青春無敵

Ken:

Hi, Sue. Thanksgiving is just a few days away. Do you have any plans?

(嗨，蘇。感恩節還有幾天就快到了，妳有任何計畫嗎？)

Sue:

You bet! I attend the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with my family every year. It’s like our annual family tradition.

(當然囉！我每年都跟家人參加梅西感恩節大遊行，這已經像是我們家每年的傳統了。)

Ken:

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade? Why is she holding a parade for people?

(梅西感恩節大遊行？為何梅西要替大家辦遊行？)

Sue:

Ken, are you being serious? You’ve never heard of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade before?

(肯，你是認真的嗎？你從來沒聽過梅西感恩節大遊行？)

Ken:

Sue, I’m not from America, so there are lots of things I don’t know.

(蘇，我不是美國人，所以有很多事情我不知道啊。)

Sue:

I’m sorry, Ken. There’re times I do forget you’re not American. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is one of the major events in November. People travel to New York City just to attend the parade and get in the Christmas spirit.

(對不起喔。有時候我真的會忘記你不是美國人。梅西感恩節大遊行是十一月其中一件大事，人們來紐約市就是為了參加遊行和感受聖誕節的氣氛。)

Ken:

Christmas spirit?

(聖誕節的氣氛？)

Sue:

That’s because at the end of the parade Santa Claus will appear to kick off the beginning of the Christmas holiday season.

(那是因為遊行結束時，聖誕老公公會出現，迎接聖誕假日季節的到來。)

Ken:

I see. Well, I’ve never been to a parade before. What’s the parade like?

(原來如此。嗯，我從來沒去過遊行，那遊行如何呢？)

Sue:

Well, my father told me that the parade started in 1920s when many of the Macy’s department store employees wanted to celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving. The parade was so successful and it has become an annual event ever since then. In the parade, there are clowns, floats, giant balloons, cheerleaders, and marching bands. A couple of days ago, I saw some photos of the giant balloons getting a test run on Instagram. I think this year’s event will be very huge since this is the 90th anniversary of the parade. Hey! I think you should come and join us to see the parade.

(嗯，我爸爸跟我說過梅西感恩節大遊行始於1920年代，當時梅西百貨的員工想要慶祝感恩節，因為活動太成功了，所以之後每年都會舉辦。遊行裡有小丑、花車、大型氣球、啦啦隊和軍樂隊。幾天前我才在Instagram看到大型氣球試飛的照片，我覺得今年的活動應該會很盛大，因為今年是梅西感恩節大遊行第九十周年紀念。嘿！我覺得你應該來跟我們一起看看遊行！)

Ken:

Great! Thanks for the invite.

(太棒了！謝謝妳的邀請。)

Sue:

But you need to get up really early. Although the parade starts at 9 a.m. and runs until noon, we always get there at around 6:30 to get a good spot. So, you’d better bundle up because November in New York City can get quite chilly.

(但是你要很早起。雖然遊行在早上九點開始，到中午結束，但我們總是約六點半就會到那邊搶好位置，所以你最好要穿暖一點，因為十一月的紐約市很有涼意。)

Ken:

Okay. I think I can manage that. And how much is the admission fee?

(好的，我應該可以做到。那入場費多少錢呢？)

Sue:

It’s free, so you can imagine it’ll be very crowded and packed like sardines then. But hey, that’s what makes the parade so festive.

(那是免費的，所以你可以想像到時候會非常地擁擠，擠到像沙丁魚一樣。但是就是這樣，遊行才歡樂啊！)

Ken:

Wow! I can’t wait!

(哇！我等不及了！)

annual

adj. 年度的

parade

n. 遊行

event

n. [C] 活動

kick off

ph. 開始

float

n. [C] 花車

marching band

ph. 軍樂隊

test run

ph. 測試運行

anniversary

n. [C] 周年紀念

bundle up

ph. 穿得很暖和

admission fee

ph. 入場費

be packed like sardines

ph. 擠得像沙丁魚、擁擠不堪

festive

adj. 歡樂的