篇：【美聯英語】雙語閱讀：西方重要節日介紹

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Valentine's Day is a saints day commemorating Saint Valentine on February 14.It is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other.The holiday is named after two men, both Christian martyrs among the numerous Early Christian martyrs named Valentine.The day became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.2.Easter, Pascha, or Resurrection Day, is an important religious feast in the Christian liturgical year.It celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, which Christians believe occurred on the third day after his crucifixion some time in the period AD 27 to 33.3.In the United States, Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving Day is an annual one-day holiday to give thanks to God,for the things one has at the end of the harvest season.It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November(The period from Thanksgiving Day to New Year's Day is often collectively referred to as the “holiday season,” and the holiday itself is often nicknamed Turkey Day.Thanksgiving is

generally considered a secular holiday, and is not directly based in religious canon or dogma.4.Christmas, also referred to as Christmas Day or Christmastide, is an annual holiday falling on December 25 or January 6.[1] that honors and celebrates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.His birth, which is the basis for the transcultural Western calendar, has been determined by modern historians as having occurred between 8–4 BC, and is traditionally told to have taken place in a stable within the city of Bethlehem.5.Halloween, or Hallowe'en, is a holiday celebrated on the night of October 31.Traditional activities include trick-or-treating, bonfires, costume parties, visiting “haunted houses” and carving jack-o-lanterns.The term Halloween(and its alternative rendering Hallowe'en)is shortened from All-hallow-even, as it is the eve of “All Hallows' Day”,[1] which is now also known as All Saints' Day.Irish and Scottish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America in the nineteenth century.Other western countries embraced the holiday in the late twentieth century.Halloween is celebrated in several parts of the Western world, most commonly in Ireland, the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom and occasionally in parts of Australia and New Zealand.6.Mother's Day is a day honoring mothers, celebrated on various days in many

places around the world.Mothers often receive gifts on this day.7.Father's Day is a secular celebration inaugurated in the early twentieth century to complement Mother's Day in celebrating fatherhood and parenting by males, and to honor and commemorate fathers and forefathers.Father's Day is celebrated on a variety of dates worldwide and typically involves gift-giving to fathers and family-oriented activities.8.April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day, though not a holiday in its own right, is a notable day celebrated in many countries on April 1.The day is marked by the commission of hoaxes and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, enemies and neighbors, or sending them on fools' errands, the aim of which is to embarrass the gullible.In some countries, April Fools' jokes(also called “April Fools”)are only made before noon on 1 April.情人節是2月14日紀念圣瓦倫丁的圣徒紀念日。這是情侶們表達愛意的傳統節日。這個節日是以兩個人的名字命名的,這兩個人都是基督教殉道者,名字叫情人節。在中世紀的杰弗里喬叟的圈子里,這一天成為與浪漫愛情有關的一天,當宮廷的愛情傳統蓬勃發展。.復活節, pascha,或復活日,是基督教禮拜式的的一個重要的宗教節日。它慶祝耶穌復活,基督徒相信耶穌在公元27到33間耶穌受難的第三天發生。

3.在美國,感恩節或感恩節是一個每年一天的節日,感謝上帝,因為在收獲季節的結束。在11月的第四個星期四(從感恩節到元旦這段時間通常被統稱為“假日季”),節日本身通常被稱為“火雞日”。感恩節通常被認為是一個世俗的節日,并不直接基于宗教教規或教條。.圣誕節,也稱為圣誕節或christmastide,是一個年度假日,12月25日或1月6日。[ 1]這種榮譽和慶祝拿撒勒的耶穌誕生。他的出生是跨文化的西方日歷的基礎,現代歷史學家認為他的出生在公元前8之間,傳統上被告知在伯利恒市一個馬廄進行。.萬圣節,或萬圣節,是一個節日慶祝在10月31日。傳統的活動包括惡作劇或治療,篝火,化裝舞會,參觀“鬼屋”和雕刻杰克燈。萬圣節(和它的替代渲染萬圣節)是縮短從所有的萬圣節,因為它是“萬圣節”前夕,現在也被稱為萬圣節。愛爾蘭人和蘇格蘭移民在19世紀把傳統帶到了北美。其他西方國家接受了二十世紀后期的假期。在西方世界的一些地方慶祝萬圣節,最常見的是在愛爾蘭、美國、加拿大、波多黎各和英國,偶爾也在澳大利亞和新西蘭部分地區。.母親節是紀念母親的一天,在世界上許多地方的許多地方慶祝。母親們經常在這天收到禮物。.父親節是在二十世紀早期開始的一個世俗的慶祝活動,旨在補充母親慶祝父親和父母養育子女的日子,以及紀念和紀念父親和祖先。父親節是在全世界各種日期慶祝的,通常涉及給父親的禮物和家庭導向的活動。

8.愚人節或所有傻瓜天,雖然不是自己的權利,是一個值得注意的一天在許多國家慶祝4月1日。這一天的標志是,惡作劇委員會和其他關于朋友、敵人和鄰居復雜程度的惡作劇,或者把他們送到愚人的差使上,目的是為了讓輕信的人難堪。在一些國家,愚人節的笑話(也稱為“愚人節”)僅在4月1日中午之前制作。

第二篇：【美聯英語】雙語閱讀：青春

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Let's take steps to banish some of the most common negative thoughts many of us repeat to ourselves.Being in a negative space is harmful to our overall well-being, because what you dwell on can easily become self fulfilling if you don't change your mindset.讓我們一起行動起來，消滅那些我們經常告訴自己的消極想法吧!如果你不改變想法，而是一味地沉浸在消極的念頭中，那么，我們的整個身心就會受到影響，因為“噩夢”也會成真。

1.I'm not good enough.我不夠好。

This type of negative thought that can apply to many categories.Maybe you don't think you're a good enough mother or good at a sport.Even if you find yourself lacking in something, there's no need to keep repeating it to yourself.The human brain is an incredible thing.Be inspired by Dr.Jill Bolte Taylor, Harvard-trained neuroscientist who suffered a stroke that left her unable to walk, read, write, talk, or remember her previous life.Dr.Taylor took eight years to recover and has since then written a best-selling book about her experience and appeared on Oprah.Keep on working toward something, and watch the leaps and

bounds you'll make.這種消極想法有很多類型。比如你認為自己不是個稱職的媽媽或不擅長運動。即使你真的發現了自己的弱點，也沒必要對自己不斷復述。人腦是神奇的。吉爾泰勒就是個激勵的好典型，她是哈佛大學的神經系統學專家，中風后她就失去了行走、閱讀、書寫、交談的能力了，甚至還失憶了。她花了八年的時間復原，用自己的經歷寫了暢銷書，還上了奧普拉的節目。堅持做一件事，親眼見證自己的變化。

2.No one cares about me.沒人關心我。

To accurately say that your family and friends don't care about you would be a very rare situation.Maybe you're being too negative and overlooking the gestures of love they show you.They don't even have to be big gestures, but it's the little things they do for you that count.And people may be reacting to the energy you're putting out;perhaps you think they don't care about you so you don't make any effort in your relationships.Start showing people you care, so they can show you back in kind.And if you don't have good relationships with the people you know, what's stopping you from making new friends?

家人朋友都不關心你，這種情況其實不太常見。可能你過于消極的想法使你忽略了他們對你表達的愛。他們甚至并不需要為你做什么驚天動地的大事，正是一些小事才真正打動人心。或者你覺得沒人關心你，所以無需再經營人際關系，但其實也許人們只有在感知到你的付出后，才會對你進行回報;關心別人，別人才會關心你。如果你和周圍人的關系處理不好，為何不結交些新朋友?

3.I really dislike this person.我真的不喜歡這個人。

If you dislike a person in your work or personal life, focusing on her bad qualities is not going to make things better.You need to let go of your assumptions about her and know that she is human too, which means she makes mistakes.Either you move on and stop thinking and talking about her, or learn to approach her or think about her in a positive manner.Focus on her good qualities, and repeat them to yourself instead of honing in on the unpleasant things.如果工作或生活中有你討厭的人，只關注她的缺點有害無益。你需要放下對她的所有成見，告訴自己她也是個人，也有犯錯的時候。要么就不再談論她和想著她，要么學著去接近她，或想想她好的一面。多想想她的優點，不要再專注于讓你不開心的事情。

4.Why is she better off?

為什么她比我好?

Comparing yourself to someone else is never productive or positive.There's always going to be someone who is younger, prettier, smarter, or richer than you.If you keep coveting what someone else has, then this may cause you to be resentful of them, which will open a whole other negative can of worms.Remember, what they don't have is your whole package.Be appreciative of what you have, because if you want to play the comparison game, remember that there are people who are also worse off than you are.和別人比較永遠不是有效率和積極的表現。總有比你年輕，漂亮，聰明，富有的人。如果你始終關注別人擁有什么，會帶來你對他們的恨意，隨即帶來更多消極的想法。記住，你所擁有的也是他們所沒有的。珍惜你所擁有的東西，如果真的想和別人比較，也別忘了總有

比你差的人。

5.I'll never reach my goal.我永遠無法達到目標。

If you think you're not going to be able “get there,” think again.There are many people who are worse off and have overcome bigger obstacles than what you are facing.Take, for example, Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius, an amputee who overcame his handicap to compete in the Olympics against his able-bodied peers.Everything is within your reach as long as you work hard and have a a positive attitude.如果你認為自己達不到，再想想。比你差的人比比皆是，他們遇到的困難也比你的更大。比如，奧運會短跑選手刀鋒戰士奧斯卡·皮斯托利斯，一個被截肢的運動員，戰勝了自己的阻礙，在其他健壯的對手中脫穎而出贏得了奧運會的冠軍。只要你努力付出，有著積極的信念，任何事都能夠做到。

第三篇：【美聯英語】雙語閱讀：瑪格麗特

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Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s longest-serving and only woman prime minister, has died aged 87 after suffering a stroke, prompting a flood of tributes from across the globe.瑪格麗特?撒切爾(Margaret Thatcher)因中風去世，享年87歲，在世界各地引發了一陣哀悼浪潮。撒切爾是英國任職最長的首相，也是唯一的女首相。

Leaders lined up to pay their respects to the former prime minister, who revolutionised the UK economy during an 11-year tenure, as she rolled back the state and put in place some of the country’s most radical and controversial reforms.各國領導人紛紛向這位英國前首相表達敬意。在其長達11年的任期中，撒切爾領導了英國經濟的革命，縮減了政府職能，并實施了該國最為激進、最有爭議的一些改革。

David Cameron, UK prime minister, described the former Conservative prime minister as the “greatest peacetime prime minister”.英國現首相戴維?卡梅倫(David Cameron)把這位前保守黨首相稱為“英國和平時期最偉大的首相”。

“[She] took a country that was on its knees and made Britain stand tall again.We can’t deny that Lady Thatcher divided opinion.For many of us, she was and is

an inspiration.For others she was a force to be defined against.卡梅倫表示：“(她)臨危受命，讓英國重新站起來，再度屹立。不可否認，人們對她的評價各異。在我們許多人看來，她過去和現在都是一位鼓舞人心的人物。在其他人看來，她是一種特色鮮明的力量。

“But if there is one thing that cuts through all of this – one thing that runs through everything she did – it was her lion-hearted love for this country,” he said.“但如果說有一個中心貫穿著她的一生——在她所做的每一件事中都體現出來，那就是她對這個國家的無比熱愛。”

President Barack Obama said: “The world has lost one of the great champions of freedom and liberty, and America has lost a true friend.”

美國總統巴拉克?奧巴馬(Barack Obama)表示：“世界失去了一位積極倡導自由的領袖，美國失去了一位真正的朋友。”

The prime minister’s office announced that parliament would be recalled for a special session on Wednesday to pay tribute to Thatcher.Her funeral will be held at the end of next week at St Paul’s Cathedral.英國首相辦公室宣布，周三議會將召開一次特別會議，向撒切爾致哀。她的葬禮將于下周末在倫敦圣保羅大教堂(St Paul's Cathedral)舉行。

She will have a “full ceremonial funeral” with military honours as was afforded to the Queen Mother and Lady Diana.The British flag flew at half mast over Parliament to honour Thatcher as all UK political parties suspended campaigning for the local elections on May 2.撒切爾將享有帶有軍事禮儀的“禮儀葬禮”，禮遇同王太后和戴安娜一樣。英國國會降半旗向撒切爾致哀，各政黨暫停針對5月2日地方選舉的競選活動。

Thatcher, who transformed Britain with her free-market revolution, had been in poor health since suffering minor strokes in 2002.自從2002年患上中風以來，撒切爾的健康狀況一直很差。她曾以自己的自由市場革命改變了英國的面貌。

Statesmen past and present shared their memories of the woman dubbed the “Iron Lady”.Tony Blair, the second longest-serving postwar prime minister, called her “a towering political figure”.“Very few leaders get to change not only the political landscape of their country but of the world.Margaret was such a leader.Her global impact was vast.”

已卸任和在任的政治家們共同悼念有“鐵娘子”綽號的撒切爾。英國戰后任期第二長的首相托尼布萊爾(Tony Blair)稱撒切爾為“一位偉大的政治人物。”“不但改變本國政治版圖、還改變世界政治版圖的領袖人物非常少，撒切爾就是其中的一位。她在全球播下了深遠的影響。”

George W.Bush, former US president, described her as a “great ally” who “strengthened the special relationship”.美國前總統小布什(George W.Bush)稱撒切爾為一位“強化了美英特殊關系的偉大盟友”。

Thatcher had a particularly close relationship with Ronald Reagan, the former US president.撒切爾與美國前總統羅納德?里根(Ronald Reagan)之間保持了一種極為密切的關系。

With Reagan, she helped bring about the end of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall.The British prime minister saw herself as the perfect intermediary between the two countries, having struck up constructive relationships with both Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet president, and a man with whom she told Reagan “we can do business”.她和里根一道促成了蘇聯的解體和柏林墻的倒塌。這位英國前首相把自己視為美蘇兩國間的完美中間人，與里根和蘇聯總統米哈伊爾?戈爾巴喬夫(Mikhail Gorbachev)都建立了富有建設意義的關系。她告訴里根，戈爾巴喬夫是一個“我們能和他打交道”的人。

Mr Gorbachev said Thatcher helped end the Cold War: “Thatcher was a politician whose word carried great weight,” he said in a statement on his website.“Our first meeting in 1984 marked the beginning of a relationship that was at times difficult, not always smooth, but was treated seriously and responsibly by both sides.”

戈爾巴喬夫在自己網站上發布的聲明中表示，撒切爾幫助結束了冷戰：“撒切爾是一位一言九鼎的政治家。我們在1984年第一次會面，隨后便開啟了一段時而棘手、并非一帆風順但雙方都認真負責予以對待的關系。”

Lech Walesa, Poland’s former president and anti-communist freedom figure, said Thatcher was key in hastening the fall of the Iron Curtain: “She was a great person.She did a great deal for the world, along with Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II and Solidarity, she contributed to the demise of communism in Poland and central Europe.”

波蘭前總統、反對共產主義的自由派人士列赫?瓦文薩(Lech Walesa)表示，撒切爾在加

速“鐵幕”(Iron Curtain)倒塌的過程中發揮了關鍵的作用：“她是一位偉人。她為世界做出了巨大的貢獻，她與羅納德?里根、教皇約翰?保羅二世(Pope John Paul II)和波蘭團結工會(Solidarity)一起，推動了波蘭與中歐共產主義政權的終結。”

Her other great success abroad was in the Falklands War against Argentina, which invaded the islands in 1982.Thatcher defied resistance in her own cabinet to send a 25,000-strong task force to the tiny archipelago, which troops eventually recaptured after two months.撒切爾在海外的其他巨大勝利，還包括1982年的英阿福克蘭群島戰爭(Falklands war，又稱馬島戰爭)。她不顧自己內閣的反對，向面積微小的福克蘭群島派出了2.5萬人的特遣部隊，最終于兩個月后奪回了該群島。

Her legacy was just as long-lasting at home.A succession of prime ministers, Labour and Conservative alike, have felt unable or unwilling to depart from the blueprint she established of a state serviced by privatised utilities and free of the stranglehold of organised unions.撒切爾在國內留下的遺產同樣意義深遠。歷任首相，無論出自工黨還是保守黨，都感到不能或不愿背離她為英國設定的藍圖——公用事業私有化，企業不受有組織工會的鉗制。

第四篇：【美聯英語】雙語閱讀：最好的圣誕禮物

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I have received many Christmas gifts over the years.The best gift I ever received was presented to me by a stranger.I never even knew his name and I only had contact with him for less than 60 seconds.His Christmas present to me changed the way I think about people and about Christmas.這些年我收到過很多圣誕禮物，其中最好的禮物來自一個陌生人。我不曾知道他的名字，我倆之間溝通不到60秒。他送我的圣誕禮物改變了我對別人和圣誕節的看法。

I hate Black Friday sales.It's often a gathering of people who are there for many different reasons.Some are looking for a deal on that one item for their loved one, or perhaps themselves.Their intentions are completely unrelated to the festive time of year, and can merely be summed up with one word, “EBay!”

我討厭黑色星期五的特賣，總有很多人因為很多不同的原因聚在一起。有些人是為所愛的人或者可能為自己買東西。他們的目的都跟一年一度的節日一點關系都沒有，只能總結為一個詞：“便宜”！

It was several years ago when my wife asked me to meet her at the local department store on Black Friday morning.They had advertised a child's bike that she wanted to purchase for our son.We stood with a very large crowd, waiting for the manager to blow the whistle.After a while the whistle blew.It was like throwing a bucket of chum into a tank of sharks.I told my wife that if we obtained a bike, fine, but if we did not, I was OK with that too.幾年前妻子讓我在“黑五”早上和她在當地百貨公司門口會和，他們正在特價銷售一款兒童自行車，她想買給我們的兒子。還有一大群人站在那兒等著經理吹哨。過了一會，哨聲響起，當時的場景就像一桶三文魚被扔進了鯊魚水箱里。我跟妻子說如果我們搶到自行車還好，如果沒搶到我也無所謂。

As the pallet of bikes began to gradually decrease in size, I saw my polite opportunity to wrap my hands around the corner of one of the boxes.I lifted it off the crate and suddenly felt some mild resistance.I looked up to see one of the largest gentlemen I had ever seen in my life.Intimidating was not the word to describe his presence.He was adorned with numerous straps of metal spiked leather around both arms and even his neck.Tattoos were an obvious passion of his.貨架上的自行車越來越少，我看到了一個“文雅”的機會，把手伸到了一個自行車包裝盒的角上，把盒子拎了起來，突然感覺到有人輕輕地阻止我。我抬頭看見了平生所見的最

高大的人，“嚇人”這個詞已經不足以形容他了。他胳膊上甚至脖子上滿是帶有鉚釘的皮帶子，很明顯紋身是他的最愛。

I started to relinquish the box but he gently pushed it back in my direction and back into my hands.He then directed it into my shopping cart.He looked at me, smiled, and said, “Merry Christmas.”My wife and I went to the checkout, paid for the bike and went home.All the way home I was thinking that this moment was by far the best Christmas gift I had ever received.The kindness of a stranger that broke all preconceived notions I may have had of stereotypes and prejudices.The tenderness of a human heart in a simple act.I will never forget it.我想把盒子放回去，但他從他的方向輕輕把自行車推了回來，又推回到我手里，然后直接放進了我的購物車里，他看著我微笑著說：“圣誕節快樂”。妻子和我去了收款處，付完錢就回家了。回家的一路上我都在想那一刻是至今我收到的最好的圣誕禮物。一個陌生人的善良打破了我所有對于成見和偏見原有的看法，人內心的柔軟就體現在小小的行為上，我永遠不會忘記這次經歷。

第五篇：【美聯英語】雙語閱讀：人像一棵果樹

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Once, while taking my boat down the inland waterway to Florida, I decided to tie up at Georgetown, South Carolina, for the night and visit with an old friend.As we approached the Esso dock, I saw him through my binoculars standing there awaiting us.Tall and straight as an arrow he stood, facing a cold, penetrating windhave finished the course-I have kept the faith.對我而言，它是最初的記憶，也是始終的挑戰。實際上，對每個人來說，人生之役，生存之役，都是一種挑戰。圣.保羅不朽的教誨，也一直并將永遠鼓舞著我。但愿，在到達生命之途的終點時，我能夠認為自己打了漂亮的一仗，不僅走完了人生的旅程，而且一如既往地堅持著自己的信仰。